Hello & Thanks for stopping to (hopefully) read our trip report. Although this is my 2nd "DIS" trip, this is the first time I have attempted to write a report. I am an accountant during the day, although studying to become a math teacher. 
Either way, writing isn't really in the job description. 
Therefore, I must give the following disclaimer: I am a rambler! I tend to give too many details, I think, but if they help out another DIS'er, then 
OK, I warned you! Now on to the trip report. (If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask here or private message me
Cast:
Paul 41 year old comedian. He always joking around (making jokes and he loves to make up his own funny songs) but he can be serious too. Responsible and task oriented type person. He has a lot of patience when it comes to me, very little patience when it comes to crowds, lines, rude people and un-behaved teens. Favorite character is Tigger.
Hasnt been to Disney World in over 20 years.
Nichole (also called Nickie) 13 year old typical teen. It seems like just yesterday she was just a kid and loved everything and everyone and today she hates everything and everyone. She recently developed a love for hoodie sweatshirts (as you will see she wears the same one in almost all of our photos) and pirates
. She loves Disney but wont admit loving Disney. Favorite characters are Tink and Piglet. 
The last time at Disney World was September 2000.
Jessica (Me) 30 year old big kid. I LOVE Disney and would go every year if I could. I love riding rides and seeing shows and meeting characters. My favorite characters are Eeyore, Grumpy and of course Mickey!
I am the resident planner. 
The last time at Disney World was September 2000.
Pre-Trip Report
I cant remember how long we have been planning this trip, but its been at least since the summer. I remember this because my DD Nichole was in Erie, PA, visiting my mom & other family for the summer. We decided the trip would be a Christmas surprise. It was easy to plan and research while she was gone. She came home at the end of August in time to start school.
We originally were supposed to go to Pauls sister Sues house for Christmas. They live outside of Ft. Lauderdale in Margate. Pauls parents, who are retired, go down every year for Christmas and Paul has been going every year since he was divorced. Last year was our first Christmas together and we went to Sues house as well. But this year we knew we wanted to do something different. We let Nichole believe we were going to Sues house as planned. So when we finally gave her the surprise, she was already packed to go to Florida.
The last 4 months about killed me. We had to do everything on the sly. Of course, by this time our package is booked and major details including dining reservations were made. But I became addicted to researching the trip, especially on the DIS boards and I also subscribed to Tour Guide Mike. I would be sitting in the computer room and she would walk in and I would have to close everything quickly or Paul and I would be whispering and I would become paranoid that she could hear. And about a week before we were to leave, we received our Christmas presents from Pauls sister the very place we were supposed to be going. I thought we were caught for sure. But Nichole as always lives in her bubble and being very gullible, we were able to feed her some weak excuse as to why Sue mailed the gifts early. There was a million times when I thought there was no way this girl couldnt know what we were up to.
December 22, 2007
It's finally here!!!
The last time Nichole was at Disney was when she was 7. It was our first real vacation to Disney (we had gone for one day to the Magic Kingdom when she was 5) and I had a ton of photographs of her with various characters. I put together a scrapbook to let her know about the trip. The first two pages were those pictures of her from 2000 and on top of the first page I titled it Remember When? The next two pages said Surprise, We are spending Christmas at Disney. The look on her face was priceless. She was confused at first, she was like, so we are going to Disney when we are at your sisters house? Paul said No, we are just going to Disney. And Nickie being Nickie, is still confused says you mean were not going to your sisters house? LOL! It was a great moment! I was so excited that we had kept the secret and that we had really surprised her.
Pauls Surprise
Paul and I have been together for almost two years. We had talked several times about getting married so I knew we were getting married someday. Paul had promised early this year, that we would be engaged by the end of the year. Every time I thought he was going to propose he didnt. So here we are almost the end of the year and I thought, I bet he is going to propose at Disney World.
So we had just given Nichole her surprise trip and our car service was due to arrive in about an hour. I was on an emotional high already the excitement of going on vacation and the joy of giving Nichole the trip (and the fact that she was really surprised). I was standing in the doorway between the computer room and the hallway and Paul comes towards me and I said so she was really surprised, huh? And he says, yeah, were you surprised and I respond why would I be surprised, I knew about the trip. And he says, are you surprised now and he holds up the engagement ring and oh my God, I cant even describe with words how I felt. I knew we were getting engaged, I knew it would be any day soon, yet, he knocked me off my feet. It was crazy moment and I was near tears and Nichole was dancing around the house singing, She got the rock. He then says, So, Do you want to get married and I am still in shock and I am laughing and crying and I finally respond yes although he knew the answer was yes long before he even asked.
The trip to Florida
The car service came around 6:05 pm, ten minutes early. The ride to the airport was smooth, meaning no traffic. Anyone from New Jersey knows how traffic can be on any of the major routes to the airport so we were pleasantly surprised. We knew before we left the house that the plane was delayed due to ground delays in Newark. Our flight was due to leave at 9:35 and we finally left Newark around 11 pm. The flight was bumpy and the seats not so comfortable (Jet Blue) and I couldnt sleep as planned. We got into Orlando around 1:30 am. We used Disneys Magical Express but we didnt receive our yellow tags in time for our trip, so we picked up our own luggage then headed for the desk. It was very smooth process we checked in and they directed us to the bus. The bus was comfortable and they showed a video to get you ready for your visit that was hard to hear. We sat there for a little while waiting for more passengers. We stopped at 3 other resorts before finally arriving at Pop Century. We checked in and finally got to our room around 3:30 am.
Next Up: Day 1 at Epcot
Either way, writing isn't really in the job description. Therefore, I must give the following disclaimer: I am a rambler! I tend to give too many details, I think, but if they help out another DIS'er, then OK, I warned you! Now on to the trip report. (If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask here or private message me
Cast:
Paul 41 year old comedian. He always joking around (making jokes and he loves to make up his own funny songs) but he can be serious too. Responsible and task oriented type person. He has a lot of patience when it comes to me, very little patience when it comes to crowds, lines, rude people and un-behaved teens. Favorite character is Tigger.
Hasnt been to Disney World in over 20 years.Nichole (also called Nickie) 13 year old typical teen. It seems like just yesterday she was just a kid and loved everything and everyone and today she hates everything and everyone. She recently developed a love for hoodie sweatshirts (as you will see she wears the same one in almost all of our photos) and pirates
. She loves Disney but wont admit loving Disney. Favorite characters are Tink and Piglet. The last time at Disney World was September 2000.Jessica (Me) 30 year old big kid. I LOVE Disney and would go every year if I could. I love riding rides and seeing shows and meeting characters. My favorite characters are Eeyore, Grumpy and of course Mickey!
I am the resident planner. The last time at Disney World was September 2000.Pre-Trip Report
I cant remember how long we have been planning this trip, but its been at least since the summer. I remember this because my DD Nichole was in Erie, PA, visiting my mom & other family for the summer. We decided the trip would be a Christmas surprise. It was easy to plan and research while she was gone. She came home at the end of August in time to start school.
We originally were supposed to go to Pauls sister Sues house for Christmas. They live outside of Ft. Lauderdale in Margate. Pauls parents, who are retired, go down every year for Christmas and Paul has been going every year since he was divorced. Last year was our first Christmas together and we went to Sues house as well. But this year we knew we wanted to do something different. We let Nichole believe we were going to Sues house as planned. So when we finally gave her the surprise, she was already packed to go to Florida.
The last 4 months about killed me. We had to do everything on the sly. Of course, by this time our package is booked and major details including dining reservations were made. But I became addicted to researching the trip, especially on the DIS boards and I also subscribed to Tour Guide Mike. I would be sitting in the computer room and she would walk in and I would have to close everything quickly or Paul and I would be whispering and I would become paranoid that she could hear. And about a week before we were to leave, we received our Christmas presents from Pauls sister the very place we were supposed to be going. I thought we were caught for sure. But Nichole as always lives in her bubble and being very gullible, we were able to feed her some weak excuse as to why Sue mailed the gifts early. There was a million times when I thought there was no way this girl couldnt know what we were up to.
December 22, 2007
It's finally here!!!The last time Nichole was at Disney was when she was 7. It was our first real vacation to Disney (we had gone for one day to the Magic Kingdom when she was 5) and I had a ton of photographs of her with various characters. I put together a scrapbook to let her know about the trip. The first two pages were those pictures of her from 2000 and on top of the first page I titled it Remember When? The next two pages said Surprise, We are spending Christmas at Disney. The look on her face was priceless. She was confused at first, she was like, so we are going to Disney when we are at your sisters house? Paul said No, we are just going to Disney. And Nickie being Nickie, is still confused says you mean were not going to your sisters house? LOL! It was a great moment! I was so excited that we had kept the secret and that we had really surprised her.
Pauls Surprise
Paul and I have been together for almost two years. We had talked several times about getting married so I knew we were getting married someday. Paul had promised early this year, that we would be engaged by the end of the year. Every time I thought he was going to propose he didnt. So here we are almost the end of the year and I thought, I bet he is going to propose at Disney World.
So we had just given Nichole her surprise trip and our car service was due to arrive in about an hour. I was on an emotional high already the excitement of going on vacation and the joy of giving Nichole the trip (and the fact that she was really surprised). I was standing in the doorway between the computer room and the hallway and Paul comes towards me and I said so she was really surprised, huh? And he says, yeah, were you surprised and I respond why would I be surprised, I knew about the trip. And he says, are you surprised now and he holds up the engagement ring and oh my God, I cant even describe with words how I felt. I knew we were getting engaged, I knew it would be any day soon, yet, he knocked me off my feet. It was crazy moment and I was near tears and Nichole was dancing around the house singing, She got the rock. He then says, So, Do you want to get married and I am still in shock and I am laughing and crying and I finally respond yes although he knew the answer was yes long before he even asked.
The trip to Florida
The car service came around 6:05 pm, ten minutes early. The ride to the airport was smooth, meaning no traffic. Anyone from New Jersey knows how traffic can be on any of the major routes to the airport so we were pleasantly surprised. We knew before we left the house that the plane was delayed due to ground delays in Newark. Our flight was due to leave at 9:35 and we finally left Newark around 11 pm. The flight was bumpy and the seats not so comfortable (Jet Blue) and I couldnt sleep as planned. We got into Orlando around 1:30 am. We used Disneys Magical Express but we didnt receive our yellow tags in time for our trip, so we picked up our own luggage then headed for the desk. It was very smooth process we checked in and they directed us to the bus. The bus was comfortable and they showed a video to get you ready for your visit that was hard to hear. We sat there for a little while waiting for more passengers. We stopped at 3 other resorts before finally arriving at Pop Century. We checked in and finally got to our room around 3:30 am.
Next Up: Day 1 at Epcot
Glad you were able to pull off the surprise. We surprised our three on Christmas day with the news we're heading to the World in two weeks. Love those surprises! My dd8 has also discovered the hoodie. She has three, including a cute Pirate Princess one we got her for Christmas. She wore it to church this morning! 
rave about him, I had some expectations of having an ok trip, meaning no crowds. But I thought to myself, it is Christmas 
so don't get your hopes up. I thought maybe I would be dealing with the "best of the worst" type scenerio. 
Mike is my hero. 
Seriously. Now I had prepared...over prepared...my fam for crowds. I think I reminded them everyday, LOL, so much, they were like kids, "We knoooowwww Mom". 
)
Can't wait to read the rest! 
