Momof2Disneyboys
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2007
- Messages
- 20,880
Hello and Merry Christmas to everyone! 
I wasn't sure where to put this, so Moderators feel free to move if necessary. I wanted to share of my Christmas surprise for my kids! 
On Christmas morning my boys will get the surprise of their lives! As many of you know DH and I have been secretly planning a trip to WDW in January for quite sometime now. And while it has been very, very hard to keep this secret all this time, I am hoping it will all be worth it when we finally surprise them - in just 5 days!
Let me first back up a bit. Our first WDW trip was in October 2005. And while it was of course very wonderful and magical, it was also very hot and very crowded. So we opted for a spring trip the next time around. May 2007 it was! That was probably our best trip to date. The weather was great, hot of course, but not unbearably hot. Mid 80's during the day cooling on the mid 70's in the evening. The crowds were pretty great too no more than a 20 minute wait on anything. So we thought why mess with a good thing and went the same week in May 2008. Well May 2008 was a bit more crowded, still not too bad, but the heat was awful! I don't think we had a day under 90 degrees the whole week, and the humidity ~
! So when thinking about our next trip DH said let's try January! How I talked him into January 2009 I'll never know.
So we have basically been planning this trip since we got back in May. I booked a room only reservation in August and then changed it to the 7 for 4 package when that came out. In the meantime I had booked airfare for $109 each way and was not thrilled with that price. But the same week that the 7 for 4 WDW deal came out, my airfare dropped to $64 each way!! So with the 7 for 4 deal I saved $542 plus will get the $200 gift card. And I saved $360 on my airfare!! Imagine my excitement. And all I wanted to do was jump up and down and shout for joy. But I had to keep my excitement to myself. This was what I missed the most about keeping this trip a secret not being able to share everything with the kids! Of course I had DH to talk to but he is at work all day and when he got home every night we had to talk in code.
So day after day, week after week, and month after month I kept this trip a secret. One of the hardest things I have ever done! Not telling the boys has been so difficult. And to help keep the secret and make sure they weren't onto us we have been telling them that we probably will not make it back to WDW until 2010. On top of that we have hardly told anyone, we figured the less people that knew the better. I did break down and tell my mom back in September and then I told one of my friends after that. And that was it. Well, except for all of my DIS friends of course!
Having the DIS has really helped during this process. We have a great group of DISers going in January and we have talked and planned together everyday since July on the January Snowbirds thread! And then of course I had the MAYer thread to chat on too, we have been chatting ever since we were planning our May 2007 trips. So I had plenty of great friends to chat with, and I thank them all for being there and encouraging me and telling me that it will all be worth it in the end!
So the months passed and time started to fly by faster and faster as we got closer to the holidays. And before I knew it Christmas was approaching. We started to think of ways to tell the kids about the trip. Eventually we came up with the Surprise Box. All the gifts under the tree this year will be from Santa. With the exception of one little box tucked away in the back with Disney wrapping paper on it. This will be the one and only gift from DH and I. Inside will reveal a layer of surprises all leading up to telling them we are going to Disney in just 26 days!!!
More to come about the Surprise Box. . . . .
I wasn't sure where to put this, so Moderators feel free to move if necessary. I wanted to share of my Christmas surprise for my kids! On Christmas morning my boys will get the surprise of their lives! As many of you know DH and I have been secretly planning a trip to WDW in January for quite sometime now. And while it has been very, very hard to keep this secret all this time, I am hoping it will all be worth it when we finally surprise them - in just 5 days!
Let me first back up a bit. Our first WDW trip was in October 2005. And while it was of course very wonderful and magical, it was also very hot and very crowded. So we opted for a spring trip the next time around. May 2007 it was! That was probably our best trip to date. The weather was great, hot of course, but not unbearably hot. Mid 80's during the day cooling on the mid 70's in the evening. The crowds were pretty great too no more than a 20 minute wait on anything. So we thought why mess with a good thing and went the same week in May 2008. Well May 2008 was a bit more crowded, still not too bad, but the heat was awful! I don't think we had a day under 90 degrees the whole week, and the humidity ~
! So when thinking about our next trip DH said let's try January! How I talked him into January 2009 I'll never know. So we have basically been planning this trip since we got back in May. I booked a room only reservation in August and then changed it to the 7 for 4 package when that came out. In the meantime I had booked airfare for $109 each way and was not thrilled with that price. But the same week that the 7 for 4 WDW deal came out, my airfare dropped to $64 each way!! So with the 7 for 4 deal I saved $542 plus will get the $200 gift card. And I saved $360 on my airfare!! Imagine my excitement. And all I wanted to do was jump up and down and shout for joy. But I had to keep my excitement to myself. This was what I missed the most about keeping this trip a secret not being able to share everything with the kids! Of course I had DH to talk to but he is at work all day and when he got home every night we had to talk in code.
So day after day, week after week, and month after month I kept this trip a secret. One of the hardest things I have ever done! Not telling the boys has been so difficult. And to help keep the secret and make sure they weren't onto us we have been telling them that we probably will not make it back to WDW until 2010. On top of that we have hardly told anyone, we figured the less people that knew the better. I did break down and tell my mom back in September and then I told one of my friends after that. And that was it. Well, except for all of my DIS friends of course!
Having the DIS has really helped during this process. We have a great group of DISers going in January and we have talked and planned together everyday since July on the January Snowbirds thread! And then of course I had the MAYer thread to chat on too, we have been chatting ever since we were planning our May 2007 trips. So I had plenty of great friends to chat with, and I thank them all for being there and encouraging me and telling me that it will all be worth it in the end!
So the months passed and time started to fly by faster and faster as we got closer to the holidays. And before I knew it Christmas was approaching. We started to think of ways to tell the kids about the trip. Eventually we came up with the Surprise Box. All the gifts under the tree this year will be from Santa. With the exception of one little box tucked away in the back with Disney wrapping paper on it. This will be the one and only gift from DH and I. Inside will reveal a layer of surprises all leading up to telling them we are going to Disney in just 26 days!!!
More to come about the Surprise Box. . . . .
. I could never do it because I'm a huge blabber mouth with all thing Disney. It must have been really tough because my kids always give me input on the trip. Looking forward to hearing all about how surprised and excited they are 
Good thing for me Disney is an everyday topic in our house, so whenever we let things slip we always follow it by - "the next time we go to Disney!" 
He is a welding inspector and works a lot. He was a little hesitant about going to WDW the first time, but after 3 great trips he is really starting to love it. Although he probably would never admit that! 
and wants to "marry her" when he grows up!
