To Panama and Beyond! DCL Panama Canal WB Pre-Trip/Trip Report-Through Day 1 w/pics

[carmie3377]

Wow, I can’t believe the day is almost here! It’s been just over a year since we returned from our first Disney cruise and every day since then I’ve been dreaming about our next cruise. We were only onboard 2 days when we decided to rebook. We originally booked a March Mexican Riviera with Disneyland before to hit 3 of our birthdays but we really wanted to do the Panama Canal - DH because it was the Panama Canal, me because it was 15 nights! However, we didn’t know for sure if we could fit it in our budget and if DH could get the time off of work. After returning home he discussed it at work and they were okay with him taking the time off. We looked over our budget and realized that we could make this a reality. However, we would have to downgrade from a cat 9 to a cat 11 due to the cost of not only the fare but increased tips, excursions, ect. To me, it was a no brainer. I’d rather take a longer cruise in a lower cat than a shorter cruise in a higher cat. I know others would disagree, there is no way they could spend 15 nights in an inside stateroom. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love a balcony too but we wouldn’t be going if we didn’t book a inside. Anyway, I called DCL, transferred our booking, and hours a day on the Dis began again!!!

Let me introduce you to my family:
Carmen (me) - Loves anything and everything Disney! I got my first taste of Disney in 2003 and haven’t looked back! If we lived in Florida or California, I’d even work for Disney
Jarrod (DH) - He loves Disney just not quite as much as me! Works very hard to support our Mickey addiction.
Haley (DD11) - Takes after her Momma! Is looking forward to making new friends and ordering Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars from room service.
Cameron (DS4) - Has been brainwashed by his Momma and Sissy since birth. Poor child never had a chance! Loved our cruise and says he can’t wait to eat pizza and drink Sprite.
Pawpaw (my Dad) - Totally not a Disney person - that is why he is staying home to care for our canine children, Cinder Ellie, Sandy, and Frodo Baggins!

One of the things that we enjoyed a lot on the last cruise was the FE gift exchange. I had the phrase "Cruising the Magic with Mickey" on my other FE so I had to make a new one. Unfortunately, my neighbor I borrowed the sewing machine from moved so I had to hand sew this one. Took me hours but I'm glad I did. It all started with this cute Toy Story Fabric I found. The pattern was a bit bigger than it had looked online, but it still worked great for us.

Then, I wanted to a cute saying on top. I started thinking of some of the popular quotes from Toy Story and of course "To Infinity and Beyond" came to mind. So, I had it "To Panama and Beyond" I thought it fit great, we're going through the Panama Canal but not stopping so we are going beyond!

DD came up with a great idea for the rod to hold the FE - what about Slinky Dog? Of course, that would be great. So I bought some party favor Slinky Dogs, a dowel rod, and some floral wire to come up with the Slinky Dog Holder. DH helped and we are so pleased with how it turned out. After it was finished, I wish I would have looked for a clear rod so it wouldn't be seen as much, but that's okay.

Now we needed something to hold and tie around the fish - a Barrel of Monkeys! "Buzz, the monkeys aren't working, we're formulating another plan!" now keeps popping in my head. Anyway, the other night at 10:30 we are off to Target to find a Barrel of Monkeys and we did! Again, we incorporated DH's help and it worked great. The real tie is fishing line and the Monkeys are tied on. Up close you can see the fishing line but not from just a bit of distance.

So here is our finished FE and close up of Slinky and the Monkeys:

We are really excited about the way it came out.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll have more in a bit

 

[carmie3377]

Wow, the pictures are a bit big, I need to work on that!

 

[carmie3377]

So, we have the FE and the adult gift but I'm still struggling with the kids' gift. I know, it's a little late to start worrying about it now but I had an idea, it didn't work out like I plan so I had start over. I guess I must "formulate another plan!" I do have something that will work as a last resort, but hoping to come up with something easy, neat and inexpensive (we have 90+ cabins participating!)

We are also participating in a post card exchange. I got mine in the mail on Saturday and I really like the way they look.

Still waiting on cruise docs though! Most people on our thread have already received theirs but I haven't. Hopefully it will be in the mail today. I know I don't have to have them but I just want to see them and hold them. I'm sure most of you know what i mean

 

[Mindyjoy]

Wow, you sewed all that by hand?!?!?!? I am not crafty and I'm dreading making mine for my April cruise. LOVE the slinky dog!!!!

Can't wait to read more.

 

[carmie3377]

Wow, you sewed all that by hand?!?!?!? I am not crafty and I'm dreading making mine for my April cruise. LOVE the slinky dog!!!!

Can't wait to read more.

Glad you're following along! I'll have to tell DD that you love the Slinky Dog. She is so proud of her idea And yes, I did sew that by hand. I had the fabric portion done by summer as I didn't want to get held up with everything going on this time of the year. Glad I did cause I can't imagine doing it now. Anyway, the lettering and Buzz were easy. The lettering was done on my Cricut (although I did mess up on the spacing between rows on the title ) and Buzz is a sticker. Since I made it cruise specific, looks like I"ll be making me a new one the next time we cruise unless it's on the Magic. Maybe I'll have sewing machine by then!

Well, I guess I'll get started on pre-cruise arrival in Orlando:

We would have loved to have been able to come out a few days early and enjoy WDW before hand but we decided to pass. #1, it I know it will be pretty busy with the New Year (went once Jan 2-7 and it was insanely busy the first couple of days) and #2 with the holidays right before, wanted a few days to breath before heading out.

So, we just decided to fly out the day before. We have 7:55am flight out of Houston on SWA with an 11am arrival at MCO. We will be taking ME to Bay Lake Tower and I'm so excited about staying there! I just hope that being so close the MK doesn't make depressed about not going to the park. Oh well, if it does, I'm sure the minute I'm walking on the ship the next day will make me forgot about that!

We plan on meeting some friends we met on our last cruise at Fort Wilderness for some horseback riding! We are all looking forward to meeting up with them again. We are lucking out with them visiting WDW that week and they are taking the day off so spend with us! After the horseback riding, we'll be heading over to DTD to pick up our rental minivan as we know we'll max out on luggage! We'll also hope to grab a bite at Earl of Sandwich before heading back to BLT to wacth wishes from the Top of the World Lounge!

So, I wonder if our first day will actually go as planned. It seems everything will go so smooth but there always seems to be something unplanned that gets thrown in!

Oh, and just realized I didn't put a pic of us! Here we are last year on the Magic!

I will be taking tons of pics (and including them in this TR), including food porn!

Off to cook dinner!

 

[diheartsdisney]

Hi Carmen!

Oh, cool! You're doing a panama canal trip report. I was thinking about doing one, but I'm kind of unsure. I've never done anything like this. It seems like a cool way to share your experience and preserve the memories. I have to add trip reports with photos are the best. I love seeing the pictures. I'll see if I can get up the nerve and/or energy.

I have to say, your FE is super cute. I LOVE Toy Story. The Slinkly Dog is amazing. That really takes it over the top. I was unfamiliar with the whole concept of fish extender exchanges. After some consideration, I decided to skip it this trip. I feel like keeping things simple. I'm sure it would be fun though, so enjoy.

Don't give the parks a second thought. This amazing cruise will more than make up for it. I really wish we could go to Disneyland AFTER the cruise. But I know we'll be ready to go home after 15 nights.

Happy planning & packing!

Diane

 

[ACDSNY]

Oh My I LOVE your FE, the slinky dog and monkeys top it off perfectly! See you in a few weeks.

 

[JenKatt]

I LOVE the FE!!!!

 

[carmie3377]

Hi Carmen!

Oh, cool! You're doing a panama canal trip report. I was thinking about doing one, but I'm kind of unsure. I've never done anything like this. It seems like a cool way to share your experience and preserve the memories. I have to add trip reports with photos are the best. I love seeing the pictures. I'll see if I can get up the nerve and/or energy.

I have to say, your FE is super cute. I LOVE Toy Story. The Slinkly Dog is amazing. That really takes it over the top. I was unfamiliar with the whole concept of fish extender exchanges. After some consideration, I decided to skip it this trip. I feel like keeping things simple. I'm sure it would be fun though, so enjoy.

Don't give the parks a second thought. This amazing cruise will more than make up for it. I really wish we could go to Disneyland AFTER the cruise. But I know we'll be ready to go home after 15 nights.

Happy planning & packing!

Diane

I've never done a TR either but I figured why not! Like you said, it will be great to preserve those memories. And hopefully, it will tide other people over till their next cruise!

I would love to go to DL too but we're not. But you're right, what an amazing cruise this is going to be! Anyway, I've only been to DL once and can't wait to go back. In fact, it was Disneyland where i had my first taste of Disney. DD was only 4 and DH only got to go one day with so we didn't get to do too much even though DD and I spent 4 days between the 2 parks. But we will be back! The trip we originally had planned was going to include a day at DL on my birthday and eventually I want to spend my Bday at a Disney Park.

Oh My I LOVE your FE, the slinky dog and monkeys top it off perfectly! See you in a few weeks.

I LOVE the FE!!!!

Thanks all about the compliments on the FE! I can't wait to see it next to my door! We obviously love Toy Story too and really looking forward to watching TS3 again on the cruise. We have watched the first 2 probably over 100 times each with both of the kids going through TS obsession at different times. But I LOVE them as much as the kids.

 

[carmie3377]

I guess I spoke too soon earlier today. I checked the mail a little bit ago and look what I found:

I still can't believe we're going!!!! Neither of us come from families that enjoy traveling. Before I met DH, I had only been to one other state, and the only reason I had done that is because we lived 10 minutes from the state border. I'm so glad I can take my kids and let them experience things DH and I never got to do.

 

[carmie3377]

Well, on top of this trip, I'm planning for a trip to Dallas (I'm in the Houston area) tomorrow through Sunday to see DH's mom graduate with her PhD and then to celebrate Christmas with DH's mom/siblings and my mom/siblings. Then of course, the next weekend is Christmas when DH's dad will be coming down. Then over the New Year, DD is going to flying to Atlanta to see her uncle and she is flying by herself for the first time . I think I'm more nervous than she is. Anyway, she'll be home on the 1st and then on the 5th, we'll be flying to MCO. And what am I doing??? I'm on here!!!

Things I still need to do:
Plan our rental in Aruba - we want to rent a jeep to explore the island
Set up transportation from the Port of LA to LAX - we have a 12:40 flight home and I'm lost at what time to set it up for. Do I set up for 9:30 hoping we'll be off by then (I've heard that it can take a while to get off) or set it up for 10:30 and have to rush to LAX? DH said it might just be easier to get a taxi. I would set up Disney transportation if SWA airlines participated with the onboard check-in but they don't. Ah, decisions, decisions, decisions!
Get dinner clothes together for DH and I - I need to make sure I have everything we need. I think I do but I need to lay it all out to make sure.
Get my kid FE gift together
Finish shopping for one of my Secret Mickey gift recipients - that should be start shopping! I'm lost at what to get them!

I know it will all come together. It has to, just over 3 weeks till be leave!

 

[carmie3377]

One week down, only 2 to go By this time in 2 weeks, we'll have all of our bags packed in the car, ready to leave for the airport in the a.m.!

As far as my lists of things to do from last week, hardly anything accomplished! Started shopping for my 2nd Secret Mickey and did get a small start on my kids FE gift. But still need to do everything else. DH is off for 3 days at Christmas so we are going to try our hardest to get our dinner clothes packed. We're still wearing much of our summer clothes that we'll need on the cruise so I'll need to wait a bit longer to pack most of my casual wear. We hit almost 80 day with it being very humid so capris, shorts, flip flops are still being worn. It is expected to get cold (well, cold for Texans!) on Christmas but back up to the mid 70s next week.

Better get myself busy!

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Great PTR, subbing in!

I love your FE, it turned out so nice. How did you use your cricut for your lettering? Also, can't wait to hear what you decided to make for your FE gifts. Do we get to see pics? Can we still your ideas?!?!?

We just hit our 38 day mark for our upcoming trip. We will be spending 8 days at WDW and then B2B on the Dream, sooo excited! I am envious of your trip, we debated between the two trips (same amount of days). I can't wait to see your pictures. I hope, I hope, that we will be able to do the PC trip someday. Our oldest daughter is 14 and this will be the last time we can pull her out of school for 2 weeks .

 

[carmie3377]

Great PTR, subbing in!

I love your FE, it turned out so nice. How did you use your cricut for your lettering? Also, can't wait to hear what you decided to make for your FE gifts. Do we get to see pics? Can we still your ideas?!?!?

We just hit our 38 day mark for our upcoming trip. We will be spending 8 days at WDW and then B2B on the Dream, sooo excited! I am envious of your trip, we debated between the two trips (same amount of days). I can't wait to see your pictures. I hope, I hope, that we will be able to do the PC trip someday. Our oldest daughter is 14 and this will be the last time we can pull her out of school for 2 weeks .

Thanks for joining in! And thanks on the compliments on FE. As far as the lettering, I just used fabric glue and it worked great. I tried my Xyron on my last FE and it didn't work so well and I ended up having to use fabric glue. In fact, fabric glue worked so well that I couldn't peel the letters off to replace for this cruise, hence the new FE. Actually, I'm glad it worked out that way because it forced me to make a new one and I am so pleased with how it turned out!

I'll wait till after the cruise on revealing my FE gifts because I don't want anyone to see but when I get back, I'll be more than happy to post pics! I will tell you that my adult gift is not very exciting but something that I think might come in handy for some people.

Your trip sounds fantastic too! If we go on the Dream, it will be a B2B because I just don't think I could get off after just 3 or 4 nights! I'm afraid this cruise will spoil me with 15 nights. We're already talking about our next cruise and thinking perhaps Transatlantic. Carnival is bringing their Magic home to Galveston next Oct/Nov (16 nights) and since we live just 45 mins from the port, that is something we will consider if in fact we do enjoy this many nights like I think we will

Have a great trip! It's Disney, how can you not?!?!



Progress for today - Rental car in Aruba set up! I looked at cruise critic and Amigo came highly recommended so we set up a rental for a Toyota Fortuner 4 X 4. Just waiting on email confirmation

Also researched transportation to LAX and I think I might go with Lotus Transportation. They have a great rate and the gentleman I spoke to was very helpful and friendly. HOwever, only found one review on them (which was good BTW) so I asked on my cruise thread about them since we have a lot of people from the area on the cruise. Hopefully I'll get that set up soon!

Well, that's all I accomplished for the cruise today. Oh wait,I did purchase a dress I didn't need for the cruise but got an awesome deal - Normally $79 at Macy's for $13.00! Oh, how I Macy's. Like I said, didn't need it but couldn't pass up a deal like that!

 

[granmaz]

Hi Carmen. Just noticed this. I love your FE, and the photo will help me spot you around the ship!!!

Not long now at all. We leave 1 week tomorrow!!! Looking forward to meeting everyone.

 

[carmie3377]

Hi Carmen. Just noticed this. I love your FE, and the photo will help me spot you around the ship!!!

Not long now at all. We leave 1 week tomorrow!!! Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Hi Marilyn! Thanks about the FE. Can't wait to be hanging it next to my door in 10 days. It seems like this cruise was taking forever to get here and now all of the sudden it's just around the corner! Be careful on your way over here. I hope the weather cooperates for you and you have an uneventful time getting here

Christmas was nice and tomorrow we have our last celebration. DH's dad is coming tomorrow for a couple of days so the kids are looking forward to last round of gifts. I hope everyone else had a great holiday as well

Well, our rental for our car in Aruba didn't go through. They emailed stating that they didn't have the requested car available. I'm waiting on them to get back to me see what else they have. I knew I shouldn't have waited this long

I did get a bunch of packing done over the holidays. DH has everything for him packed except his undershirts, which he needs new ones. He wears talls and the only place I can find them where they don't cost an arm and leg is JCPenney. Well, they are out here so I'm going to order them online and hope they are here in time. I think they will be if I get it done pronto so as soon as I'm off of here, I'll get them ordered. I got my dinner wear packed and after I get the laundry done tonight, I think I'm going to get my day wear packed too. I'm going to borrow another hangup garment bag from my friend for the kid's dinner wear (I have 2 and DH and I took both of those for our dinner wear). Other than that, I think I'm going to be okay on luggage. SWA allows us to each check 2 so I think I'll be good to go since we can alos have a carryone. I know I should learn to be a more efficient packer but I just don't think it's in me. It's a problem I know I have but a problem I refuse do anything about

 

[carmie3377]

"Only 2 more sleeps until we go on the big plane!" That's what DS said when he first woke up this morning. He's been counting down the days for the last few days. I can't believe it! It's almost here!!!!

DH, DS, and I all got haircuts last week. DD will here in a few minutes. DD and I will go get mani/pedis tomorrow. I'm almost packed with just a few last minute things to pack up. FE gifts for kids are part done. UGH!!! I need to get to that!

Rental car in Aruba is still not set up. Amigo came back with "check at port". That was it. I emailed Hertz to ask them if they have one near the port and never got a response. If all else fails and we can't get one prior or when we dock, I've heard they have great bus transportation but don't really want to resort to that.

Ahh, but in 4 days, I'll be relaxing on Castaway Cay sipping on a Konk Kooler! Can it get any better

 

[scottishwee35]

I want to tell you all have a FAB holiday....

As my family and I were on PC Westbound 08. it was beautiful

I never forget it...

As I have three photo in frames...

Enjoy your fun....

Scottishwee35

 

[ibouncetoo]

LOVE your FE! So creative.

Hope you are having a wonderful cruise and weren't to heartbroken over missing Castaway Cay.

And to all my friends who are on this cruise with you!

.

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Hi .... looking forward to your trip report as I have quite a few friends cruising there with you. I also wanted to say how much I love your Toy Story themed Fish Extender ... amazing creativity .... love Slinky and the monkeys !!! Hope you are having an amazing cruise.