Anyone up for a PTR? Jeff and Jon's 2nd trip to da World! (shhhh! it's a surprise!!!)

[Jeff90]

I hope you all will join me in my first ever PTR! I debated to post on the regular PTR thread, but I did my 1st TR here so I said what the heck, my friends are mostly here! So I hope you all enjoy! Please offer any advice in what I have planned thus far! Oh, before I go any further, this is a surprise, no one knows except you guys. So don’t say anything!!!!

Okay for those of you that are newbies and don’t have any background info, I will reintroduce the cast.....

Me, Jeff 37. A true North Carolinian who loves to travel! I work in the hospitality field so I have lots of resources for road trips and other vacationing fun. I'm a "planning nut" and you guys know that it’s a good thing to plan, especially if you are traveling to Disney! I grew up near the NC Coastline and about 7 years ago, I moved to the NC Mountains. I'm also a Pirate, an East Carolina University Pirate that is!!! I love the mountains and it brought me to the man in my life, my best friend and husband….

And here is my other half.....

Jon, 39 soon to be 40! And this 2nd trip to WDW is to celebrate his new decade! He has no clue that I am planning this trip! Jon is the master of hair, a hair God, the bomb! Just don't call him a "beautician." He is good at what he does! His appointment book and cliental is huge! If you called his salon right now, there’s about an 8 week wait! So, he is busy all the time with his job! Jon is a Jack Skellington fan and Disney pin trading nut! He also loves anything that is sci-fi-ish, horror films, and anything that is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Our children......

And I must add our girls, who I wish I could take with us! It kills me to leave my babies…….Gabbie 16, and Drucilla 12. Yep, their up there with their ages, but Gabbie, the queen, has her days when all she does is sleep all day and then there are days when she acts like she's a puppy again. Drucilla is the same and tries to keep up with her big sis…..they are so excited b/c I told them that their daddies are going to Florida again and Miss Leslie is coming to visit to house/pet sit for us! They love their Leslie and she is God Sent…..she knows the routine of our household and I feel so comfortable knowing everything is in good hands back home while we are traveling.

So that is us in a nutshell! You can read more about us in our 1st ever TR that happened this past January 2009. The link is my signature!

So what’s in store in this PTR? Well, you will read about my quick decision making process, plans and other thoughts, and my efforts in keeping my blabber lips shut for 70 something days. Hopefully, I will share some never before posted pics from our last WDW trip! (Oooooooo!) I hope this will be fun and entertaining for you all that are tuning in!


Updates!
I gotta make up mind NOW! pg. 1 #6
Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a darn! pg. 1 #14
Home Sweet Home pg. 2 #22
Thank you for calling Disney Dining.... pg. 3 #36
Car, Plane, or Broomstick? pg. 4 #47
Rough Draft-Day #1 pg. 5 #63
The Plan-Day #2 pg. 7 #101
Ka Ching! pg. 9 #124
And the Oscar goes to..... pg. 9 #128
Day 3-The Big 4-0! pg. 9 #134
Thank you pg. 11 #151
Day 4-Save the best for last pg. 11 #152
You're invited, Jon! pg. 11 #162
Just an update. pg. 12 #169
He knows. pg. 14 at the very top!
It's Time! pg. 14 #210

The Trip Report click here! (Coming Soon!)

Up next….”I’ve gotta make up my mind NOW!”

 

[pixierella]

I'm all in. I can't wait to see how you're keeping this a surprise!

 

[Jeff90]

I'm all in. I can't wait to see how you're keeping this a surprise!

Yay for Pixierella!!! Thank you for tuning in!!!! Oh, yes, its killin me trying to keep this all hush hush! Wish me luck!

 

[rpmdfw]

Count me in too!

I love reading your posts!

A surprise, huh? I'd burst, I'd be dying to tell Scott so bad!

 

[wallyb]

Will there be nudity, debauchery, skullduggery or virgin sacrifice?
If so - I'm in.

 

[Jeff90]

Lordy! Lordy! Jon is going to be 40 and I have to come up with some sort of celebration/surprise for him. I wanted to make his 40th very special and something to remember. Here a few options that weighed heavily on my mind the past few weeks.

About a year ago, Jon and I attended a 50th Birthday Party for a friend. It was held here in Asheville at a local, well know, resort. (any of you that have visited Asheville before, there’s a lot of resorts and spas around here) Anyway, it was fun party that was nicely themed with a DJ and dancing and lots of food and drinks. Being in the hospitality field, I have the connections to catering and DJ’s which I am SO thankful for. So, I came up with this plan to have a surprise party at venue with small cabins. With Jon’s birthday being in July, I was getting these ideas together to have something “outdoorsy, camp-like.” As I said before, Jon is a horror movie freak and the idea of having a Friday the 13th, Halloween theme type of party would be perfect. The resources were all there willing to help and plan. A friend of mine said she would be thrilled to help with the plans also and I had access to a list that contains addresses of Jon’s close friends and clients. So, we were on a roll with plans and ideas then all of a sudden, the planning stopped. Why? Because of a Disney TV Commercial!

You all know what I am talking about. “It’s the time of your life….lalalala.” The balloons are floating around and fireworks start to appear in a grocery store. When the commercial was on, Jon said, “Oh I wish we were there now!” Then I replied, “Well, we will be there in September, we just have to make it through the summer!” Jon had that look that was telling me, I wanna go NOW! He had that boyish 9 year old look also! So, I was thinking, should I plan a Disney trip instead of a party? We are already planning for September also! My thought was no way, Jon needs to celebrate his 40th with friends and family, and I have this cool party all planned out! So, I continued to debate on it to myself, party vs. Disney.

Later in the week, I was cleaning out a drawer of photos and I came across pictures from a vacation 2 years ago when we went to the TN Mountains and rented an awesome cabin with a nice hot tub and game room. Jon was highly addicted to the game room with all the 80’s flashback type of games that were supplied in this game room. We did have fun on the trip and we had friends to come along with us to spend time together. We did Dollywood and other Gatlinburg things and had a blast. Here are some of the pics from that trip. If you are in that area, I have the info of the cabin resort we stayed at. It was beautiful! Very nice and peaceful place! The hot tub on the deck was wonderful!

We were on top of the world!

And they were pet freindly and it was Gabbie approved.....

The cabin itself was huge!

Just heaven...

So, I was thinking of another plan and rent this same type of cabin and have a few friends to come and join us for a couple of days of relaxing and it was only 90 minutes away from Asheville. So, I started looking on line for availability. And then it happened again....

Another Disney commercial came on again that night when we were watching TV. Jon mentioned, “Oh gosh, I wish we were going earlier! September is a long time away!” I came back and said, “Time is passing by so fast, it will be here before we know it! I’m just as excited as you!” Later that night, Jon got out his pin trading book and starting looking at his pins. Then the thought of planning a surprise Disney Trip for July came to me, again!

What to do?!?!?! It was a given. Disney had to be the part of the 40th Birthday Surprise and I immediately began looking around here on the DIS for ideas.

On my mind by this time was, “Do we want to brave the FL heat July?” “Can my friend help me out with some DVC points for a villa rental?” “How do I plan a trip like this without Jon knowing about it?” “How do I pick a resort that Jon will like?” "I have got to get a hold of Jon's appointment book and black out some dates without him knowing it."

Stay tuned….the answers to these questions and more plans are coming up!

 

[soulmates]

Me too, me too!! I can keep a secret...Christy, not so much.

 

[Jeff90]

Count me in too!

I love reading your posts!

A surprise, huh? I'd burst, I'd be dying to tell Scott so bad!

Well Hey Rob!!! Good to see ya! Thanks for the nice comment! Im glad you love reading my post! You are so sweet!
I'm trying not to burst.....I can easily do it but I will remain strong!

Will there be nudity, debauchery, skullduggery or virgin sacrifice?
If so - I'm in.

Def some nudity! Not sure about the other though I don't know any virgins!!!!

Me too, me too!! I can keep a secret...Christy, not so much.

It's gonna be hard...he has no clue what I am doing. As you all may recall, I ws doing good keeping our NYC trip a surprise until I slipped up that night when we were in Epcot......yall pray for me to keep my lips shut tight!!!!

 

[wallyb]

Def some nudity! Not sure about the other though I don't know any virgins!!!!

There's me.
I'm willing to be defiled for a cause.

(Shut it Rob!)

 

[rpmdfw]

There's me.
I'm willing to be defiled for a cause.

YOU?

A virgin?





Oh, ME too! ​

 

[wallyb]

YOU?
A virgin?

Oh, ME too! ​

I could be if I wanted to!




I just don't want to.



Nice job "shutting it" by the way.

 

[rpmdfw]

Nice job "shutting it" by the way.

What? I don't have to listen to you. You're not the boss of me!

And I haven't forgotten how you let Rosie call me fat yesterday!

 

[wallyb]

What? I don't have to listen to you. You're not the boss of me!

And I haven't forgotten how you let Rosie call me fat yesterday!

I let her?

No one "lets" Rosie anything.

She's a loose cannon!

 

[Jeff90]

After pondering day and night this past week, I decided to follow through with this surprise WDW trip. We both love it when were at Disney this past January and it’s a special time so let’s go and make the most of it. I know it’s gonna be hotter that “H E double hockey sticks” and the crowds will be heavy. But that is okay! It’s July, it’s gonna be hot anywhere we go!

I picked out the dates. We will be in WDW from July 7th to July 11th. The dates were set in stone and these dates would work at the best. Jon’s appointment book for the week has been blocked out. The only problem was Tuesday, July 7th. This is the day when Jon’s little “diva” clients come in for their “high mountain” hair do’s and curler sets. And one of those ladies is a Disney freak, so she will understand she will not get her hair done that week. Scarlett, my sister in law, is Jon’s assistant and I needed to let her know about that Tuesday the 7th. So, I go down to Jon’s salon and talk to Scarlett without Jon knowing what we are talking about.

This is Scarlett, my sister-in-law, and Jon’s half sister. When Jesus was born, they might as well told Scarlett the Savior was born instead of the Angels then everybody would know in a much faster way! She knows something is up, but doesn’t know what exactly is going to happen.

I kept telling myself that I would not let anyone know about this trip, with the exception of you DISers. I was going to tell Scarlett about that particular week and just tell her to make sure that week was clear. Now, I love Scarlett. She is 22 and is Jon’s half sister. She tells him EVERYTHING and she cannot keep a secret. So, I tell Scarlett….”Okay, I have something going on this week (pointing to the dates in Jon’s book) I need for you to make sure these folks are rescheduled.”

“Why? Do have another romantic getaway planned for Jon’s Birthday?”

I told her that I may just have something planned and I really need for her to keep her mouth shut.

“Well, he is going to know something is going on with you taking away a day that he has booked solid.”

Then that saying from "Gone with the Wind" came to me and I said,
“Frankly, Scarlett, honey, I don’t really give a darn. Just clear that day for me please and if Jon says anything about it just say that you were told to do it and say nothing else.”

So, Jon comes home that day and the first thing out of his month is “Why are you in control my book for the week of my birthday?” And I came back with “Oh, it’s your birthday week and I have requested that week off from my work. Since I am working all of 4th of July Weekend, I have some vacation days to use so I decided to use them around your birthday before I lose them.”

Jon then got this grin on his face and said “Hmmmm….are we going anywhere?”

“I haven’t planned on anything. We will def plan something on your birthday though!” was my response. And the conversation stopped there. I was like “shewwwww!” good one, Jeff! If he only knew....oh, btw, Jon's birthday is the 9th. And his best friend's is the 8th and they always celebrate together.

Next up, Home Sweet Home!

 

[MonorailMan]

Count me in too.
I would love to see nude pics......
.....I mean.....I'm looking forward to the PTR.

 

[PghLybrt]

I think i would have blurted out the surprise as soon as he came home!!

 

[rpmdfw]

I let her?

No one "lets" Rosie anything.

She's a loose cannon!

Well you let her get away with it, then! You didn't rush to my defense.

 

[wallyb]

Well you let her get away with it, then! You didn't rush to my defense.

Oy vey

 

[wallyb]

Jon then got this grin on his face and said “Hmmmm….are we going anywhere?”

... right about here I would have caved.

 

[rpmdfw]

... right about here I would have caved.

Me too.

And not only would I have caved, but I'd have jumped up and down and said "We're going to Disney!"