Tag Archives: DCL

Disney at Home – Ratatouille Wine Print

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Disney at Home – Favorite Disney Cruise Souvenir

As a family of Disney fans, we don’t have as much Disney stuff around the house as you might imagine.  Oh, don’t get me wrong – visitors to our home figure it out quickly enough, but mostly, our Disney-ness is subtle.  I think.  Maybe.  One piece of evidence – proof positive that we are pretty crazy about all things Disney is an art print on our kitchen wall.

We bought cruise art.  There, it’s true.  I admit it.  It’s hard to resist temptation when, on each of five cruises on Disney Cruise Line (Magic and Wonder), we’ve browsed and admired the Disney art-for-purchase displayed prominently along the walls.  Most of it, thankfully, is not to our taste – but very beautiful, amazing even, just the same.

Then one day we saw IT!  The ONE.  Our browse-’em and leave-’em days were over.  The 1920’s-inspired Ratatouille Wine giclee print was completely irresistible.  It was perfect and we had toIMG_2082 have it.  Again with the emotion-based Disney purchase, but what can I say?  The style and colors were perfect for us.  It was a limited-edition so it might increase in value someday, but that’s not why we bought it.  Sometimes, when you love something, you just have to take a little piece of it home with you.  This picture represented the great times we’ve had on our Disney cruises.  (Plus, we love wine, love Ratatouille, and have a red kitchen)

IMG_4712I look at this picture on my kitchen wall every single day and remember how much we’ve enjoyed our Disney Cruise vacations.  Land-and-Sea Bahamas (Surprise Christmas gift), Western Caribbean (Megan’s senior year), Castaway Cay Double-Dip (Joseph’s best friend Jason came along), Alaska (Spectacular scenery, SO fantastic), and Mediterranean (Trip of a lifetime).  Remy smiling down at me from his perch next to the kitchen table reminds me of them all.  Will we ever buy another piece of cruise art?  Probably not.  But we sure love the one we’ve got!

What’s your favorite Disney Cruise Line souvenir? 

 

 

First Time Disney Cruise? This One’s for You – Fish Extenders!

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Fish Extenders!  Ever heard of ‘em?  No?  Well, if you’re cruising on Disney, you’re bound to see them.  Next to the outside of every stateroom door is a metal fish.  The fish’s main/original purpose in life is that it serves as a place where Disney Castmembers can leave mail for you – excursion information, spa treatment reminders, invitations to kids/teen club events, etc.  What turns this unassuming, ordinary looking, mail gathering fish into something MORE is the addition of a hanging pocketed receptacle called a Fish Extender (aka FE)!

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In order to even want or NEED a fish extender, you first must join a fish extender GROUP.  See…the fish extender is like a Christmas stocking.  Its sole purpose in life is to gather little surprises from other members of your FE group while YOU are distributing little gifts to them as well.  Think Secret Santa on the high seas!  (Which is, I believe, how this whole thing actually started.)  Where, pray tell, does one join a FE group?  There’s one teeny tiny extra step you must take to join.  First you have to find and join an online group where other members of your cruise are meeting up…there are benefits to doing this other than participating in a FE exchange, but I’ll save that for another day.  Anyway back to the group-finding part – the easiest place to find a group is on Facebook.  Enter your cruise in the search box and if a group’s been started, it’ll pop right up.

Once your request to join the group has been approved, you can start interacting with your fellow cruisers.  If a FE group is being put together, you’ll see usually in the group files or a pinned post.  Don’t wait too long to decide about joining.  Usually, the ability to join expires two-to-three weeks prior to sailing to give all the participants time to assemble and pack their FE gifts.

You’ll need a Fish Extender.  I made mine a long time ago and, while humble, it served its purpose well on more than one occasion.  My sewing skills tend to lean toward a combination of hand stitching and hot glue.  But that was before the days of Etsy and Pinterest.  Now you can find FE’s to purchase or get ideas for making your own.  I hear they even sell them on ebay.

About the gifts – small, portable, and inexpensive are the main criteria.  We’ve given bubbles, glow-sticks, candy, Disney party favors, puzzles, Disney magnets (suitable for use as DSCN3596stateroom Door Décor!), pirate-themed items, etc.  We’ve received some awesome stuff:  Disney Pez dispensers/candy, Disney washcloths, pool toys, small items representative of the other participants’ home towns, buttons, pins, and more!  You do not have to give a gift everyday and you don’t have to even give more than one gift – especially if dealing with a large FE group with many staterooms.  Just make sure you at least bring something for everyone participating in each cabin – you’ll know how many adults and children are involved in each cabin (by cabin #) as the FE group is formed.

Then once you sail away from port – let the fun begin!  Kids enjoy not only finding FE gifts waiting for them, they also have a great time “sneaking” around delivering surprises to everyone else.

Have you done an exchange on Disney Cruise Line?  What were your favorite gift items to give and receive?

 

First Disney Cruise? This One’s for YOU – Door Décor!

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IMG_0605If you are preparing to set sail on your first Disney Cruise, there are two things you need to know about:  Door Décor and Fish Extenders.  Once you know about them, your participation is purely optional, but they’re both a great way to add a little extra fun to your Disney Cruise experience.

Today I’ll cover Door Décor – come back tomorrow for the rest!

Door Décor – I highly recommend this.  Super easy and extremely beneficial!  All you really need to do is bring along a couple of Disney magnets to slap on your stateroom door.  G’head, ask….what?  WHY!?!

Two reasons, #1:  Yeah, think about it, all those doors look just alike…hundreds of them!  Customizing your stateroom entrance for the duration of your stay makes it ever so much easier for kiddos and adults alike to stop in the right place along that looooooong corridor (no need to try so hard to memorize that cabin number!).

Reason #2:  This is a fun and creative way to show your love for Disney with a minimum investment.  I make my decorations at home by buying some Disney scrapbooking supplies – some things I arrange on colored paper before I put some magnets on the back (buy a self-sticking roll of magnetic “tape” and cut it as you need it).  Some things are great just as they are, just slap a piece of magnet on the back and VOILA!  Custom Disney Door Décor.  Be as simple or as fancy as you like, but really, you’re going to feel sad (guilty even) when you see all those cool doors aIMG_2059nd yours is blank.  Note:  magnets are the only way to go as Disney Cruise Line will not allow you to use tape on the doors.

On our last Disney cruise, I made a new decoration for each cruise port and changed them out as we sailed along.  I’m an amature when it comes to door decorating – some people have the most amazing, personalized, laminated, professionally crafted stuff on those doors!  Don’t be intimidated!!!  Do as much or as little as you care to do – just do it.  Because I said so.  And also because when your kids are running down the corridor and always know which door is yours, you’ll thank me.

Link to Fish Extender Information