Hello there Disney fans.
For any of you who might have been on a Disney Cruise before or are going on one soon, you might have heard of these strange things called Fish Extenders. Somebody mentioned them to me one day and I had no clue what they were talking about. So naturally I nodded my head acting like I knew what they were talking about and went home to my computer. After a simple google search I got the basic gist of what they were, but I still had so many questions. So I wrote them down and searched vigorously for the answers. If I didn't answer your question here, here is a video talking about the FE's more or you can ask your question in the comments below.
1. What is a Fish Extender?
A. Basically a Fish Extender is a long pocket strip of (usually) fabric with several pockets that can be customized for each family. You hang it on the fish right outside your cabin door and strangers, family members, or crew members can put little gifts inside of them. [ You can sign up on a Facebook page to do it with tons of random people on the ship, more info about that below ]
I know that's the worst explanation possible but there are photos below that will make you understand (hopefully)
A. Basically a Fish Extender is a long pocket strip of (usually) fabric with several pockets that can be customized for each family. You hang it on the fish right outside your cabin door and strangers, family members, or crew members can put little gifts inside of them. [ You can sign up on a Facebook page to do it with tons of random people on the ship, more info about that below ]
I know that's the worst explanation possible but there are photos below that will make you understand (hopefully)
2. How many people do it?
A. Many people on the ship do it. If you sign up with a group of people to give gifts, there can be up to 60. If you want to do it with your family/ friends, it just depends on how many of them will be going.
3. Where do I get a Fish Extender?
A. There are plenty of places online to buy them, etsy, ebay and amazon all have good collections of them. (I would recommend etsy) OR you can make your own. If you have those skills. IF YOU DO BUY A FE make sure to read how long it will take to make + ship, some listings on Etsy say it can take up to 6 weeks. So if you want it before your cruise make sure you look at the production time.
A. There are plenty of places online to buy them, etsy, ebay and amazon all have good collections of them. (I would recommend etsy) OR you can make your own. If you have those skills. IF YOU DO BUY A FE make sure to read how long it will take to make + ship, some listings on Etsy say it can take up to 6 weeks. So if you want it before your cruise make sure you look at the production time.
4. How do I sign up to do it with other people on the cruise?
A. Alrighty so you want to sign up with a group of people on the ship to exchange gifts? It's not as hard as you may think. The first thing you want to do is visit this website, after you are there you are going to want to search for your cruise. Once you've found it you can either look through the comments on the board or ask if there has been a Facebook page made for these cruisers. When I tried to find a page I had better luck searching on the page with the key word 'facebook page' when I found the comments with the link there were to pages made. I chose the one I thought looked a little more professional and looked like it would run better. Once you make it to the FB page you just have to ask to join, after being accepted to the group there should be a post on the page talking about FE's and how to get on the list. (PLEASE NOTE: this is not done officially by Disney, just by the passengers.)
A. Alrighty so you want to sign up with a group of people on the ship to exchange gifts? It's not as hard as you may think. The first thing you want to do is visit this website, after you are there you are going to want to search for your cruise. Once you've found it you can either look through the comments on the board or ask if there has been a Facebook page made for these cruisers. When I tried to find a page I had better luck searching on the page with the key word 'facebook page' when I found the comments with the link there were to pages made. I chose the one I thought looked a little more professional and looked like it would run better. Once you make it to the FB page you just have to ask to join, after being accepted to the group there should be a post on the page talking about FE's and how to get on the list. (PLEASE NOTE: this is not done officially by Disney, just by the passengers.)
5. When do you find out how many gifts you need to make?
A. Once you have signed up through the FB page you should be notified of how many people are signed up. When I signed up for mine I was asked for my email and was promptly sent a list of everybody else that had signed up, along with their favorite colors, characters, ext. So we could make more personal gifts. The person running the page told me that the list would be updated every month until one month prior so we could have enough time to make the gifts.
A. Once you have signed up through the FB page you should be notified of how many people are signed up. When I signed up for mine I was asked for my email and was promptly sent a list of everybody else that had signed up, along with their favorite colors, characters, ext. So we could make more personal gifts. The person running the page told me that the list would be updated every month until one month prior so we could have enough time to make the gifts.
6. Do I have to do it with the entire boat? Or can I just do it with my family/friends?
A. This can be a pretty pricey project, so if you don't want to do it with everybody else signed up you DO NOT have to. You can certainly just give them to your loved ones (just don't sign up on fb) on the cruise and if you have extra's you can drop them in random peoples FE just for fun.
A. This can be a pretty pricey project, so if you don't want to do it with everybody else signed up you DO NOT have to. You can certainly just give them to your loved ones (just don't sign up on fb) on the cruise and if you have extra's you can drop them in random peoples FE just for fun.
7. Will other people who signed up fall through?
A. Hopefully on the cruise everybody who doesn't want to or can't do the gift exchange anymore will contact the fb owner and he/she will let you know.
A. Hopefully on the cruise everybody who doesn't want to or can't do the gift exchange anymore will contact the fb owner and he/she will let you know.
8. So what do I do exactly?
A. Very simple. First of all if you want to do this with strangers on the cruise, sign up. If you don't skip to the next step. Step 2 is to make or buy a Fish Extender! Step 3 would be to put together your gifts. Step 4 (on the cruise) if you've signed up online deliver your gifts to the FE on your list. If you're just doing it with random people or with family/friends deliver your gifts to FEs. That's it.
A. Very simple. First of all if you want to do this with strangers on the cruise, sign up. If you don't skip to the next step. Step 2 is to make or buy a Fish Extender! Step 3 would be to put together your gifts. Step 4 (on the cruise) if you've signed up online deliver your gifts to the FE on your list. If you're just doing it with random people or with family/friends deliver your gifts to FEs. That's it.
9. Do I have a specific day to give my gifts?
A. Nope! You can deliver any day, any time. If you are signed up online you can also deliver any day, any time and you only have to give gifts once. If you have pirate themed gifts you can deliver them on pirate day. If you have going away gifts deliver them on the last day. If you don't care when they get them, deliver whenever you want!
A. Nope! You can deliver any day, any time. If you are signed up online you can also deliver any day, any time and you only have to give gifts once. If you have pirate themed gifts you can deliver them on pirate day. If you have going away gifts deliver them on the last day. If you don't care when they get them, deliver whenever you want!
10. Do I have to sign up to give people I don't know gifts?
A. Of course not! You can give gifts to whoever you want!
A. Of course not! You can give gifts to whoever you want!
11. What do you give as gifts?
A. You can do pretty much anything your heart desires! There are many, many, MANY pinterest boards with ideas. You can also google or youtube 'fish extenders gifts' and you should get a decent amount of results. Here is a pinterest board i really like http://www.pinterest.com/…/disney-cruise-fish-extender-cra…/ .
A. You can do pretty much anything your heart desires! There are many, many, MANY pinterest boards with ideas. You can also google or youtube 'fish extenders gifts' and you should get a decent amount of results. Here is a pinterest board i really like http://www.pinterest.com/…/disney-cruise-fish-extender-cra…/ .
12. Will this cost a lot of money?
A. It will cost a decent amount of money but you can make up-cycled gifts and can do all kinds of things to save money. But these gifts don't have to be anything extravagant, just cute crafts or some lip balm with cruise colored ribbon and a paper mickey around it. You can go crazy or keep it simple. It's the thought that counts. Things to keep in mind while making/putting together your gifts.
-Will this melt in somebody's suitcase on the way home?
- Will it be allowed in a carry on on an airplane?
- Is it relevant for the persons age?
A. It will cost a decent amount of money but you can make up-cycled gifts and can do all kinds of things to save money. But these gifts don't have to be anything extravagant, just cute crafts or some lip balm with cruise colored ribbon and a paper mickey around it. You can go crazy or keep it simple. It's the thought that counts. Things to keep in mind while making/putting together your gifts.
-Will this melt in somebody's suitcase on the way home?
- Will it be allowed in a carry on on an airplane?
- Is it relevant for the persons age?
13. Do all the people in the room have to make gifts?
A. Nope! Only one gift from your cabin. You give each person in each cabin a gift, but only one gift from your cabin, if that makes any sense?
A. Nope! Only one gift from your cabin. You give each person in each cabin a gift, but only one gift from your cabin, if that makes any sense?
14. How do I know if there are children/ teens/ adults in the cabin?
A. (If you sign up through facebook) The list will tell you how old each person is in each cabin. That way you can give parents a special treat and the children a different gift. If you are doing it randomly, I would recommend do the same gift to everybody you give it because there's not telling how old they may be. As for family you can figure that out.
A. (If you sign up through facebook) The list will tell you how old each person is in each cabin. That way you can give parents a special treat and the children a different gift. If you are doing it randomly, I would recommend do the same gift to everybody you give it because there's not telling how old they may be. As for family you can figure that out.
If you have any more questions or need me to clarify on anything don't be afraid to ask!
See you real soon!
~ M.
