UPDATED 01/20/11 -January 2, 2010- First Timers Cruise on the Magic!- Tons of pics!

[Tinkerkell123]

Loving your TR and can't wait to read more!

I think I gained 5 pounds just looking at the dessert pix from B&C!

 

[mmackeymouse]

I meandered over to the checkout counter, and Jessie took off to check out the terminal. As I have seen mentioned is often the case, the Castaway Club line was longer than the regular line. The line moved pretty quickly. Before I knew it, I was in the on deck position. I opened my folder, pulled out our check-in paperwork, and three- three?- passports. I had forgotten to get Jessie’s passport from her. Okay, no biggie, I called her on her cell and she did not answer. So, I figured I would let the people behind me pass in front of me until I could get a hold of her. Before that happened, I saw her coming toward the check-in. I asked her for her passport, and she tells me that she left it in her checked luggage. Omg. And there is the curve ball.

Now, I knew the rules; we all know the rules. But, when it was my turn, I approached the desk with my tail between my legs, just praying for some Disney magic. I explained the situation, and then explained that Jess had a social security card and a driver’s license, and pleeeease, could that be enough? The answer, of course, was no. She asked if Jessie had her birth certificate with her. I checked, and the answer again was no. The CM, whose name was either Lucy or Judy or something like that, was able to get Mom, Dad, and myself all checked in and gave me the KTTW cards. She directed us down to the far end of the desk to the Customer Service section, where she and another gal were going to try to help us.

While we were down there, we saw a little sign indicating that there were no upgrades available, as the ship was to capacity. Darn. We were going to see what kinds of upgrades were available, but at this point, that was the least of our worries. They asked Jessie for a description of her suitcases, which, surprise surprise, both were black. The people flow was starting to pick up, but I was not all that concerned, because, as I said, when we got there, it was pretty vacant, so I just did not think there would have been that much luggage to go through.

We waited about 10-15 minutes, each of us taking turns going to the bathroom and taking pictures (of the terminal, not the bathroom ha). Judy/Lucy came and asked me to come downstairs with her. We went down the stairs at the front of the terminal, into the “No passengers beyond this point” security part of the terminal, where there sat a black suitcase. I didn’t even look in it though, because the tag stated that it was my mom’s bag. I told the CM so, and we went back upstairs. Of course, I am thinking that this is a pretty good sign, because if they found Mom’s luggage, surely all our luggage was together, and Jessie’s won’t be far behind. Apparently, they don’t sort it by stateroom or family (perhaps they sort it by weight or size?) because it was another 10 minutes or so before they came back.

In the meantime, I called Mom to fill her in on the situation, and came to find out that they were having drama of their own at the Avis counter. They needed the Avis paperwork, which I unfortunately had in my blue folder. Dad had given me the paperwork the night before, and I guess I took for granted that he would need it again. After all, we prepaid, and they filled the tank before taking it to Avis. So, I guess they were trying to get everything sorted out on that end. I told her to let me know and I could see if someone from the DCL terminal could fax the paperwork over there. Of course, I was thinking they may not even let us on the boat, because we were a big old fat thorn in their side so far.

While I was on the phone, one of the gals came up and took Jessie down to look through the luggage. It was her smaller checked luggage, and when she came back up, she came back empty-handed. Jessie was upset; she was upset that no one told her NOT to check her passport. Um,? I told her there was enough blame to go around, as when I was gathering Mom and Dad’s passports from them, I should have said something to her, that way she could have grabbed it before we gave her luggage to the porters. So, regardless of how obvious or trivial it may seem, absolutely check and double check, and make sure everyone is on the same page prior to heading to the terminal.

With every 5 minutes that passed, more and more people were entering the terminal. I estimated that with each new family coming through the door, about 8-12 bags were being taken by the porters. It was starting to feel like finding a needle in a haystack.

They came and got her one more time, as they had found her large suitcase. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking thank goodness. I have to admit, in my mind I was a bit selfish, thinking about all my plans: Are we going to get Palo reservations? How late will we have to board? Will we get to eat at Parrot Cay for the lunch? But, all of that went away. Luckily, Mom and Dad must have gotten everything sorted out with Avis, because they were on the shuttle bus on their way to the terminal.

My heart sank into my stomach when I saw Jessie come up the escalator, her eyes were red. She did not find the passport. I looked at the clock and it is 11:15 am. I know from reading that they occasionally board early, so they could be boarding as soon as within the next 15 minutes or so. So, I go into panic (I prefer to call it “damage control” haha) mode. All of the sudden, we went from, “Will we get on the boat in time to get Palo and before the ship gets crowded?” to “Will we get on the boat at all?” On top of that, my parents still had yet to arrive. We knew they were on their way, but what if there was an accident and traffic is being re-routed? What if traffic is just insanely busy? Anyone who has been to Florida knows a 5 mile trip could be 5 minutes or could be 45 minutes. Anyway, here we were 11:15 am, no passport, no parents.

 

[rosiep]

What a time to leave us hanging!!!

Great report! Please continue....

 

[Andrea_loves_Disney]

on the edge of my seat!!!!!

 

[LVaughn]

Hey Melissa!

We were on this cruise with you. We met you guys at one of the meet-n-greets and saw you several times afterward. I'm enjoying your report so far. I can't wait to see the rest of it.

 

[mmackeymouse]

Jessie had double and triple checked her carry on bag, with no luck. I did the same with my blue folder, with the same results She seemed pretty certain that she had not accidentally put it in one of our suitcases. So, that raised the question of, could the passport have been left in our room at the BoardWalk? Worse, could it have been in her carry-on bag and accidentally dropped somewhere? Things were not looking good. Prior to our trip, I had read a thread where a gal had her purse stolen the night before embarkation. I don’t remember the specifics, but her husband at home and Dreams Unlimited and lovely Shirley spent all hours of the day and night trying to get that woman on that boat. I remember that the man had faxed the lady’s birth certificate to DCL. Unfortunately, we don’t keep a spare key near our home, so we couldn’t have even been able to contact anyone to go into our house to get her birth certificate and have it faxed.

I had purchased trip insurance, and I did have their number. I also booked through DU, and I did not have their number with me. At the time, I didn’t even think of calling DU. I am not sure there was anything they could have done anyway. So here are a few tips: make copies of birth certificates, passports before you leave. You just NEVER know. Make sure you remember the phone numbers of your travel agent and insurance carrier. Also, make sure someone you trust, within close proximity of your home, has a spare key or a code to get in the house. It is just a good idea in general, but in our situation, it could have saved our trip. I’d like to think that worst case scenario, DCL would have help us get set up with a nice WDW vacation.

We had migrated from the check-in counter corner to a table by the escalators. Jessie mentioned that if things aren’t sorted out in time, that I could go ahead and board and get the ressies taken care of. I declined. It was more important to me to board as a family than to get those Palo reservations. About this time, another CM came up and asked Jessie to come back down to the security area. Anxiously, I waited at the top of the stairs, both for Jessie and for my parents.

Sure enough, not long after Jessie went downstairs, I saw my parents come through security. They were probably in line while Jessie went downstairs, but they did not see her. Mom and I decided to go downstairs to see what the progress was, and Dad stayed upstairs with all of our stuff. We got downstairs, and Mom says to the security people, “I bet this happens all the time right?” They did not nod or say yes. And, from the looks on their faces, I think the answer was no.

The double doors opened and a cart came out, holding ALL of our luggage, all eight suitcases. Poor Jessie was just in tears. She went straight to her small suitcase, the one she had checked originally, unzipped the front pocket, and dug down deep. And there it was! Cue the Hallelujah chorus! I so wish I could have taken pictures of us under the “No passengers beyond this point” sign. But, as you know or for those that don’t, no pictures in the security area. Anyway, we thanked them profusely, then skedaddled up the stairs.

I realized that we still needed to get our pictures taken for our KTTWs. So, Jessie went to check in, while Mom, Dad, and I got our pictures taken. Luckily, the line was short, and we were able to get that taken care of rather quickly. Just about the time we got done with our pictures, they started the boarding process.

They began by announcing the family of the day. I half expected it to be us, because they felt so darn sorry for us. Haha! But, alas, it wasn’t. Jessie made her way over to get her picture taken, and they started boarding group #1. Because we had just gotten done with our pictures, we were towards the front of the crowd by default.

Then, they announce group #2, and there goes Mom, following the group toward the gangway. Oops! Looking back, it was actually a bit comical. I forgot to tell them which group we were in, and I guess she thought since we got there so early, we were in the second group. So, I went to grab her, and explained that we were in group #3. Then, comes the magical moment of the day: Judy/Lucy was standing right there and said, “Go on ahead. You guys have had a rough time.” We got to board with group #2 after all! I was so stunned and thankful. Many apologies to those whom we bypassed or cut in front of.


Alright, I should have an update ready to go later today!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Wow, what a roller coaster beginning! Can't wait for the next update.

 

[mmackeymouse]

Grrrrrrr.

Okay ya'll, having major issues right now. Flickr has a new format, and now when I try posting photos, I get the dreaded red x. Right click, show picture, and it still does not show up.

The good news is I have the next week off from work, so hopefully, if I can get the pictures working, I will be able to post a bunch of the trip report.

Anyone else having issues with Flickr? I really do not like the new layout

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

OMGosh, I'm loving your trip trip report and am subbing in! The stress of it all, I can't believe you weren't in tears along with your sister.

I saw you ate at Earl of Sandwich, this is a must for our family on every trip!

I hope you are able to get your pics up soon!

 

[NHPixidust]

I'm hooked on your trip report so have to subscribe. We are also first time cruisers this October and need all the tips we can get!

 

[mmackeymouse]

okay can anyone see anything?

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Nope. Just see a ? box.

 

[angelabielanin]

Love this report can't wait for more!!

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

I hope you can figure out your picture situation......I am anxiously awaiting more pics and report!

 

[mmackeymouse]

And, I am back in the game!

So, Mom led us through the Mickey Ears and we were on our way! We took a detour, and did not get our boarding picture taken. I kind of wish we would have. The photo disk is quite pricy. And, the photo packages are somewhat less so, but still a good chunk of change. Now, honestly, I went into the cruise, thinking “Pssssh, between the four of us, there will be plenty of pictures, plus the CMs can take any other pictures we’d need taken.” Anyway, I did not budget for photos.

Well, then you get there, and you go to Shutters. And, the pictures were really, really good. Very nice, high quality pictures. And, it is like, “Dang, we should have taken more pictures.” We did not really do any of the portraits they had set up. There were a couple of times, I would be on my way somewhere, and there would not be a line, and I’d think what the heck?, and get a photo done. In the end, both Jessie and I both got a 6x8 for about $10 each.

And, if you think about it, if you have a formal family portrait done, and buy just one 8x10 for about $20, that is a bargain. You cannot get a professional portrait done locally with a sitting fee plus the photo price for that reasonable. Next time, if there is a next time, I will definitely budget for pictures and also make sure to hit some of the picture opportunities.

Mom leading us across the gangway

A picture of me with Mr and Mrs Duck

Jessie with Miss Minnie. This was the pic she got from Shutters, but she must have it, so I only have our version

Back to embarkation: we were welcomed onto the Magic. I will not spoil it for any newbies, just in case, but for anyone who would like to watch, I will post the video.

Another tip: fake it till you make it. Let me explain. I read on the boards that the CMs will try to direct you to the restaurant of their choice, but if you want to try the other restaurant, just tell them, “No, I’d rather go here.” Well, these people do not know me. I am meek and a doormat and I am just not good at the word no. As I said, we wanted to eat at Parrot Cay, based on the preferences and recommendations of a lot of the DISers. I just knew that if they started trying to convince us to go up top, I’d buckle under pressure, and just say, “Well…..okay”

So, I didn’t even let them get that far. One gentleman stopped us and asked if we were heading to lunch, so I replied, “Yes, we are…..to Parrot Cay.” And that was that! He asked if we knew where we were going. We had studied the deck plans and maps beforehand, so we had a pretty good idea. I pointed to the left, down the hallway, and they guy nodded, and let us go. So, note to future cruisers, I cannot stress enough to do your homework. Everything is marked, and the CMs will help you get where you want to go. Trust me, there were plenty of times I got backwards and turned around on that ship. But, just the confidence of having an idea where you were going is such a good asset going in.

So, Mom, Dad, and Jessie took off to Parrot Cay, and I went the opposite direction to Rockin’ Bar D to get Palo reservations. Again, this is one of those things I read and re-read and studied before getting on the ship, because I wanted to know exactly where I was going and what I was doing. I went behind the elevators and saw a CM standing there. He asked if I was looking for reservations and I said yes. He must have thought I knew where I was going, because he did not exactly guide me or show me the way. Luckily, I saw the Beat Street against the wall, and knew I was headed in the right direction.

When I got to Rockin Bar D, I was not sure if I was in the right place. I mean, I knew I had in fact, found Rockin Bar D, but there was hardly anyone there. But, when I peeked in, luckily I have pretty stellar eyesight, and I could read a sign on the front of table said Palo on it. This is another one of those things that wasn’t really anything like I expected to be. It was much more casual than I expected.

They just had a long table sat out in the middle of the lounge. There were two lines. I cannot remember if one was Palo and the other spa, or one was Palo Dinner and one was Palo Brunch. Anyway, there was one person in front of me in the other line. Luckily, the line I needed was empty. I didn’t have to present my KTTW or anything. No forms to fill out. The gal just asked how many, then asked my name.

We had already decided that we wanted to do brunch. I would love to try Palo Dinner someday, but this first time around, I didn’t really want to miss out on anything, you know? But, Palo brunch is a highly touted affair, so that was definitely a do-not-miss for me. The gal offered me one time and one time only: Thursday at 10:30. I was actually so thrilled I did not ask for any other options. This was the exact day and time I was aiming for. So, I don’t know if I had pressed, if there would have been other openings or not. I definitely recommend the 10:30 slot. You get everything at its freshest, and it does not seem like everything has been picked through.

The reason I was aiming for Thursday was I wanted to have something to look forward to later in the cruise. I was afraid if we did Palo brunch earlier in the cruise, we would not have anything to look forward to later (Hello, Castaway Cay! Duh!) I was also afraid, if we had this amazing meal on Sunday, we might be disappointed in the food the rest of the trip. This concern proved to be not a valid one. While the meal itself WAS amazing, I didn’t suddenly find the rest of the food inedible. Later in the report, I will give my recommendation on Palo times, and reasoning behind it.

So between getting to board (a bit) early and getting the prime Palo ressies, I was feeling pretty great. I took my time wandering down to Parrot Cay. It was further than I expected, which speaks to the size of the ship. I knew it was all the way aft, and that I just needed to keep walking until I ran into it. At the time, it still felt like, “Okay am I close yet? Am I there YET?” Of course, after a week of roaming the ship, from one end of the ship to the other was like nothin’.


Video of our entry onto the Disney Magic! Woooo

Walking onto the Disney Magic

Up next: Was Parrot Cay the right choice for our embarkation lunch? And...a surprise guest that NO ONE saw coming, even me!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Yay, you back up and running!

Nice update and I love the pic with Donald and Daisy (go figure )

Can't wait for the next update.

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Great update! We have cruised the magic before and had only recently heard about Parrat Cay after boarding. We will be cruising the Dream in February, I wonder what the options will be. I will be reading trip reports like crazy in January!

 

[angelabielanin]

Love all the report! Can't wait for more.

 

[cblack]

Love the report - keep it coming!

 

[AquaDuck1]

Love your trip report and pictures!!!!
AquaDuck1