Wild Turkeys and Dancing Banana Heads Cruise 11/25/06

[Kycha]

Hi all and thank you for the warm welcome!!

Jamie and Melanie-My keystone state neighbors . I live in Stevens(Lanc Co) and work in Plymouth Meeting(Mont Co). So, we are fairly close to each other.

I am so excited about this cruise. I can hardly wait. Just put down our deposit and got our room assignment. We are in room 2564. So Jamie it looks like we will be cruising neighbors too. BTW, what are the dreaded "noisy rooms" that you wrote about previously?

We will probably arrive the day before Thanksgiving. But we haven't decided where to stay for those 3 nights. I was thinking about a few days at Universal, but I can't imagine being that close to Disney World and not taking advantage. Maybe the Dis can help me decide. What are the crowds like at Thanksgiving? Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks everyone!!
Cheryl

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Cheryl,
WDW is pretty busy around Thanksgiving. But if you use the fast pass system and get there by the time the park opens, run for the most popular rides first thing, then start using fast passes you can get a lot done, even when it is busy.
Just don't go to MK on a saturday!! Never, it is the busiest park of all 4 on saturdays. Most locals go to MK on Saturday, I dont know why, but they do. We go on sundays at opening and we have at least two good hours of no crowds even at peak season. If you stay on WDW property you will have an early open day each day of the week where you can get into the park an hour before everyone who is not staying on property. Never go to that park on an early open day, even if you can get in early by staying there. That increases the crowds considerably over the other parks.
Universal and Sea World are just as busy as Disney, so it really doesnt matter which place you decide to go. Universal has an express pass system which is like WDW's fast pass. It all helps. I'm sure you have a great time no matter where you go.
mom x4,grandma x4
Kathy

 

[MelanieC]

Hi everyone,

Cheryl- I work in Plymouth Meeting too. Well actually Blue Bell, but its basically Plymouth Meeting. I get off at the Norristown exit from the turnpike.
We have cabin 2630 so a few of us are on the same deck. We are arriving on Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. Right now we have 3 nights booked at the Radisson Port Canaveral. We may book a room at POP for 2 nights and have Thanksgiving dinner at WDW. Our Season passes run out next month, and DH is insistant that he doesn't want to spend another $200 to visit a park for 1 day. I think we will rest and do other stuff prior to the cruise. I'm hoping that Busch Gardens/Sea World offers another "free park day" for military next year. We went to Tampa to Busch Gardens when we were at WDW in July this year. We may end up just staying at the Port and relaxing prior to the cruise.

 

[feenie]

Welcome to everyone who has been joining us!! This time next year we are all going to be waiting for our Doc's and re-thinking our packing lists!!

DH and I packed today for our WDW trip next month! We had a good coating of frost this morning, so we won't be needing the capris, shorts and sandals around here.... So they can live in the suitcase.
We actually have only a few things to add, and we are done! (last minute stuff mostly) I can't wait!!

 

[Kycha]

My husband has started packing for our Ireland trip next month and I thought he was crazy. But Feenie, I see he is in good company with you and your DH.

Thank you Kathy for all your insight and tips. They are much appreciated.

Melanie, I am tearing up the turnpike and exiting at Norristown everyday around 8am. So, if you see a gold Ford Taurus with a Mickey Jack-o-Lantern antenna topper, that's me!!

We are also arriving the Wednesday before Thanksgiving next year. My husband really loved the looks of Wilderness Lodge when we ate at WCC in Sept. So, that is where I am leaning. That would give us great access to MK. Does anybody have suggestions for Thanksgiving dinner? Fortunately we have plenty of time to plan.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Kychia,
I dont really have any suggestions for Thanksgiving dinner,, but the Wilerness lodge is Fantastic!!! The big fireplace in the lobby is really nice late in the evening and there is a small spring that comes up in the lobby and turns into a creek that runs out of the lobby, over some rocks and into the swimming pool. It's really cool. Look up high on the right side of the fireplace and you'll see a hidden Mickey there. It is hard to find, but it is there.
My son Peter and his wife work at WDW. Pete is in guest relations so he know abotu all the restaurants, what they serve, the prices etc...
I will ask him what the best places for Thanksgiving dinner is and the price range if you want. That is actually a part of his job is to find the best dining places for people among other things.


Feenie,
We are still planning to try and connect with you at MK just before your reservations for dinner. We have it marked on the calendar!

Kathy

 

[MelanieC]

Kycha-
Try this link for 2005 Thanksgiving day menus. http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/men_thks.htm
We have eaten at Chef Mickey's several times on Thanksgiving day.

The meal is so/so for Thanksgiving but the kids love it. We talked about what to do prior to the cruise and DH doesn't want to eat at WDW this time since we aren't going to Disney. I'm really thinking we may stay at Port Canaveral and just chill prior to the cruise.

 

[fourfoxesinpa]

Hi Cheryl - You're good to go with your room. There are some rooms in the front of the boat that have been called "noisy" because they are under the Beat Street Club. However, we just sailed with some other Dis'sers who were in one of those rooms and they didn't have a problem. I guess it just depends how soundly you sleep.

We also live in Lanc. Co. and DH drives to Malvern area for work these days. He's a consultant so travels from project to project. At least these days, he's home every night which is rare for his industry.

We probably won't fly to Orlando until Thanksgiving night or early Friday morning. Will depend on whether we fly out of Harrisburg, BWI or Philly. We are closer to Philly but have family in Lancaster where we usually have our Thanksgiving meal. I would like to get there early on Friday so we can enjoy an afternoon at a pool or Kennedy Space Center. Don't even know if we'll stay at airport or drive out to coast. It will all depend on rental car prices, hotel prices on Priceline, etc. For now, I'm trying to find the cheapest price to transfer this cruise to a travel agent. Anyone a Costco member? I'm not but I'd join if they were cheapest.

Is anyone making a list of Dis'ers, their family members, and room numbers? I'd be happy to keep track of everyone's real names and other vitals, if that's OK. We had a spreadsheet for our last sailing and it sure made it easy to remember everyone.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi Jamie,
That would really be nice of you to make a list of all of us. I dont think anyone is doing it so far. Wetoo have had it done on another cruise and it was really nice. I will PM you our information in the next couple of days to get you started.
Well the worst of Wilma has gone by us. Although we are in the central part of the state we did get about 6 inches of rain during the night and this morning, with lost of wind, only 35 to 40 MPH gusts. It should be gone in a couple of hours, I hope.
I hope all of you are in safe areas.
mom x4,grandma x4
Kathy

 

[Kycha]

Thanks Jamie. When I chose our stateroom I was less concerned with the noise factor and more concerned with my husbands occasional motion sickness. So, I am happy to learn we aren't considered the "noisy room".

We usually fly from BWI because they seem to have better fares than Philly. Both airports are about the same distance from us. We have flown from Harrisburg and Lancaster as well. Lancaster was great because it is so convenient and they have free parking. But since they lost USAir as a carrier it is hardly worthwhile to use them.

Cheryl

 

[MelanieC]

Hi everyone,

I had a stressful day yesterday worrying about my cabin. I just happened to be checking the DCL site and was looking to see if the prices were the same. I just happened to look to see what cabins were available in a cat 9. My cabin # was one of the ones that showed were available. ???? Before I got too nervous I went on DCL's my reservation area and checked to see what it said. Instead of my 2630, it sayed I had 1076. Dream's Unlimited still showed I had 2630. Luckily my cabin was available to rebook. I would have been really unhappy with a deck 1 cabin. I am really happy being aft on deck 2 (rear elevators are less crowded and just a ride up to the drink station). The porthole windows are smaller on deck 1 too.

Check out my thread on the cruise boards: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=942771

The strange thing is, MamaKate who is also going on our sailing checked her reservation and her deck 2 cabin was moved to deck 1 as well.

Everyone please check your cabins on DCL's site to make sure they are correct. Especially if your booked with DU. I'm not sure if this is affecting all people in general or just DU bookings. I'd check it even if I wasn't booked with DU. Its better to be safe than sorry. I don't want anyone's vacation to be ruined at the last minute due to cabin mix-ups. That's not a great way to start a vacation.

By the way, maybe all of us in PA could do a get meet prior to the cruise. It would be fun to know a few people. I know Cindalu who posted on my other thread is a few towns over from me. There are going to be a lot of us.

Kycha, maybe since we both work here in Plymouth Meeting/Blue Bell we could have lunch together sometimes. There are so many great restaurants here. I love working here for that reason, lol!

 

[feenie]

It is snowing like crazy here
This is just wrong!

 

[MelanieC]

Snow in October is definately WRONG!! I've heard we may get wet snow tonight. Sorry to hear your weather is bad.

 

[fourfoxesinpa]

Yes, snow in October is just WAY wrong!

I guess we'll be flying AirTran out of Philly next year. Yesterday, I found out that we won a free roundtrip ticket in a promotion they had last week. They're usually pretty competitive with their prices so I'm happy to only buy 3 tickets instead of 4.

I am going to put together a spreadsheet of the Dis'ers on the trip. If you'd like to have your info. included, please PM me with your real name, spouse and kids' names, ages of kids, cabin number and main or late dining. Maybe a few things that would surprise people to learn about you would be fun. It's nice to have onboard to put the names to faces.

And, PA folks. That sure would be fun to hook up before the trip. Good thing we have more than a year to do it.

Melanie - glad to hear you got your cabin all worked out!

 

[MelanieC]

Jamie,
I'm glad to hear you won a free ticket!! YEAH! 3 is definately better than 4. We are driving down. We went to WDW a few years ago with my MIL and drove. Since then, DH doesn't want to fly. This time we are going to be leaving Wed morning and we will get to FL that evening. We will have all day Thursday and Friday prior to the cruise to rest and relax. I'm actually glad that we are driving for the cruise. No worries about what we can pack-etc. Its easy to just throw what we need in the car.

 

[fourfoxesinpa]

It is so hard to decide what stays in the suitcase when you reach the airline's weight limit. Southwest was 50 pounds and boy, you don't get a whole lotta stuff for 50 pounds when you count the weight of shoes and toiletries. The kids now drag that stuff in their bags and we leave the toys at home. Too many trips we took toys and they never played with them. It would be nice though to pack beer/water/wine, etc. and not have to worry about breakage either.

Glad to see you have a son, just about my son's age and are right down the hall from us. My Spencer just turned 9 in August so he'll be 10 for next year's trip. He loves science, Bionicles, Star Wars (he is one of 2,205,250,000 kids dressing up like Darth Vader this year for Halloween) and Legos. Used to really like YuGiOh but I think that fad has passed (Thank goodness!) Our daughter will be 8 for the trip so she'll be in the same club/activities as your son. Her name is Meredith.

 

[DutchsMommy]

Hi everyone. Hope all is well. Can anyone tell me when US thanksgiving is next year? Just before our trip? I didn;t really think about it as ours is in October. Hopefully it won't bump up the cost of our flights. I am looking forward to seeing the ship decorated for the holidays. Well, one more month and we're less than a year out So far away..... Oh well, more time to plan I suppose.

 

[feenie]

Thanksgiving next year is on 11/23!!

 

[fam4jc]

HI! I just deposited on our 11/25/06 cruise last night!!! I recieved my first commission check - and put it right back into Disney!

I just reserved a Cat 5 Stateroom so I don't know anything other than that. We will be me, my dh & two dds - 7 & 9. Does anyone else have kids the same age traveling with them?

I see we can now make reservations for all the extra things when our cruise is paid for... I really like that idea!

Any advice for a first time-ever cruiser with kids?

Yippeee! See you all there!

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Fam4jc,
Welcome aboard,
happy to have you with us! fourfoxesinpa is making a spreadsheet of all of us and will send us all copies later on when the cruise gets closer. If you PM her with all your information she will add you to it and you will receive a copy too. Mostly your names, ages of kids, early or late dining, room number, e-mail address, any special celebrations you may be celebrating on the cruise or just anything you want to share about your family with the rest of us. Where you live is also a nice addition.
Sorry we are not traveling with kids or grandkids this time, but I'm sure htere will be plenty of kids to make friends with your kids from other cruisers.
The kids clubs are great on board, for all ages. The Magic just make 3 conference rooms on dexk 2 into more kids space. Something to do with virtual reality stuff, I havnt heard any details yet. But this december we will find out all about it since we are cruising with our grandkids, I'll post then and try to give you some details about the kids activities.
Looking forward to getting to know you over the next few months and finally meeting next year.
mom x4,grandma x4
Kathy