Can I keep it a surprise? I have a big mouth

[magicaldisney11]

First....

Who: Myself: 48 single Mom of 4 sons...(25 - Mickey,21 - Donald,19 - Goofy,12 - Simba) and Simba
When: Dec 9-14th
Where: POFQ
Why: Surprise Birthday trip for Simba


Hi all....
Well this Mom and Son only trip has been planned and cancelled several times, financially many times, once to take a family trip to WDW and another time to go to Washington DC with the whole crew. Now after talking to the boyfriend I have decided to take my youngest only to WDW for 5 days in December to see all the decorations and have some one on one time.

Background....
I am a single Mom with 4 sons divorced 11 years now. My ex didnt really have much to do with the boys for more than 4 years after our divorce and then after that it was a "have to" for him more than a "want to". So my sons and I have a very strong relationship and we are a team. The boys right now are 24 (Mickey),21 (Donald),19(Goofy) and 12 (Simba).
Mickey is now married and was in Texas then California with the Air Force and is now living a few miles from home with his wife (Minnie).
Donald went away to college for 4 years and just moved to Orlando to work for Disney (he is a Chef).
Goofy is living with us but had gone away to join the Air Force and now the Reserves.
Simba has always been glued at the hip with me as did all the sports night after night with the older boys and then once they got older it was more like just the 2 of us.

Simba and I have had lots of trips "planned" for when the older boys were all grown and gone and then after 11 years of being single I fell in love with a man that has been a friend of the family (and my ex hub's best friend). We have been together just about 2 years now and him and his 2 sons (14, 18) live with us.

So the planned trips me and Simba had became family trips. I decided that it was time for me and Simba to have just a Mom and Son trip before he hit the 13 year old mark and since Simbas birthday is December 11th why not take our dream of seeing Disney in all it's glory with the Christmas decorations and Simba's birthday and go!

Donald works for Disney now and he gets a 40% discount on the resorts and free park entrance for us. This is great since I have a limited budget since we are remodeling our home and now need a new roof. But there is alwas something so what the heck...were going.

Now to plan out the whole trip and try to keep it a surprise LOL I am terrible at secrets so that is going to be the hardest part of the whole thing.
__________________

 

[magicaldisney11]

I am planning on French Quarters for 5 days and one night will be the Mickey Christmas party. I am torn with the dining plan. Because of my son's discount I am unsure if we can do it anyway but if we find out we can will it be worth it since Simba is not much of an eater. That being said he loves the restuarants, its half the trip for him. AUGH this is a tough choice, its a budget thing. I love when things are already paid and not worrying about watching what we order but at the same time, it can be expensive so I guess I will wait on this decision.

When we went last October we stayed at the Pop Century which was okay, it wasn't our favorite and that would be French Quarter (hands down). When we go with the family we now get 2 rooms so it had to be a valu resort since it is just the 2 of us we can now do French Quarter

 

[magicaldisney11]

Okay the big reveal!!!

How should I do it? Simba's birthday is Dec 11th and we will be leaving the 8th (getting up at 4:00 am for the flight) so I dont want to do it that morning he will be too out of it to even appreciate it. I would like to do it the night before or maybe 2 nights before so he can get really excited about going in 2 days or the next day which ever is better.....

I need suggestions on how to do the surprise!!!

 

[magicaldisney11]

Happy Sunday Morning! I have the house all to myself right now (well not technically, I have 3 boys sleeping, one at work and DBF is working also) so dinner is already cooking in the oven and I have some time to write

Its been a stressful few days concerning this trip. Donald informed me that he does not get the discount at the moderate resorts so this put a smudge into my plans.

I went over the numbers over and over again at many different resorts.
I found out the FQ would not allow the free dining unless you booked from the 10th to the 14th minimum (you could book a room without dining but why would I do that if its free) so I ended up booking the Riverside for room only for the 8th to the 10th and the free dining room from the 10th to the 13th. HEY HOW COME RIVERSIDE WAS ALLOWED and NOT FQ!!!????

After I booked all of this I sat for 2 hours alittle upset because FQ is my son's all time favorite resort and we couldnt stay there last year cuz of cost and now that we couldn't book it this bummed me out.
Since we no longer were getting the discount on the room I even thought about the Pop Century again to save money.
Am I confusing you all at this point cuz I was confused so much so that I had to start writing out all the options and compare them to each other. Being Disney Travel Agent I can find things out faster and easier but this time I was a bit muddled.

So I looked at changing my flights (if there was a cost associated with this and what the new flights would be) and I totally lucked out! Southwest doesnt charge for changes and to change the dates of the trip was not an extra cost for the individual flights either they were the same

Soooo, I changed flights and we are now going from the 9th to the 14th and I was able to.....wait for it......wait for it....


get FQ for the trip with free dining!!!!

So then came the changing of all the ADR's

 

[magicaldisney11]

We have been to Disney enough that we have our all time favorites (some we will never go to again) and we always try one place new each time.

Since this is such a short trip I am only going with Simba's favorites, which are 50's Prime Time, Liberty Tree Tavern and O'Hana's (for breakfast). We also have some places that are 2 thumbs up but not MUST do's and they are Mama Melrose, Rose and Crown, Coral Reef and Crystal Palace.

We arrive on the 9th but dining plan doesn't start till the 10th so I am thinking we will hit the Board Walk area in the evening (seriously this is one of the most favorite things to do for Simba - he loves the whole atmosphere there) and eat at ESPN. We can then check out the Boardwalk, Beach and Yaht Club resorts for thier decorations

Dec 10th - DHS- breakfast will be counter service from the bakery next to the Brown Derby, lunch will be wherever there and dinner will be at 50's Prime Time

Dec 11th - MK - breakfast is Main Street Bakery, lunch is at Peco's Bill and dinner will be at Liberty Tree Tavern. This day is Simba's birthday so we will also stay for the Mickey Christmas Party

Dec 12th - Epcot - Breakfast will be at O'Hana's and since it so much we will probably snack for lunch and counter service at America in the World Showcase for dinner.

Dec 13th - Simba's choice of parks. Breakfast and lunch will be counter service and I will have ADR's for Whispering Canyon (if we can get in) for a late dinner.

Dec. 14th - Our flights are for 6:45 pm so that means we will need to be back at our resort by 3:00ish so I am thinking we can go check out the Grand Floridian and have lunch at The Plaza at MK to finish off our trip.

Next...check off list of what we have always talked about seeing at this time of the year for decorations !!!

 

[magicaldisney11]

Oh this is killing me!!! Simba helps with all the planning and the 2 of us keep each other excited about the trip when things get bogged down in the day to day living. Without him in on this trip I have no one but you guys to talk to.

I am not "talking" about the trip non stop as normal because I don't want to "rub it in" with the others who know about the trip. I have a count down at work but they don't "get it" there....that is confusing to me since some have gone to the World but the obsession just never set in.

Okay my sons and I are Type A kind of people when touring the parks. We are there for rope drop and we hate to leave until the park closes but when the weather is against us we hit the resort for a rest in the afternoons and then right back to the parks. I plan everything ahead of time and pack weeks in advance (we usually buy new WDW shirts for the trips and they are NOT allowed to be on thier bodies until the trip - then they are offically worn and have been doused with WDW magic).
The problem is the last 2 trips have been with "sleep in and relax kind of family" my thoughts are we can sleep in when we are at home (okay I dont sleep in at home but my boys do,lol).

On our last trip Simba showed a lot of patience with the 2 newbies we brought with us, my DBF and his DSon. They grumbled about getting up early, they grumbled about not eating at the food court. Then they saw the rope drop at MK and tasted the cinnimon buns at the Main Street Bakery....they did NOT grumble again

Don't get me wrong, we dont go 90 miles an hour non stop once were in the parks. I plan and then once were there it is "what ever happens... happens". We sit and relax with a dole whip, we love to people watch, we enjoy watching the Dapper Dans, the midday parades and we LOVE LOVE eating at the table service restaurants so that we are sitting and relaxing. We love to also end the day in the hot tub or pool.

 

[magicaldisney11]

Oh oh oh...just made the final payment!!!!

 

[magicaldisney11]

I am doing so well with keeping everything quiet and its been hard at times when others are talking about the trip they are planning or have been on and it's right at the tip of my tongue to say "well when we go in Dec...." My DBF has helped with that alot with a small kick under the table or a hand on my shoulder.
I even have to sneak writing on the here so I don't forget to close out the screen or something.

I went through Simba's closet the other day to see how his Disney sweatshirts would fit him for the trip. They were bought last October when we were there for Halloween......none of them will fit him. I got them out and gave them to my nephew who is a huge Disney fan.

So now the search begins on line for the specials on disney store.com. I am thinking that I will only buy him one new one on line forthe trip and then buy him one more while we are there as a present. Of course he will need his other warm clothes but 12 going on 13 there is only so many times he will wear the disney sweatshirts.

I of course will wear mine all the time so I am getting myself a coule of them right away

 

[magicaldisney11]

I couldnt get into Whispering Canyon on any of our days for dinner so we are now doing the following....

Dec 9th (OOP) 1900 Park Lane and hit all the monorail resorts for decorations
then we will head over to the Board Walk for the evening

Dec. 10th - Animal Kingdom Park then DHS for 50's Prime Time

Dec.11th - Magic Kingdom and Liberty Tree Tavern

Dec. 12th - Epcot but we will start at O'Hana's for brunch

Dec. 13th - DHS and Mama Melrose

Dec 14th - (departure day) The Plaza for lunch then we will head home via the Magical Express


I am having doubts about the Mickey's Christmas Party on Dec. 11th but I will do my Christmas budget this weekend to see if we can afford it. I will be paying for Donald's dinners when he can be with us (it all depends on his work schedule) so I have to make sure I have enough extra for that.

Most of all this trip will be what Simba wants to do each day in the parks and taking it easy.

 

[ladytink75]

Hello there.. I wanted to let you know that you are not the only one trying to keep a DW trip a secret.. I've been keeping my familys Christmas trip to DW a secret from my kids since March of this year. There has been so many times that either myself or my DH has came close to ruining the secret.. but I only have 66 days left to go.. Good Luck on keeping this trip a secret from Simba..

I'm also going to sub so this way I can read all about the rest of your plans and to see if you can keep it a secret from him

 

[magicaldisney11]

Hi Ladytink75!!

I almost let the secret out last night....Simba was having a bad night and I wanted to cheer him up but I actually physically pinched myself to keepmy mouth shut (5 minutes later my DSislaw called to see if he wanted to go over and play so crisis averted,lol).

How do you plan on surprising them? I have gone thorugh about 100 different ways but havent decided ona final plan yet.

 

[magicaldisney11]

This is a shot of DBF,Simba and DBF's son at the MNSSHP Oct. 11th

 

[magicaldisney11]

Here is the 2 boys at O'Hana's. Stitch kept running back to our table and changing thier hat locations on thier heads, he would even run back after being at other tables when the boys werent looking.

 

[ladytink75]

I don't think we are going to tell them until we actually land in Orlando. Our flights will be from San Antonio to Atlanta then we will change planes in Atlanta and then fly to Orlando.. I think once they announce our destination over the PA where we are going they will figure it out. Oh i just hope that I can make this work out where I can keep it a secret I only have a few weeks left. Good luck on trying to keep it a secret.. Simba will enjoy the surprise..

 

[magicaldisney11]

What are you going to tell them when you get on the plane? HOW are you going to get them on the plane lol?


I ended up getting an ADR for Whispering Canyon on the arrival day and cancelled my 1900 Park Lane. I so want to be at the Wilderness Lodge for the Christmas Season I wish we could stay there but it is out of my league 2 weeks before Christmas.

 

[magicaldisney11]

I was undecided about spending even more money and getting tickets for the Mickeys Christmas Party but there has been more stress here at home than the whole year combined and I thought you know what? This is going to be my vacation and I want to do it right! I alsodont know when we will go at this time of the year again.
Does this sound like lame excuses? Yep but who cares, I bought them anyway ,lol

Soooo...my check off list...

Plane tickets...check
Resort reservations....check
ADR's....check
Magical Express booked....check
MVMCP tickets....check

Everything is paid for....check

I have a suitcase that I keep ready for trips to Disney with all the essentails including mickey rain ponchos, first aid kit, mole skin, etc etc.

The only thing I have left to to is put in the clothes and plan the birthday party where we will reveal the surprise trip. We have decided that we will wrap a box with the new Mickey Sweatshirt I got him and the tickets for the Magical Express and a booklet (a standard item that I make for all trips) and have him open it up at the party.

 

[Oliquig]

Hi, that's great that you are surprising him. I'm surprising my niece and trying to keep it a secret is so hard! I would love to go at holiday time, you must be so excited!

 

[ladytink75]

I was undecided about spending even more money and getting tickets for the Mickeys Christmas Party but there has been more stress here at home than the whole year combined and I thought you know what? This is going to be my vacation and I want to do it right! I alsodont know when we will go at this time of the year again.
Does this sound like lame excuses? Yep but who cares, I bought them anyway ,lol

Soooo...my check off list...

Plane tickets...check
Resort reservations....check
ADR's....check
Magical Express booked....check
MVMCP tickets....check

Everything is paid for....check

I have a suitcase that I keep ready for trips to Disney with all the essentails including mickey rain ponchos, first aid kit, mole skin, etc etc.

The only thing I have left to to is put in the clothes and plan the birthday party where we will reveal the surprise trip. We have decided that we will wrap a box with the new Mickey Sweatshirt I got him and the tickets for the Magical Express and a booklet (a standard item that I make for all trips) and have him open it up at the party.

All that sounds so wonderful.. I bet he will be surprised when he opens his gift and see all those things inside. What a wonderful way to let the surprise out of box. I would just LOVE to go to MVMCP but with a daughter who is in high school and they take their finals for the semester in Dec I can't swing something like that until after she graduates. I wish I could have a suitcase already half way filled with items for the trip but with this being a surprise I just have a basket in my room labeled Disney its the same basket that I filled with items that we took on your last trip this past August. I never took the sign off of the basket but there are items in there that we didn't use this past trip but my children don't question it. I only have one 45 days left and boy I can't wait..

 

[magicaldisney11]

Thanks for posting Oliquig and Ladytink75 !!

Only 33 more days and I will be landing at MCO with all the excitement bubblinng inside me and Simba ready to explode! The smell of Main Street as you walk in to MK and the humidity of AK and just the atmosphere of DHS as you walk around the front section ....OH MY I AM GOING TO WDW IN 33 DAYS!!!!!

When we go to Disney the vacation starts the moment we get to the Buffalo Airport. We have brought so many people to and from the airport over the years that we love to sit and look at travelers and try to guess if they are going to Disney or not,lol. We can always tell when we see the princess or mickey carry ons and the t-shirts with the characters on the kids that they are ready to embark on a dream So when it's our turn to go we make sure that the moment we go through security and walk down towards our gate we look at everything past that security line as "let the fun begin". We always have breakfast at the airport and buy new magazines there and Simba will have a new movie and game for his PSP to help pass the time before and during the flight.

Now that we have everything paid for concerning the trip itself I have to build up my Disney spending money so I don't have to worry while we are on the trip. One thing that really screwed me up is the fact the my ex became unemployed for the last month so I don't have the child support I was counting on to subsidize part of the trip so I am cashing in the countainers of change that we have all over the house that we throw in all apare change everyday...that should be a couple of hundred right there. He is hoping to be current by the time we leave for the trip but at this point I am not counting on it. What also helps is that Simba's birthday party is 3 days before we leave and the family members are all giving him cash or Disney cards so he has his own spending money while we are there. I just have to worry about buying Christmas presents and the extras here and there.

I would be at a total loss if I couldn't write on here to get some of the build up and planning to people that understand especially since I dont have Simba (my planning buddy) to talk to. I have to careful at home even when Simba is not here because I dont want to rub it in that me and Simba will be going on vacation and no one else is. I dont talk to the people at work much about it cuz they just dont get it (weird huh?)

 

[krd315]

keeping the secret is very hard but it will be worth it! Your son is going to be so surprised.

we are taking our grandchildren in Jan and will surprise them the day we leave. we are picking them up from school and straight to the airport. We are putting their fav disney plush on the car seats with an invitation to Disneyworld. This is their 1st trip but we have been talking about it for a long time so they probably won't believe us at first