April 29, 2012 ~ Aloha! ~ Inagural Wonder to Hawaii-Part 4

[aan1701]

Val the shirt is great. Thank a zillion. I like the magnet as well. I will be on my door.

 

[padalyn]

Thanks for the info Cayla. That's good to know about the patch.

DID we have rough water???? Don't you remember the first day going up the outside passage from Vancouver? I had the Champagne Girls tasting that day, were you there? I was fine until I started to drink the champagne. Then I got sick. I stopped drinking and was fine again. But it was rough.

Deb - I was there, I honestly didn't feel the ship moving more than usual. I really don't get seasick. Considering all the inner ear issues I have had as a child I am truely amazed at this...loving it

 

[LindaBabe]

Shirts Came! FABULOUS! LOVE THEM! THANk you, VAL & BOB!

 

[chip&dale&fun]

WOO HOO!!!!! WE GOT OUR SHIRTS!!!! Val, they are fabulous, so nice and light. We are in love! And we are all going to look SOOOOO good!

Sorry for shouting, but I was very excited to get the shirts. The fit is also excellent, at least for me. I was a little hesitant to order the M, since I'm not exactly dainty (!), but it's perfect. Imagine! Personally designed and produced just for us! Fantastic!

WE GOT OURS AS WELL, FIRST CHANCE TO POST. THANK YOU THANK YOU.

 

[chip&dale&fun]

Very odd that it would go Florida past Misery and on to CA and then back to Misery... and they wonder why the USPS is in trouble...

I ordered an item, came from a town 30 miles away. Was sent to a shipping facility 60 miles further away and then on a plan to Atlanta and then back to a sorting facility 30 miles north of me, and finally to me....Had they had an actual store.....I would have driven.

 

[chip&dale&fun]

I would just assume that they will not force anyone to sit on the ground who isn't capable of it. Racked my brain for instances, and I can't imagine that. I would guess that there's at least a block of seating for Disney passengers.

I would never have expected there to be Disney characters at the luau, since those "Disney special" excursions are usually very specifically noted by DCL, and the writeup for this one said nothing about "Disney exclusive" or "Disney characters." It's supposed to be a traditional luau and I wouldn't want to see characters there personally.

I would want traditional seating, it is my normal seating of choice anyway. So there is at least one extra chair seat.

 

[gydell]

I was thinking today about the firework display that Disney put on when we first arrived to Barcelona. Do you think they will do fireworks in Hawaii?

I thought Barcelona did the fireworks for us.

 

[dylan'smom]

Mail is traveling funny this days. I was waiting for something last week from FL. I checked tracking and my item was in CA...from FL to CA and i'm in the middle of the country

Funny to see people posting about strange mail routes....I was just marveling right now at the route my package took.....this was actually UPS, so not picking on the usps here, lol, but I ordered a certain kind of candy for my Secret Mickey that I hadn't seen locally....... is it just me, or is this an odd sequence? I hope it didn't get frozen when it visited a warehouse in Kentucky....

March 13, 2012 08:31:00 AM San Luis Obispo CA US Out for delivery
March 13, 2012 07:40:00 AM San Luis Obispo CA US Arrival Scan
March 13, 2012 03:50:00 AM Sylmar CA US Departure Scan
March 12, 2012 11:30:00 PM Sylmar CA US Arrival Scan
March 12, 2012 11:10:00 PM Ontario CA US Departure Scan
March 12, 2012 07:28:00 PM Ontario CA US Arrival Scan
March 12, 2012 06:23:00 PM Louisville KY US Departure Scan
March 12, 2012 03:43:00 AM Louisville KY US Arrival Scan
March 11, 2012 08:49:00 PM Oakland CA US Departure Scan
March 10, 2012 09:49:00 PM Oakland CA US Shipment received
March 10, 2012 01:00:06 PM Fernley NV US Shipment has left seller facility

Oh well.....must be a method to their....


Received the shirts too, thanks so much, Val!!!
.

 

[Fivepin]

The DW and I were on that cruise as well. Just a little rough for a while. Missed Cabo because of it. Went to Manzanilla?? instead.

Yep-George was that the first time we cruised together and table mates? I think that was the cruise we met you and Fran.

 

[chip&dale&fun]

What was her old fashioned remedy? Bitters and Club Soda ?

Very close, it was warm ginger ale and bitters.

I was close to dead so I am surprised I remember.

 

[chip&dale&fun]

I was curious how Disney organized their seating at OLL, since they have traditional and tables and I sent an email last night. This is what I got as their response (from OLL): "As of right now, Disney is set up as open-seating; meaning that on the evening of the Luau, guests will be shown in from the busses and ushered to the next available seats. Essentially, it’ll be first in, first to be seated in the seats purchased by Disney. We will seat guests at tables closest to the stage first and work our way back."

I guess I don't get a mat then?

 

[valbob89]

The shirts are starting to arrive at their homes and I have gotten a few e-mails asking me about other sizes. Unfortunately I do not have ANY shirts left. So I thought I'd post the messages and if anyone can help these people, send them a PM

Dsnydoc - Has an XL looking for a L

Kmitchel - Has a medium, looking for a sm

Chip&Dale&Fun - Has a small

Eeyorelvr10 - Looking for a L

 

[poohluv2u]

Thanks for the information, very inportant when packing!

I had snow here this morning really making hawaii look very good!!! Welcome back!

We had snow in Portland too ... I remember it snowing on Valentines Day one year, and thinking how weird that was, but snow in March is truly bizarre

Yes, guilty as charged I shake my head every day when I read a thread about them and how big they have gotten!! Then I google "fish extender" and amazed at what comes up! There is even a Facebook page

I can honestly say.. I changed the world

Just happy to see that everyone enjoys this little bit of magic that I had a small part in.

Debbie

You were truly inspired Debbie, and I'm so glad. We didn't get to participate on one of our cruises and it really felt like something was missing. I wouldn't know what to do without that last minute stress of getting FE gifts made

Even more important (at least in my eyes LOL,) does anyone know of a WalMart close to any of our docks? Whenever I am in Hawaii, I like to go to WalMart to stock up on my chocolate covered macadamia nuts to bring back as souveniers. With the excursions, it looks like I may only have time to hunt for them in Maui and Oahu. I thought I had read awhile back on cruise critic that WalMart's and Hilo Hatties have shuttles running from the ports to their stores. Can anyone confirm this and possibly say how much the shuttles run? TIA!

The closest Walmart to the port would be across the street from the Ala Moana shopping center, sadly there isn't a shuttle to go there, but you could catch The Bus. It has two floors and the top level is a Sams Club.

 

[katypop]

For those of you who don't mind my positing on your Cruise Meet Thread, I'll continue sharing some occasional random thoughts about Hawaii.

If you are going on a boat tour, and are susceptible to motion sickness, consider taking meds or other remedies. I took Dramamine in advance of a boat tour at Lahaina, and am glad I did since the ride was very rough.

On the Big Island, we walked from a parking lot through some greenery to the beach. It was so pretty there that I hadn't considered the downside. The rain, which makes it so lush and green, also causes standing water -- and insects.

I was wearing shorts and I received several nasty insect bites that later developed into itchy red patches. The bites were so unsightly, I wore long pants for the remainder of the cruise.

I suggest bringing insect repellent. DW wore long pants that were treated with insect repellent and did not get a single bite.

YMMV

Woody

Hi Woody Thanks for dropping in and sharing your thoughts and experiences I've booked an excursion that involves hiking, and since you never know what kind of weather you might have I think I will be packing some insect repellent. I have received some very nasty bites at WDW. One year I needed medical care since I had a bad reaction and I still have the scar, so I appreciate the reminder.

 

[katypop]

Thanks for the info Cayla. That's good to know about the patch.

DID we have rough water???? Don't you remember the first day going up the outside passage from Vancouver? I had the Champagne Girls tasting that day, were you there? I was fine until I started to drink the champagne. Then I got sick. I stopped drinking and was fine again. But it was rough.

I was shocked when I started to feel so ill that day, Deb It was my 7th cruise and I had already cruised on the 2010 TA, so I was really surprised to feel so ill. It was not a good feeling and I must admit I am feeling a little nervous about this cruise I see my doctor next week for a check-up and will be asking her opinion on which medication I should consider.

 

[katypop]

Ohhh! We're in London, ON but I am from Toronto!

Hi I'm also in London, ON

 

[georgeat]

For those who may be interested. The main reason packages sent by UPS and FEDEX, and to some extent USPS, (especialy next day air) crisscross the US is because the HUBS are in the middle of the country (sort of). The FEDEX hub is in Memphis (they call it superhub) and the UPS hub is in Louisville (they call it Worldport). So packages going from the northern part of the country go to the hub first then to the destination. So something you order from, say Portland Oregon shipped FEDEX and your in southern Cal may go to Memphis first. It has to do with the number of planes and the route the planes have to fly. That happens more often when the organization that you purchased from only has one shipping location (unlike AMAZON which has many locations including one in northern Delaware.) It seems weird to do it that way but it reduces the amount of handling and thus the cost.

 

[dylan'smom]

For those who may be interested. The main reason packages sent by UPS and FEDEX, and to some extent USPS, (especialy next day air) crisscross the US is because the HUBS are in the middle of the country (sort of). The FEDEX hub is in Memphis (they call it superhub) and the UPS hub is in Louisville (they call it Worldport). So packages going from the northern part of the country go to the hub first then to the destination. So something you order from, say Portland Oregon shipped FEDEX and your in southern Cal may go to Memphis first. It has to do with the number of planes and the route the planes have to fly. That happens more often when the organization that you purchased from only has one shipping location (unlike AMAZON which has many locations including one in northern Delaware.) It seems weird to do it that way but it reduces the amount of handling and thus the cost.

Thanks. Makes sense. I figured it was something like that...and it really didn't take a long time to get to me, but I had to laugh when i saw it went from CA (where I live) to Kentucky! But then I have flown to Phoenix to go to San Jose, so don't know why I'm surprised about hubs!!

 

[mickeymom923]

Val, we received our shirt today. They are awesome. Thank you for all the hard work you put into the design, taking orders and shipping them. I can't wait to be the only one wearing it on the ship (along with another 150 or so or my DIS friends). Thanks for the other extras. You really outdid yourself. Can't wait till our cruise next month.


Bev

 

[valbob89]

I understand there are no washing instructions on the shirts and people might have questions. The sample shirt Becky sent Bob I machine wash warm, mild soap, no bleach, tumble dry medium and if it needs any touch-up I use a cool iron. It came out great, no shrinking, no fading and no ironing needed. This is the reason I ordered the poly instead of the cotton (which we normally buy), I thought it would do better as a travel shirt.