123: Preparing for Our First Disney Cruise as a Family on the Disney Dream | What I Bought, Booked & Planned

As promised today, you're getting two podcasts episode in one day.

Originally, I thought my last episode would cover both cruise prep and learning how to

cruise as the first timer, but it turns out you really need more than one episode to cover

all of that information.

So the last episode focused on everything you need to know about Disney cruising, almost

like how you would plant a park day.

So I broke it down into sections and this episode is going to be all about how my family

is personally prepping for upcoming sailing on the Disney Dream at the end of April.

This will be the first time cruising as a family.

My husband and I have sailed on the Disney Wish before and now our goal is to get on all

the cruise ships in the next five years.

We're already making progress because we'll be on the Disney Dream this April.

We have the Disney Destiny book next May and we're even trying to sneak one more cruise

in later this year, either on the fantasy or together as a family on the wish since the

kids haven't been on that.

In this episode, I'm going to share the things I'm purchasing and packing.

Hopefully to make our cruise feel seamless, my kids are between five and 14.

So we're really covering almost every stage of traveling, but don't worry, I'm sure I

will be dragging my sister on a cruise here soon so we can cover all the things you need

to know for infants as well.

Welcome to Well Hello Magic!

The podcast for Disney lovers, busy parents and anyone who wants a little more magic in

every day life from the best tips for families to solo travelers going to Disney to real life

moments.

You're in the right place.

Now, here's your host, Jessica.

So if you've been here for a while, you know that for Disney trip specifically, I have

a bunch of what I call Disney boxes because we go regularly.

So anytime that I am planning for a specific trip, you guys have probably seen this already

with my Christmas trip because that's going to be my big multi-generational family trip

this year.

Anything that I buy specifically for this cruise or for the Disney parks, I put into a specific

box based on the trip.

So when we start planning for summer, I'll start buying stuff and put it in the summer.

Christmas is a multi-generational trip, so I've already started planning for that.

So I already have a box for that, so I put it in.

Like those things, I have a Disney cruise line box.

So I have a box that is Disney cruise line based on our first experience cruising in

2024, which has just like some staple items.

But then I also have another box, which is my Disney cruise line box for this specific

cruise.

So as I collect things like swimsuits or cover-ups or little treats for to give away

its gifts, those are going in that box.

So I always start with a Disney box and the Disney box is about to get full because I have

started ordering stuff and I am going to rent through the list with you right now.

So what is already in my Disney box for Disney cruise line is I have like some beach

bags that are specifically like for the cruise.

I have the Disney cruise cooler for the waters because you can order waters so you have bottles

of water.

And I will probably bring that cooler.

I need to read up to see like if I can bring that cooler that way, I can just order the

water bottles and not have to buy the bag again because it was kind of expensive.

And then I have, there's these plastic things where you can put the luggage tags in for

the cruise.

Now I don't think there are 100% necessary, but I guess if it was raining or if you don't

want them to get ruined, it would be nice to have.

So I have those in there.

I also have the magnetic hooks for the walls.

Now I didn't really love them because I guess it was just my husband and I and maybe I

didn't need them as much as I thought.

But I am going to bring them again with the kids because maybe they will be more useful

for the kids.

Then I also have a pop up laundry basket which we definitely will be bringing that was

so useful on the cruise and you know, my family always travels with laundry bags anyway.

But it was nice to have this like very, it was a very thin pop up laundry basket that

just fit perfectly in the cruise cabin.

So I actually might get a second one of those because we have two rooms.

And so that's already in there as well.

And then of course the magnets that we had from our last cruise are in that box.

And then just a few other like trinkets that we may need, but we may not bring.

So that's what's in my Disney cruise box right now.

What am I looking to buy for the cruise?

Well first we have gotten more magnets for the kids so that everyone has their own magnets

to go on the door.

I'm starting to collect these magnets that say the cruise ship that we went on and the

dates that we went on and I would love to obviously build those with the same magnets

over the years of cruising because cruising is not going anywhere.

Now my husband's favorite Disney vacation.

He actually would love to make two cruises a year possible for us.

But I definitely think we're going to be mostly a one cruise a year.

And then if we get a super cheap military cruise, we'll go on another one.

So magnets were the first things that I got.

The second thing I got was a fish extender.

If you don't know what a fish extender is, I guess when kids meet on the ship or just

even giving gifts to people, they make these little gift bags.

And I've read that each kid should make around 15 of them.

So that's going to be my goal for this first trip.

And they're just like cute little trinkets.

I don't want to make a trinkets and trash one.

So I am actually trying to make like decent size or decent items in there.

So like I know the girls they're going to put like princess lip smackers in there will

definitely do some Disney stickers like high quality stickers in there.

The boys found like these really cute like Mickey bar magnets.

So we're going to get some of those to go in there.

And I will make like a list for you all as I find these items.

But all of my kids are interested in making them.

And so obviously, you know, with my teenager, we got to make it a little bit more cool and

fine items that teens may like.

And then with my 10 now 11 year old, I feel like they can be a little bit more playful

like there's even like hair ties that are not a cool theme like Disney not a cool

theme that my daughter wants to put in there as well.

So we'll find a lot of cute stuff.

And then obviously for my youngest, that's only five.

It can just be like really fun.

We found these sorcerer Mickey ducks to put in them bookmarks.

Things like that are going to go in these little gifts.

And so we will deliver it to, you know, people as they meet them.

And you deliver it into what is called their fish extender.

And this fish extender has usually the failing name and then pockets for everyone.

So I decided to go with a five pocket one.

And there's another one that I actually like that I might still get, not that we need

to, but I am waiting a little last minute.

I realize that being only a month and a half away from the trip is too late to order

some of this custom stuff.

So the fish extender I got, I do think it's cute to five pocket.

My husband and I share a pocket because realistically we're not going to be getting gifts.

But I put us on there and then I put the four kids under and then it just has like the

Michelson family at the top and it's super cute.

So I can't wait to get that.

And then I will start ordering all the stuff and then we'll build the bags before we leave.

So we have those ready to go.

So that's a really cool tradition.

The other thing that we are doing is we are big pin traders.

And so on Amazon we found a really cute like cruise pinboard that was only $13 and that

saves me from having to make something.

And we are going to add magnet strips to the back.

So it's strong enough to hold on our door.

And then we can do pin trading while we are there.

So I thought those were two really cool things that create a more interactive experience

of people.

And I definitely am going to like laminated like Michelson family unofficial pin trading.

You know, leave one take one type sign to go with it too.

And I think that will be really fun to see what we collect.

So that is what we will do to decorate our door.

We have our magnets, our pinboard.

I have the magnet from our first cruise which I got one that says like Disney cruise line

Michelson family that will always go in the center of the door.

We have like a Disney vacation club magnet on that we already have that we've used before.

So we'll put those kind of things on it and I'll definitely show you what it looks like.

You know, I'll blur out my kids names but it will be really cute.

So that is the first thing that I'm like, okay, check.

We took care of that.

So then the next things that I need to take care of is the key entry.

Now you can use a regular key and you could probably get lanyards for everyone.

We have lanyards from Universal and so I wouldn't buy new ones.

I would just use those but you also can use your magic band plus.

So I'm heading to Disney next week and I'm going to pick up our magic bands because

we live our magic bands at Disney in our owners locker.

And so my whole thing was like, well, how do I charge it in this small, you know, in a

small cabin and yes, there are plugins, but there's six of us.

You know, with these magic bands, you can't bring like extension cords on the cruise ships.

But I have found some magic band dock charging stations that can charge like three or four

magic bands at a time.

I'm going to bring both of them on the ship and I'm going to see how they work.

So they're not necessarily extension cords.

Like one is connected to an external battery pack and it can charge up to three magic bands.

On it, it's like this weird connector from a battery pack that you plug it into.

So you charge the battery pack, the battery pack charges the magic bands that also can charge your phone.

Then I found this like magic band plus charging strip that can charge four magic bands at a time.

And I just want to try that because I think that would be really useful even for the Disney parks.

And it's just like a sea plugin.

So it just plugs into the wall.

So it's not like a actual power strip and it just has four spots for your magic band.

So I'm going to try those two things.

We'll see how they go and I will report back to you, but I'm going to get those for sure.

Then we are going to have walkie talkies because there are four kids that will be roaming the ship.

I know they'll be in the kids club a lot.

I have one kid that is an anxious child and he will want a way to get a hold of us.

And walkie talkies, two way radios are the best way.

Obviously we're not going to pay for internet for all the kids.

My husband and I have internet, or maybe we'll just have one because it is a weekend cruise.

So we won't have to work as much, but we always like to have one internet package.

And it's very expensive on the cruise.

So the two way walkie radios will give us a chance to be able to communicate with each other.

I am down to two based on Amazon reviews.

And so I think what I'm going to do is by both of them test them at home.

And then we'll send back the one that doesn't work the best.

But we are planning on using walkie talkies and everyone having their own walkie talkie.

The girls both carry like little pouch purses.

But I'm trying to decide if the boys need something too.

I'm just thinking maybe they just bring their drawstring backpack at Disney.

We use a specific Adidas drawstring backpack that is so perfect for them.

Because as a spot for their water bottle, there's a zipper pocket on the back.

And then there's a typical drawstring backpack.

It's great quality.

It is not breakdown.

And so I'm thinking maybe I just buy two of those for the boys for the ship so that they have it.

And I can make it cruise themed.

And that's what they will use over the years for the cruise.

It's because if you know me, I'm one of those people that like I don't mind monogramming.

I don't mind getting something specific for the cruise.

Because we will use that same item basically until it falls apart.

I mean, we're still using the same Disney backpacks that my kids have traveled with since 2018, I think.

And there's no signs of it where them wearing down.

Like I pretty sure is 2018, maybe even 2016 now that I think about it.

So it's been a long time.

So that's why I would buy like a separate one for those.

So walkie-talkies, possibly the bags for it.

Then I definitely think I will get new autograph books for my younger three.

My oldest one does the pictures from the insta-pix for his character autograph book.

Now that he's older, so he'll still do that.

I'll get new autograph books for the other kids.

And then I also will get some glow in the dark like necklaces and bracelets and all that good stuff.

Just for fun things to give out to other kids, but also for fireworks night,

fireworks night, things like that.

Then people do suggest getting nightlights for younger kids in the cabins.

I don't know, we'll see.

I don't know if they need it.

There are little nightlights in the cabin I feel like from what I remember on the wish.

So I need to check on the dream.

But that is also something that is recommended.

Then we have our dry bags.

I feel like dry bags are so needed on cruise ships.

So dry bags for all the kids.

They already have some.

The girls even have cute little beach bags that they can carry as well.

So we'll have that.

Then we do have like what is it called?

The rubber bands.

Oh, that's another thing that's already in my Disney Max.

The rubber bands for towels.

So if it's windy on the pool deck, we can hold the towels down.

I have one for every single kid.

So I feel like those are like the things that I'm remembering to pack ahead of time.

So everyone has it.

Obviously they'll have all of their things like sunglasses, goggles, pin lanyards,

all the things that they need for themselves.

But I think that that is like my general list of,

this is what you need for a Disney cruise to be successful.

So I will let you know how those items go.

And if there's something that I'm like, oh, I really should have had that.

Or I wish I had that.

I do plan on using Easter as an opportunity to buy a lot of stuff for my kids.

So I am weird in the sense that I don't like to just buy my kids stuff that they want.

And I know it sounds so silly because then during like holidays and things like Easter,

they're getting all of this stuff.

So I guess at the end of the day, it doesn't matter.

They still are getting the stuff.

But for Easter, I'm going to get a lot of the items that they need for the cruise.

So all of their swimsuits, their cover up, water shoes, things like sunscreen,

if they need new sunglasses, that will all be in their Easter basket to prep for the cruise.

So the next thing that's really important, there's actually two things.

You got to know two dates with Disney cruise line.

Actually, let's say three, you're going to know when your payoff date is.

So ours was 90 days before.

Then you got to know when your booking window is for extras, which ours was around 60 something.

Like now that we're silver, I think we get like two more days after five cruises,

you go up to gold, I believe, and then you get like more days.

So the more you cruise, the more advantages you get.

So then we have books like the different activities we wanted.

The day that we arrive on the ship, my husband is doing the world of old fashioned

because he is a bourbon man.

And he saw this on the wish and he was like, oh, I want to do that so bad.

So I made sure to sign him up for that.

And that is a hundred dollars.

Then the next day is our day at Disney's Lookout K.

So we will be getting off the ship really enjoying that day, getting back on at 530.

Or we'll get back on our dining is 515 because we are East Coast people.

And so that's like an appropriate time for us to eat.

And then we can like have treats and snacks the rest of the evening.

If you're coming from the West Coast or somewhere else, you always want to book your dining time

according to your own time zone.

So like I'm going on a cruise with my good friend.

And I said this in the last podcast, they are on the California time.

So eating at 815 for them or is like eating at 515.

But for us, that would be like 8 o'clock.

We would be so hungry and dead.

So we aren't going to be dining together.

Now, when we did the adult only cruise, we did do the late dining.

But having kids, it just wouldn't work for us.

But day two, we go to Lookout K.

We'll be a short 10.

You have to be on board by 530.

But we'll go back around four because we'll take showers, get ready, go eat dinner.

And then my husband and I have a later night dinner at 8 p.m. at Palo.

The kids will be in the kids club during that time.

But we'll get to experience that.

The next day we're in Nassau, Bahamas.

And I don't think we're going to get off the ship.

We might just get off so the kids can go to Nassau for like a little bit

and maybe go to the Christopher Columbus Museum because I always like them to go to that meet.

I like to go to that museum so that we can like debunk the fact that

yes, Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas, but he never made it to the United States.

So the way that we like celebrate him over the United States, I think is so bizarre,

especially like being a Nigerian American.

That history is not accurate for the United States.

So there's a museum there that really highlights kind of the atrocities that he caused

on the areas like Nassau and the Bahamas where he pretty much settled there.

So we might go do that, but we have a Bippity-Babdy Boutique appointment at noon.

And then the girls and I are going to the Royal Court T at 3 p.m.

So Bippity and then the Royal Court T, I think that will be so much fun.

And it is so expensive.

So for myself, it's $75 and for each girl, it's $275.

Now, I am thinking that this is similar to the perfectly princess T

that we experienced in the garden room at the Grand Floridian when they used to have it.

It is not come back, even though high T has come back.

But I'm assuming it's going to be similar to that because there's gifts and all this stuff.

So I'll definitely make a YouTube video out of that so that everyone can see it.

Then on, so that is day three and then four, we are back in Fort Lauderdale.

And when you disembark, it's usually around 7 a.m.

is when you get to the port, so it's very early.

So we plan on flying out that afternoon.

We learn that with the wish that you get back so early that you can leave the same day.

We booked to leave the next day and it's like,

you kind of just want to get it out of there.

So if you wanted to do like a night flight to be sure,

but I think we're going to do an earlier flight,

like, you know, afternoon, three or four o'clock

to make sure we can get back,

especially since we aren't staying very far.

So it's not too far from the airport from Fort Lauderdale

and we're flying out of Fort Lauderdale to come back.

The other thing is what I need to do right now

and hopefully that it won't be booked

because I will do this literally the day that the podcast drops.

There is a Marriott Hotel there that has the bus transport to the support.

I don't know if there's multiple places.

I'm sure if you are in, you know, the Wohlow Disney

or Wohlow Magic family, you can comment

because we do have some avid cruisers

that I'm learning from who are in the fam.

And so you can comment on this podcast on the actual website

and just let us know like if there's multiple places to stay.

But I'll definitely do research on that

and let you know where we stay

because we do want to take whatever Disney transport is needed.

So then your third date, so we talked about payment date.

We talked about booking the enchanted extras.

And your third one is your onboard check-in.

And the reason why that date is important

is because you want to check in on that date

because it gives you a better time to get on the ship.

So here is my philosophy for getting on the ship

and I know what's gonna work for us.

Disney takes your luggage for you

and they bring it to your room.

So my goal is we'll have everything packed

in probably one or two large suitcases,

hopefully one but realistically two.

Then we will take with us our bag.

And in the bag we will have our swimsuits, cover-ups,

a change of underwear, maybe something casual in that bag.

Things that we need that we can get on the ship

at whatever time that's early

because I would rather be on the ship

than waiting in the port.

That way we can explore everything,

go to the kids clubs while they have open houses.

We can grab some food, grab some ice cream.

And if the kids want to start swimming

or doing any of those activities, they can.

Even if like our room and our luggage doesn't get there.

So that is what I think I'm going to do

because I would rather be on the ship

than be waiting in the port outside of the ship.

I would rather be exploring

but I also wanna have a swimsuit

just in case we wanna get wet or whatever.

So it's almost like I'm doing my carry-on rule.

If you won't obviously have been here

while you know I have a carry-on rule when we travel.

We can, we check bags like we are not light packers

and we know this.

But we always have one carry-on

that we take on the plane with us.

And in that carry-on, there is one set of PJs for everyone,

a pair of underwear for everyone, a pair of socks for everyone.

There is a swimsuit for every person in the family

and our toiletries light.

So that means toothbrush, toothpaste,

lotion and whatever like a small amount

of whatever hair product that we need to function.

That way if luggage is ever lost

or in this case with like going on the cruise

where they take your bags,

we know that we have what we need for a vacation to have fun.

Like that is all you need is a swimsuit,

another change of outfit.

You can rotate two pairs of clothes,

a clean pair of underwear and you know your sandals

and your basic toiletries.

So that is what we do with our carry-on method

and we will probably do that the same way here

except we will do it in a bag form.

We will have them in our bags.

So that way we don't have to wheel around

a carry-on on the ship

because I think that would be annoying.

So in the kids' backpacks this time,

I think what I'll do is I will have them pack

what we usually would pack in our carry-on

in their backpack.

And then we have that for when we get on the ship

and we can give them our two big bags

that they will put at the room whenever it's ready.

And we still have everything we need

and no one gets annoyed

because we're not having to wheel this carry-on

all over the place.

So that is my plan.

I will let you know if that plan works for us.

And what I'll probably do is I'll just have them

pack all of that stuff in their wet bag.

That way they can still pack like their iPads

or whatever things they bring on the plane.

And it's not like smashing or mixing their clothes

because it'll all be inside of their wet bag.

Okay, so the next thing to talk about is theme nights.

So there will be a pirate night at some point.

So I do need to talk to my family

if we just want to go like pirate theme and do that

or if they want to do like Peter Pan

or something like that.

So I don't know yet about those outfits

but I need to figure it out.

And then just regular clothes for the crews.

So I will have to start looking at that for kids.

My husband sent me a shirt the other day from Roosevelt

and was like, do you like this?

And I was like, okay, he's totally getting into this

because it's like this flower shirt from Roosevelt.

And I was like, yes, I do.

So feel free to just buy all the clothes you want.

So and he usually takes care of the boy's wardrobe

and I usually do the girl's wardrobe.

And so we both need to like sit down

and kind of plan what we each need to purchase

because these kids keep growing

and they need clothes for summer anyway.

So we might as well get clothes that are useful

for summer and also useful for this trip.

So that is where we are currently for planning this crews.

And I know it will get easier as we do more and more cruises

because we will have the cruise box

where it has all the stuff that we need to just take

on all the cruises.

And then we can just kind of order the one magnet

that like has the date for the new crews

or change out the fish extender.

So the reason why I want to do this other fish extender

is because the pockets are removable.

And so let's say if we just go with my youngest child

on a cruise because she has a more flexible schedule,

I don't have to bring the entire fish extender.

I can just bring the three pockets of like hers

my husband and mine.

Or like let's say we just take it a one-on-one

with one of the kids we can do that

or if we take the twins.

So it's just nice the idea is nice

or if we do like a girl's cruise

with like my sister and her daughter

and then me and my daughters.

So it's just nice to like have that as an option.

So I might do it again only

because my husband is like in love with Disney cruising

and this is his preferred Disney vacation.

So I know that we are going to be doing it very often.

Like this man is already planning like Asia.

And I'm like, can we first like let's get through April

like before you start looking at the adventure.

So that is my goal and these are my plans.

If you're listening to this

and you're an experienced cruiser,

I would love for you to go on my Disney website

and comment below this podcast

and give us all the tips.

This is a collaborative effort

in ensuring everyone always has the best information

for everything I give.

So I may be an expert in Walt Disney World

but there's so many of you who listen to this podcast

who follow my page that are cruisers

that I have tapped into.

So if you have any tips or tricks,

if you're like an allergy mom

or if you have any children with disabilities

and you want to give us the scoop

on how the cruises work for you,

I would love to hear it down below.

So please comment and give other people a chance

too to see those answers

who maybe don't have someone that they can go to and ask

but I'm really excited to like open this flood door

of Disney cruising for my family

since we've always been part people.

I hope this podcast has helped someone out there.

Maybe if you're planning on going on your first cruise

with your family, some of these tips and tricks will help.

Obviously I'll have so much more when we get back

and get off the ship

and Ann will be nice support out of Fort Lauderdale

which is somewhere different than Fort Canaveral.

I'm always so grateful when you take the time

to listen to me and if you listen to both of these today,

I'm really saying thank you.

Next week we have a special guest on the podcast.

I can't wait for you to hear all the fun things

she has to say and as always,

thank you for being here and have a magical rest of your day.

Thank you so much for listening today.

If you haven't already, please subscribe to the podcast

so you don't miss the next episode.

And if you have a moment, I would love a review.

Find me on social media at Well Hello Magic.

Until next time, have a magical day.