Lurker coming out of lurkdom to Celebrate Three Birthdays at Disney! PTR

[dinkerbelle]

Watch out! Long time lurker coming out of lurkdom!

I'm a little nervous about doing a PTR. This is my first post ever - so I'm literally jumping in! No putting my toes in the water to feel it out! It's all or nothing!

I think the reason I've never posted on the boards because I don't think I have much to say. I don't think I'm witty or funny. I just lurk around and read witty and funny trip reports. But I'm looking for ideas for my upcoming trip to make it super special for my mom and thought maybe you Disers might be able to help. Please, pretty please?

This is my first ever trip in September. My mom is a second grade teacher so usually our trips our limited to the summer months. When I was younger we went a few times over Spring Break and maybe one or two times in November over Veteran's Day. So I'm very excited to go in September and be able to experience F&W and MNNSHP!

So what will we celebrate? Why three birthdays of course! My mom is turning 60 two days before we get to Disney and that is our main reason for the trip. But on the 29th, my husband and I will be turning 30 and 28! Yes that's right, we have the same birthday!

Now for some information on us:

Me (27) - I have been a Disney lover all my life. My parents started me young with my first trip to Disneyland when I was about a year old. Growing up, my parents took us almost every year and I probably know the layout of the parks better than I know the streets in my own town. I am a Type A, overplanner who makes spreadsheets to plan my trips (I know, accountants are so cool). I obsess about park hours and dining reservations. I somehow convinced my husband to honeymoon at Disney and then with the help of some pixiedust convinced him to buy DVC in 2006.

DH (29) - My high school sweetheart and partner in crime. DH had only been to Disney a few times before he met me. Since then I think I've doubled his number of trips! He is a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. He will pretty much do anything to make me happy, which is one of the many reasons why I love him

Mom (59) - A kid at heart. She loves Disney and doesn't show a bit of her age (once I hit 10 posts, I will upload a picture and you will see what I mean). She didn't think we were going to Disney in 2009 because my DH and I are going to Japan and told her we didn't have any vacation. So this trip was a surprise! (You'll have to keep reading to see how the surprise went!) She is looking forward to everyone making a big fuss out of her and her Birthday button....and the free desserts.

Sister (24) - My sister is my best friend, but can also drive me crazy! I guarantee if there is any drama associated with this trip, my sister will be the center of it. She literally thinks she is a princess and wants everything to go her way ALL THE TIME! Let's hope that she can keep her high maintenance ways to a minimum while at Disney. She loves Tigger and Sleeping Beauty and could eat Turkey Legs, Chocolate Bananas, and Dole Whip all day long.

So that is us...the reason this trip was so important for my sister and I to do for my mom is that my dad passed away in 2006 at the age of 59. It was rather unexpected and obviously devastating. We were a little nervous about my mom's 60th birthday because it will be the first year she will surpass how old he was when he died. She had planned on giving him a big 60th birthday and never got to do it and we knew it would be on her mind. So what better to take her mind off of things than a trip to Disney!

Up next...How mom ruined the big surprise

 

[shordiebecka]

I'm in!!!! Can't wait to read more. BTW- i think it is so sweet of you to plan a Disney trip for your mom. Sorry to hear about your dad, and I hope you all have a wonderful time!

 

[dinkerbelle]

I'm in!!!! Can't wait to read more. BTW- i think it is so sweet of you to plan a Disney trip for your mom. Sorry to hear about your dad, and I hope you all have a wonderful time!

Thanks shordiebecka! My confidence went up a bit just by knowing at least one person will read my PTR!

 

[dinkerbelle]

So as I mentioned, this trip was supposed to be a surprise for my mom. My sister and I planned on working with the principal at her school to request the days off and tell her on her actual birthday September 24 (Thursday) that we were leaving on Saturday for Disney. I had already called DVC and booked a studio at SSR for our trip. SSR is our home resort and we have only ever stayed there. The past two trips we have stayed in a 2BR, so I’m a little nervous about four adults in a studio. Thoughts? Anyone?

As I was saying, we wanted to surprise her right before the trip. Well, then Disney announced the “What will you celebrate?” theme for 2009 and Mom got the bright idea (the bright idea my sister and I had already had) to go to Disney for her birthday. If you knew my mom you would know that once she decides something, it’s decided.

Now my sister and I were stuck trying to figure out how to still surprise her. We decided to give the trip to her for Christmas. We tried to do a Disney theme for all her gifts.

And then in a Disney birthday card, we printed this…

Coupon good for one 60th birthday celebration at Disney

When she opened it up, she got a really confused look on her face and said,“ But I’m already going to Disney on my birthday…”

Ugh.

I know you are mom because we are taking you…surprise?


Up next...Will we be able to surprise mom and stay somewhere other than SSR?

 

[saratogadreamin09]

Great report so far, excited for more


Thats so cool that so any birthdays in your family come close together so you can go on a trip like that. I wish my family had closer birthdays!!

 

[dinkerbelle]

Great report so far, excited for more


Thats so cool that so any birthdays in your family come close together so you can go on a trip like that. I wish my family had closer birthdays!!

Thanks saratogadreamin09! Two readers now - woo hoo! Hopefully I'll be able to keep you guys coming back for more!

When DH and I first started dating, I didn't believe him when he told me when his birthday was! I made him show me his driver's license to prove it! It's neat to have them on the same day, but now I never get my own birthday card Our family just sends us one card addressed to the both of us!

How exciting to be celebrating your sweet sixteen in WDW! Do you have anything special planned?

 

[dinkerbelle]

I left off with...Will we be able to surprise mom and stay somewhere other than SSR?

As I said, I had booked SSR at 11 months out. But I had been secretly hoping we could stay somewhere else to surprise my mom. Last year on our trip we had dinner at California Grill. At the time we were there, the Contemporary DVC had not been announced, but was rumored. My mom told me she had stayed at the Contemporary YEARS ago and loved being able to be on the monorail.

With Bay Lake Tower opening this year, I thought it was a sign that we should stay there. I just wasn’t sure if the DVC gods would feel the same way.

I had never tried to switch resorts at 7 months with DVC, so wasn’t quite sure how it worked and what my odds were. But in my true Type A fashion, I was going to do everything in my power to try and get my mom a stay at the Contemporary!

I found out which day I needed to call. I wrote it on my calendar. I put a reminder in my phone. I told my husband the night before to remind me…I was NOT going to miss it.

So last week, I picked up the phone at 7:59am and started dialing. My first try I got the “Sorry we aren’t open yet.” I hung up and tried again. Success!

Me: I’d like to change a reservation please. I am currently booked at Saratoga Springs but would like to switch to Bay Lake Tower.

Lady: Sure, let me check availability for you.

Waiting…waiting…

Lady: Hmmm, that’s strange. It won’t let me search.

WHAT? Hurry…all the BLT rooms are going…speed it up!

Lady: It is within the 7 month window so I’m not sure why I can’t do anything. Hold on just a moment.

HOLD! WHAT! I swear, I have the worst luck. So I sat and waited and probably chewed off every single one of my fingernails (probably too much information…sorry).

Lady: Sorry about that. Yes, I’m showing availability – would you like a standard view or a Bay Lake View?

Hmmm…so no MK view available. I guess I should just be happy with what I can get. I wasn’t sure whether to pick the standard or Bay Lake view. But knowing my luck, my “standard” view would be a “dumpster” view, so I played it safe and went with the Bay Lake view.

I called my sister to tell her the good news and we started plotting as to how to surprise mom with this one. We are hoping to wait until we get to Orlando. Usually we rent a car but this time we are going to try Magical Express. We were hoping we could just board the bus and when it gets to Contemporary, tell her, come on Mom – this is our stop!

So does anyone know if loading the bus will give it away? Is there a line for Contemporary only and we should tell her before? Any help here would be appreciated?

Up Next: MNNSHP dates posted and I hate the 90 day window! And only a few more posts until I can post pictures! Yeah!

 

[TeaForTulips]

subbing!

I love that you and your sister are surprising your mom! My sister and I are 16 months apart. Our entire family is super close. Your story is very sweet and reminds me of my family. How fun that you will be celebrating 3 birthdays! I hope you guys are able to get some special magic!

I'm afraid I am no help with your questions tho. I have never used ME or the buses so I am not sure about any of that... I am sure it will all work out tho! I can't wait to hear more and see some pics!

 

[shordiebecka]

I love your idea of changing resorts!!!! I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but yes, they do seperate the bus ques. I know the all stars are all on one bus, port orleans is one bus, etc etc. I'm not sure if the Contemporary rides with any other resort, if they did it would be the poly or grand floridian.

You could do something neat, like print out a pictures of the contemporary, wrap it in a box and tell her it's an early b-day present. When she opens it, you can explain to her where you are ACTUALLY staying...give it to her right at the end of the plane ride. Just make sure she doesn't try to call Disney and talk to them about the reservation for any purpose!!!! Ah it's so exciting!

 

[dinkerbelle]

subbing!

I love that you and your sister are surprising your mom! My sister and I are 16 months apart. Our entire family is super close. Your story is very sweet and reminds me of my family. How fun that you will be celebrating 3 birthdays! I hope you guys are able to get some special magic!

I'm afraid I am no help with your questions tho. I have never used ME or the buses so I am not sure about any of that... I am sure it will all work out tho! I can't wait to hear more and see some pics!

Thanks for subbing! That's great that you and your sister are close. I am close with my mom and sister and probably talk to them both about 3-4 times a day. I stopped over on your trip report, I'll have to spend time reading the whole thing later tonight when I'm not supposed to be working Looks great so far! I love your t-shirt designs!

 

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

Wow three birthdays that is so magical and special!

Keep them coming I'm reading!!

 

[bouncycat]

Wow, your trip sounds SOOO similar to mine!! So, I'm subbing too!! I am planning a surprise trip for my mom, she doesn't know still, got my aunt, her sister, calling her bosses to get the time off for her, hopefully THEY don't give it away!! I am about 15 months apart from my dsis too, like a pp said, my sister is ALSO one that can drive me crazy, not sure if after this trip I'll love the time I spent with her, or be ready to kick her butt back on the plane to send her home But, we're planning ours together, for our mother, and that's what means the most! Enjoy your planning, I'll help with what I can, if you have any questions! I don't know about the Magical Express, don't use it, so don't know. I do know quite a bit about the parks, but not so much about the resorts, so fire away!!!

 

[dinkerbelle]

The Dis will let me post pictures now!

So here we are...

Mom, Sister, Mickey (duh!), Me and DH on our trip last June. Does my mom look almost 60 to you? I just wish that I look that good when I'm 60! Unfortunately, I think I got my father's genes...so chances are that I won't!

This is Sister with Mom's dog, Mushu! Yes he was named after the little dragon in Mulan!

Mom, Me, and Sister at DisneyQuest last June.

And one of my favorites - DH and I at Disneyland Paris in March! My best friend got married in France and we made a stop over to visit the Mouse!

Thanks to everyone for reading! I'll try and get the next installment up soon!

 

[dinkerbelle]

Wow three birthdays that is so magical and special!

Keep them coming I'm reading!!

Thanks Mrsdisneyb2b! We're hoping for a little pixie dust on our trip!

 

[dinkerbelle]

I love your idea of changing resorts!!!! I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but yes, they do seperate the bus ques. I know the all stars are all on one bus, port orleans is one bus, etc etc. I'm not sure if the Contemporary rides with any other resort, if they did it would be the poly or grand floridian.

You could do something neat, like print out a pictures of the contemporary, wrap it in a box and tell her it's an early b-day present. When she opens it, you can explain to her where you are ACTUALLY staying...give it to her right at the end of the plane ride. Just make sure she doesn't try to call Disney and talk to them about the reservation for any purpose!!!! Ah it's so exciting!

Bummer about the buses...but I like your idea about printing out a picture of the Contemporary and giving it to her. And I know she won't call Disney...last year she wanted to change ADR's about 20 times and made me call each time! She just leaves the planning stuff up to me and shows up for the fun!

Also, does anyone know how to respond to multiple quotes in the same post? Otherwise, I'll just keep doing them one by one.

 

[katiebelle21]

How nice of you to plan such a nice surprise for your mom! I am enjoying your PTR so far. You must be so excited to stay at BLT--I am jealous!

 

[dinkerbelle]

Sometime in January I decided to book flights. So I already had the hotel and airfare done. Next was to plan out which days we were doing what.
At the time I started my planning, dates for MNSSHP weren’t out yet. So I looked at last years dates and guessed which dates I thought it would be while we were there. Using that and other assumptions, I made the following schedule:

Saturday – Flights get in around 1. Travel to hotel (BLT!) and then take the monorail to Epcot for F&W! Grab a few items for lunch. Either stay at Epcot or whichever park has the latest hours until closing.

Sunday – Downtown Disney in the morning to get our ornaments (get one every year and have it personalized with the date), lunch at Fulton’s or Portabello (anyone been here?), Ghiradelli’s for snack, hotel to change into costumes, head to the park around 4 for MNSSHP.

Monday – Birthday surprise #1! Backstage Magic Tour from 8-4, Dinner at Ohana’s

Tuesday – DH and my birthday – free entrance to the parks! Park during the day, dinner TBD and Birthday surprise #2 – Cirque Du Soleil at night!

Wednesday – Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s, check out, head home

There were many problems with my plan. Obviously the stupid 90 day rule which meant that I wasn’t guaranteed any of my chosen restaurants or times for that matter. Plus, I tried to call for the Backstage Magic tour and that books 90 days out too...STUPID 90 DAY RULE!

The biggest problem though? This week Disney released the dates for MNSSHP and guess what…It’s only one day while we are there. Which day? Well, not the one I thought. It’s on DH and my birthday.

This causes quite a dilemma. Because see, we were planning on getting in free on our birthday of course. But we can’t get in free to MNSSHP because special events aren’t included. I will still have to buy a $50 MNSSHP ticket. So now I am considering skipping going to the park during the day on our birthday and buy the MNSSHP ticket (which will get us in the parks at 4pm) and take one of these options:

Option 1 – Birthday fun card, which is good on merchandise. But I don’t ever really buy $75 in souvenirs and it’s not good on food/beverages. I guess I COULD find things to buy if I really needed to.

Option 2 – Fast passes, sounds good in theory, but I’ve ridden all the rides so many times before that I don’t feel like that is a good use of my birthday freebie.

Option 3 – Get a free ticket to use before your next birthday. The only problem with this one is our birthday is the last day before we leave. We are planning on a trip in June 2010 hopefully in the Treehouse Villas, so I guess we could use then.

Or I could just get in free on my birthday and quit over analyzing it. I think my husband is voting for this one.

So I really need some help. Which one would you choose? Would you do the same for me and DH? Or would you do the birthday card for one of us and the fast pass for the other? Should we both take option 3 and have two free days for our next trip in June? HELP! Opinions needed!

 

[dinkerbelle]

Just thought I would bump myself up by talking about costume ideas for MNSSHP!

My sister and I were going to try and dig these out of the closet to see if they still fit...

In the event that fails, we've tried to think of some other options. Originally, I was going to have DH go as Woody. His favorite Disney movie is Toy Story (probably something to do with the computer graphics...since he's a computer engineer and all) and I've always thought he looked a little like Woody. What do you think?

The only problem with the Woody costume, is every one that I have found on Ebay is SO expensive. We're talking over a hundred dollars! So I was trying to decide how to MAKE a Woody costume.

Then my sister came up with a great idea...more on that in the next post!

 

[TeaForTulips]

I love your pics! You are right, your mom does not look 60! You are all too cute! I Mushu! Mulan is one of my faves! I love that your mom named her dog Mushu! Love it! I do think your hubby looks like Woody! That would be sooo great if he went as Woody! I hope that works out! (will hang tight to read ur next post)

As for the birthday situation... that is a complete bummer that it fell that way! I think you should stick with your plan! I would personally go for the gift card route, but I wouldn't have any issues spending it. You should def choose whatever suites you best!

 

[annabean]

It's so awesome that you are planning to surprise your mom, I'm sure she'll love it very much.

The birthday options: I would choose option 1, but I can see myself spending the gift card happily. If you won't be spending ... maybe it's better just to get in free on your bday. You're only there a few days, why limit your park time?