I just love surprises! We just returned from our own surprise Grinchmas trip. We left on Christmas Day. The kids unwrapped their packed suitcases on Christmas morning with their Universal gear, APH's, and a poem inside detailing what we were doing. They had no clue! We flew to Orlando on Christmas Day. I love how you surprised your kids. It's fun being sneaky isn't it?
Sounds like they very nicely compensated for the rude treatment you received checking in. That's wonderful. We had some problems at check-in also, nothing big but just not the perfection we have always experienced at RPR. This was our 5th stay at RPR and the first time it wasn't 100% perfect. Hopefully, I will get a trip report up soon. I'm off to read the rest of your report!