Daughter's Surprise 1st Visit; Best Christmas Present Ever TR!! Update: 8-21-12; P 10

[mommytominnie]

Hello everyone!! This is my first ever trip report. I have been a lurker on the Dis for over a year. I was too chicken to do a pre trip report but I decided to close my eyes and jump in with a trip report. You all helped me so much and I enjoyed reading all of yours; I wanted to return the favor. Also, it will help me to continue to relive the most fabulous vacation

When our DD was born, I told my husband we will be going to Disney World some day. Well 8 years later, we finally made that dream a reality. I only wished we would have gone sooner. We always assumed Disney World was so expensive there was no way we would be able to go. However, I never took the time to actually research it.

Fast forward to October 2010, I went online and priced out a package. I was shocked when I saw the total price But it was a good scock. I was expecting 10s of thousands and this was not ever close. I went home and told my husband about it and the next day, we put down the deposit.

It was at this time, we decided to keep it a secret from our DD. One, we didn't want to get her hopes up and disapoint her if we were unable to go; and two, it became so exciting to plan this for her. It was at this time, I found out about the Dis. If it wasn't for you all, I think our first trip would have been bad because we would have had no idea what to expect or what to do. My husband was amazed of the things I knew and now understood why I had my head buried on the computer that whole time

Now this was a first of many things: 1st Visit to DW; 1st time Flying; 1st time going further than 3 hours from our house. Yep, when we go on "vacation" I stick to IH35.

Here is a visual of my little family:

I am almost finished with loading up my pictures to photobucket. I hope you will join me on my journey on surprising our daughter and our family's 1st official family vacation.

 

[emma212010]

I'm in! Sounds like a fun trip of firsts! Can't wait to hear about them!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Joining in for a trip full of firsts! I look forward to reading about the surprise trip.

 

[mommytominnie]

I'm in! Sounds like a fun trip of firsts! Can't wait to hear about them!

Joining in for a trip full of firsts! I look forward to reading about the surprise trip.

Yeah, I have two readers. Thank you so much. I have enough photos in photobucket to start the first day. Hopefully the photos are not too big.

 

[mommytominnie]

So as previously stated above, this trip was a first ever for our family and it was a surprise for our daughter. For a whole year the plan was the following:

Fly in on December 16 and fly out on the 22nd. Stay at Pop Century and 5 day hoppers with Deluxe Dining.

After going over plan with DH and him seeing Pop, I saw his face deflate. He was not feeling POP at all Of course his eyes started to glaze over with happiness when he saw the Deluxes. But then his eyes narrowed again when I showed him the prices He thought the values were an upscaled Motel 6 and he really did not want to stay there. I showed him the Moderates, and we both agreed on POFQ!! So now the plan is now:

Fly in on December 16 and fly out on the 22nd. Stay at POFQ and 5 day hoppers with Deluxe Dining.

Fast forward 7 months, I started researching plane tickets. I realized it was cheaper to fly in the day before on a Thursday then it was to fly in on Friday. So I told him we were leaving a day earlier and we would stay at a hotel near the airport and then take DME early Friday morning. So since we were going to be there early on Friday, I told him we would add another day of tickets. So the plan is now:

Fly in on December 15 and fly out on the 22nd. Stay at POFQ and 6 day hoppers with Deluxe Dining.

Now if you have picked up on anything so far, is that I start thinking too much and I go back and forth on my decisions. A week before we were to leave, I thought everything was in order, when I realized MK changed their opening times. Because of this, I realized we would not be able to see the opening show. So my brain started working on overtime and I came up with a plan. I mean, how can you go to your first visit and not see MK's opening show

So I told DH that we would cancel the airport hotel and get a room only reservation at All Star Movies. Then we can taxi over before 7 am to check in at POFQ and then be on our way to MK for the opening show. He was confused but I told him to just roll with it. So I cancelled and added and the new plan is:

Fly in on December 15 check into ASMo; check out on the 16th and check into POFQ and fly out on the 22nd. 6 day hoppers with Deluxe Dining.

Introductions in next post

 

[emma212010]

Great idea! I'm glad you were able to schedule time for the MK rope drop show! Oh, and I loooove POFQ! It's such a cute resort, but I do have to say that I enjoyed the POR too! I hope you enjoyed your stay! Can't wait to hear about it!

 

[mommytominnie]

Me: I am a thirty something wife to a wonderful husband and a mother to a beautiful daughter. I love to read, take pictures and spend time with my family.

Grumpy or Daddy: My thirty-nine year old wonderful husband. We have been together for almost 15 years. He loves Golf and shooting pool. Unfortunately, he is not a die hard Disney fan. He will watch the movies but it wasn't until we were almost leaving to the World before he got excited. However, I think he did leave with the Disney magic inside him.

Princess: Our beautiful 8 year old daughter. She loves dancing and art. She is a very good artist and her smile just melts our heart. She is a die hard Disney fan and she still believes in the magic of Disney; which will come to life in my trip report.

When & Where: December 15 @ ASMo
December 16 - 22 @ POFQ

 

[mommytominnie]

We were set to fly out @ 3 pm on Thursday, the 15th. The night before I had to work and got home after 6. We were not packed at all Yes, I know. What was I thinking. But see the whole year I was planning I saw all the wonderful Disers with their matching T-shirts. I loved them. So I told my self that is what I was going to do for my family. Well, when you save a years worth of Disigns, it gets hard to narrow down. So I had no choice but to make 42 shirts. But I did not start until a few days before we left. So I couldn't really pack since our wardrobe was not done yet

So I stayed up till 2 am packing. Well, my husband did stay up as well but I had to remind him to pause the TV to get me what I needed to pack. I was so worried about the weight limit that I was limiting him on what to bring. Needless to say he wasn't very happy.

As previously mentioned, this was our first flight. Well, Grumpy has flown before since he is Ex-Military but that was a while back. Things has changed. The TSA regulations was making me a nervous wreck.

Anyway, I finally went to sleep and was awake @ 6:30 to get Princess ready for school. She still had no idea what we were planning and our luggage was hidden in the utility closet. Heck, she didn't even know we had luggage. We just bought them before the trip.

Grumpy and I ran errands getting last minute things and he had to get a hair cut and I got my eyebrows done. I couldn't go meet the Mouse with my brows all wacked, now can I?

Finally it was time to get the surprise box ready since we were going to pick up Princess @ 12:00. We had all the bags out and the box ready in front of the tree

After taking the pictures, I told Grumpy to put the luggage back in hiding because I did not want Princess to ask any questions that will ruin the surprise. But before he does, I ask him one more time to weigh the bags, just for good measure.

Yep, we are good!!

The surprise box contained two helium balloons that would float out when the box was opened. They were attached to a weight so they would not fly to the ceiling. Included was a shirt I made saying "Surpirse! You are going to Disney World!" It also had two letters: One from Tinker Bell saying how sweet she is going and one from Mickey saying he had a room reserved at ASMo for that night. It also included DSi games; a new purse and other knick knacks.

Now, I have read the threads and seen the youtube videos of surprises not going well. And I told myself, to be prepared. But I was thinking there is no way she will be disappointed. She has been asking to go to Disney since she knew what it was.

Princess is finally home and sees the box. Everyone takes out the video camera and the camera. This is the moment we were waiting for; the moment we planned all year.

She reads the letters and it did not register

She reads the shirt and smiles. She looks up at us and asks "Disney World?!" We tell her yes. And I think where we messed up is that in the letters and on the shirt it says you are going to Disney World but it did not say when She did not comprehend; which rightfully so, that we were leaving at that moment. We explain to her and she is staring at us in disbelief. We pull out the luggage and she finally gets it. She starts laughing and smiling so big and runs to go put on her shirt.

Here she is; all ready to go!

We get to the airport within an hour of our flight. Not what I was planning. Since this was our first time flying, I wanted to be there no later than 2 hours so I can figure out what I was doing. We had done pre check in the day before. My mom drove us to the airport and we rolled our luggage to baggage check. We were checking 3 bags and taking 3 carryons. Princess was in heaven. She kept looking around her; soaking it all in. The security line was not long and we followed all instructions and were passed through quickly. We found our gate and had enough time to go the restroom (did not even want to attempt using on the plane. Was afraid I wouldn't know how to use it and get some snacks. I thought we would have enough time to have lunch before we boarded. Since I was an hour behind schedule, we did not get to eat. OK, I did not allow Grumpy to go far for fear of being boarded early and we are that family that holds the plane or we miss it. So we waited till it was time to board.

.

We finally board and it wasn't until we sat down that I started getting real nervous. I never thought I would fly but here I was. I knew if I wanted to see the Mouse, I had to get on a plane. I am so glad Jetblue has TVs. I never concentrated so hard, watching Judge Judy in my life. Princess was real excited and she loved having the TVs. While I was trying not to panic, here were my loved ones:

Once the plane was up in the air and I let go of my death grip on the armrests, I began to relax a little and took pictures of the pretty clouds

We had an uneventful flight and after two episodes of "The Next Forety-Eight", we were landing. I had read a thread on the Dis about MCO. It said after landing you are to take the fake monorail to the other building and then proceed to Level 1 for MCO. So after we got off the plane, I told my family where to go. Grumpy asks me, "are you sure?" Umm, yes, I am. On the way, I explained even though DME will transport the luggage for you, I wanted to get it ourselves. So instead of following the other families to DME, we went to baggage claim and... waited. Finally, our lovely new luggage came around that turn thingy and we were on our way to DME. We went downstairs and then, I could not remember if it was left or right. Grumpy was trying to find a map and I thought that would take to much time. I saw an employee for the rental car and asked him. He said it would be on the left, however, on the other side. We could either try to walk it around or go back up, walk across and then go down and take the left. Which is what we did. So I did not take any pictures of MCO. No monorail photos. I did not even notice Disney World signs or the cute statutes I have just seen in some the new Trip Reports.

Finally we see a woman with a huge white hand waving to us. I get my smile on and she directs us to the ASMo line. There is no one in line. Grumpy kept asking me if we missed the bus. I told him we probably did. He starts looking at me like Told him not to worry, another one would be on its way. So we waited and I took out my camera.

Looking a little disheveled

Anyway, a DME bus appears and we can finally board. The driver instructs us they will be stopping at Coronado Springs, ASMu, *** and ASMo. Yep, we were last. But I did not care, this was all new to me so it was exciting. We are off and the magical disney video comes on. I look over to Princess and she is just smiling away. I look back to Grumpy and he is..... asleep!! I tried to wake him up. He would open his eye, smile at me and then close them right back up. Oh well. I will just wake him when we get there.

We finally get to ASMo and I am amazed. Princess and I walk up to registration and Grumpy:

guards the luggage

After we get our packet, I gather my brood and off we go to search for our room. Since it was only one night, I did not request any particular area. Well, I guess we were going to get a taste of how much walking we would do. We were in the Mighty Ducks section and the room was all the way to the back on the third floor. Now, I thought I read Values did not have elevators. So I told Grumpy we would have to carry the bags 3 flights of stairs. Yep, I got that look again. Because when I say we, it really means him. After Grumpy shows off his He-Man efforts, we open the door and walk into our room. I thought it was cute. Grumpy, thought it was small. He began looking for the fridge so he can put our drinks in. Told him no fridge. Yep, you guessed it.. That look again. We were starving since Grumpy and I did not eat all day (could be the reason for those looks). We leave our room and we go the other way. Next thing I hear is my name.. And not the sexual kind of way but I am in trouble kind of way.... There, in all its glory, was an elevator I told him, goody.. so tomorrow when we leave you don't have to haul our bags down. Grumpy gave me the look again.

Continued next post.

 

[mousetravel]

Subbing! We were there at the same dates, and also at ASM! (We were at ASM for 3 nights, then AKL for 3 nights). Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[mommytominnie]

So after Grumpy whispering sweet sentiments under his breath after finding the elevator, we walk to the Food Court. On the way we took some pictures:

We get to POP and this meal was going to be OOP. Princess gets the cheese pizza and Grumpy and I get the Chicken pasta thingy. These were pretty good. Princess was still a little hungry so we got her a chicken pasta plate as well. Afterwards, we got ice cream and headed back to the room.

After we get back to the room, I get Princess ready for bed. She asks me is it true we are checking out of the room in the morning. I tell her yes. She says she wishes we could stay longer. I told her since Mickey invited us, hopefully he would let us stay. She said a wish to Mickey and went to bed. Now, this is where it begins... Princess thought this was her surprise. She got to fly on a plane, get to Disney World and stay the night. She thought we were going home in the morning. She had no idea we were staying for 7 nights and going to the parks.

Grumpy was in bed and I took a shower. After getting out, I got out our matching shirts and autograph books and 1st Visitor pins and letter from Princess Tiana saying she heard Princess came to Disney but did not get to go to any parks nor meet any of her friends and that just wouldn't do. She asked her parents if we could stay longer and we agreed. She had reserved a room for us at POFQ for 6 nights. After making sure everything was packed up and layed out right, I fell asleep.

 

[emma212010]

What a great surprise!! And I am so happy your flight went smoothly!! I can't wait to hear about Princess's surprise in the morning!!

 

[mommytominnie]

Subbing! We were there at the same dates, and also at ASM! (We were at ASM for 3 nights, then AKL for 3 nights). Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

***********!! I am so glad you stopped in to read about our family I should be starting our first day in the parks today.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

can't wait to read more! I love love love surprise trips to Disney!

 

[mommytominnie]

Well, while Grumpy is shouting obscenities at the TV during tonight's Cowboys vs. Giants game, I decided I would write about Friday's events.



MAGIC KINGDOM, EPCOT & DINNER WITH A PRINCESS

We left off with Princess making a wish to Mickey, hoping we could stay another day since she really had not seen anything yet. Grumpy and I got up at 5:30 (which it would be 4:30 my time back home ) After we made sure everything was ready, we woke up Princess. When she realized, there was a surprise for her, she literally jumped off the bed!

I thought we took more pictures but I only have this one. I do know we have the reveal on video. Princess read the letter from Tiana and was ecstatic Mickey listened to her wish. When she saw the autograph books, she was over the moon. She believed Mickey brought us the T-shirts and was happy that he thought of her mother and father

We immediately got dressed and packed up the few things we had out so we can check out and taxi over to POFQ. Now my plan was to get to POFQ early to check in and get our KTTW cards so we can high tail it over the Magic Kingdom for the opening show. We call for a taxi and before we even made it to Fantasia side of the resort, our taxi called saying he was waiting. We get to POFQ and it was beautiful. However, I did not get out my camera. So I have no pictures of that first morning. I so wanted to get a picture of that cute nice man who was opening the door and wishing everyone a good morning.

We walk up to front desk and check in. Our room was ready!! Since I really did not know anything about the resort when I made the reservation I did not request any particular sections. I asked the CM if by chance our room was near transportation. After that 8 mile hike at ASMo, I thought I would ask. He got on the phone and started searching for me. He said there would be a room available but it wasn't ready yet. Told him no problem. He assigned us Building 4 and told us our room number would be texted when it was ready. We head outside to the room where the luggage was stored and gave them our bags. We cross over and wait for a MK bus. One came within 5 minutes. I was so giddy!! We hop on and man was the bus crowded.

Ha, ha! We were the only ones on the bus. I saw the time and it we were making good time. We were going to make the morning show after all!! EXCEPT, I realized at that moment, I forgot to give the man my carry on bag. My heart started deflating when I told Grumpy and Princess that we would have to go back to POFQ to give them the bag because we could not lug it all over MK and we would be going to Epcot for lunch. This is the look Grumpy gave me:

So we get off at Magic Kingdom and get right back on a POFQ bus. Talk about toying with my emotions. I see everyone walking toward MK and we went in a circle.

So back to POFQ we go and hand the man my bag. We also gave them our jackets since it had warmed up. Back to the bus stop we go. We get on another MK bus and we are on our way:

We pull up to MK and I realize we just missed Rope Drop and the opening show However, I told myself we are here and not to dwell on things we would miss. I knew this wouldn't be the last of things we were unable to do and to go in with a good attitude. Which is what I did. Princess doesn't even know about the opening show so to her, we didn't miss anything. As soon as we go in we see a PP. Since I had pre purchased the CD, I had already warned Grumpy we were going to stop at every PP I saw and he knew to just roll with the program. We are still waiting on the CD. Will update PP pics when they come in.

We are floored when we walk under the Train Station and enter our Happy Place This day we decided we were just going to take everything in and what ever we were able to do, we would do. While walking around, Princess sees some friendly people:

We jump in line and get out the nifty autograph book and wait to take her pic with Ms. Daisy. Since I knew we would be having a character breakfast later during the week with Pooh and Tigger, I told her we could catch them some other time.

You can see Grumpy with the Video Camera. I gave him the job of videotaping and he took this real seriously!!

With our first character completed, we began our walk to the icon I had been waiting forever to finally see in person: The Castle. Here are some pics of our journey to get there:

We saw a PP and got into line

And made our way to the Castle.

continued in next post

 

[mommytominnie]

We got some popcorn and made a left and began looking at the rose garden

After the Rose garden, we found ourselves in front of the Castle and the Dream show was about to begin. We decided to stay and watch.

You can see from the following pictures how crowded this was:

Actually, we had the castle pretty much to ourselves. Once the show started, many people came to join us.

We loved this show. And yes, I did tear during it. Grumpy was laughing at me Before we knew it, it was time for us to go to Epcot for our lunch reservation. So we head out back to the exit and take pictures along the way.

This was the crowd level around 11 am

As we are moving along Main Street, we start to hear this music that makes us want to shake our booty. Before we know it, we see this:

I love the bouquet of balloons we would see. Strangely, Princess never asked for one:

We walk towards the exit by the turnstiles and wait for Grumpy. He took his first bathroom break. All of a sudden, he comes sprinting around the corner saying for Princess to come with him and to hurry. So off they go and me trying to keep up.

continued on next post.

 

[mommytominnie]

Well it seems on his way back from the bathroom he found:

After meeting Pinocchio, I gave Grumpy a high five for looking out and finding a character.

We finally exit MK and get on the ferry to the TTC to get a monorail to Epcot. Grumpy taking his video duties to heart:

It was so relaxing on that boat, with the breeze around us. All of a sudden it dawned on me, with our morning excitement, we did not eat breakfast. This picture of Princess should have been my crystal ball moment for what was to come:

continued on next post.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

I am so sry you missed RD that was a highlight for me my DH not so much

 

[mommytominnie]

I am so sry you missed RD that was a highlight for me my DH not so much

Oh, that is ok. I was kicking myself since it was my fault I forgot to hand over my carry on bag. But I just put it on my list to make sure we catch when we go back. Yep, before we left, I was already saying when we come again, and Grumpy kept giving me his look

 

[mommytominnie]

We ended up arriving at Epcot since we had an ADR at Via Napoli. Of course we stayed at Magic Kingdom a little longer than I wanted so we were pressed for time for our 12:30. We did not have time to really see Epcot while we sprinted to Italy. Of course, Princess did not eat anything other than the popcorn snack and she hit a wall. Her legs started hurting and she began telling me she was too tired. I told her I was sorry and I knew it was a walk but once we get to the restaurant we would be able to rest. It was a beautiful day but with the sun out and are sprint marathon, we were hot. Mix tiredness, hot and hunger and Princess turned into Maleficent before my very eyes. Her eyes started tearing up and my heart was hurting cause I knew it was my fault since I had not given her breakfast

We finally made it to Via Napoli and after about 5 minutes, we were seated. Once we found our table, I took Princess to the bathroom to wash up and splash water on her face. We get back to the table and she is a little better but still not feeling all so spunky.

I was able to take a picture of the inside:

We ordered a pepperoni pizza for Grumpy, a cheese pizza for Princess and a chicken pasta dish for myself. Sorry, no pictures. We loved the pizza and the chicken dish, not so much. I would definitely go back to Via Napoli but I would stick with the pizza.

Once Princess ate, I saw the spark come back into her eyes. The plan was to go back to MK to see the 3:00 parade since this would be our only time to see it before they changed it to the Christmas parade. I asked Princess what her choice would be: We can go back to MK or we can go back to the resort, rest and then get ready for dinner in the evening. She chose to go back to the resort and rest. As much as I wanted to go back to MK, I knew I had to listen to Princess's needs so it was decided we would head back to POFQ

 

[emma212010]

I know EXACTLY how Princess feels! I've totally been there - hungry, hot, and tired is a deadly combination! Glad you finally got to eat and feel better, though!! I can't wait to try Via Napoli! The pizza looks delish!