Shaken, Not Stirred, With a Twist of Pixie Dust! A Food and Wine Trip!NEW! Pgs.75,76

[MAJ RN]

Those Dragonberry Coladas look delish!!! What an awesome suprise for Chelsea, has she wanted to stay at the GF? Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.


Melissa

 

[MeMom]

The elves have been keeping busy -- tonight Santa takes them home.



This is the first time I have ever tried to keep something about the trip a secret. We'll see how I do.

Are you coming down 75 for the most part? I will be thinking of you while you are headed down there!


I think he likes the idea of surprising Chelsea with her dream resort -- she definitely has her daddy wrapped around her finger.


It's time for Mrs. Clause to take back over!


I need all the luck I can get in trying to keep it a secret. I am not the best secret keeper when it is one of my secrets!



Chelsea almost never reads the DIS over my shoulder, but Connor likes to read with me and look at pictures. It should be interesting to try and keep everything hush hush.

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Just wanted to come over and see if all was quiet now since the elves have gone back to Santa's workshop. I envision your house right now with four sleeping humans, assorted sleeping doggies, and new presents lying open under the tree and throughout the house. Enjoy lounging around in pj's for this last week.

I am going to Alabama, so we will be driving from Huntsville over toward Atlanta. The guys are leaving from Nashville. We are meeting in Perry for breakfast.

It will be fun to plan some really cool way to surprise Chelsea with the resort choice, and you will have to have the camera rolling so that we can share in the fun.

I plan to be strolling around GF taking pictures of beautiful Christmas decorations within the next few days, so if you have a picture request, let me know here by tonight or through Trent's Facebook any time.

 

[MEK]

Jackie:


Merry Day After Christmas!

How did you not spill the beans already on Christmas day! The GF for Chelsea - that is so royally, freak'n exciting!!!!!!!! I can't wait to relish in pictures and descriptions of the GF when you write this PTR/TR.

She is going to be soooooooo excited!

I am sorry that your TR is coming to a close. It sounds like you both had a wonderful weekend and I'm sure you will be planning a return visit next Food & Wine. I really need a planning calendar with everyone's dates filled in. that will make it much easier for me!!!!!!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I love that you spent your last $ on Dragonberry Coladas... (it's a little like a kid using their last change on candy...)

Exactly!!!

What is a tres leches cake? We like Mexican during the holidays...the flavors are nice change from all the more mild traditional Christmas cooking...

It is a cake that is soaked in a milk syrup that consists of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream. It is almost custardy when it is all finished and very rich tasting.

I fell behind and found out that not only did you book the trip, but you revealed where you are staying. I am so excited for you! That's going to be such a great surprise! I am already so excited for the pictures.

Merry Christmas to you guys!

Thank you! I can't wait to surprise Chelsea with it -- I just know she will be completely over-the-top!

Oh yeah!! I am SO EXCITED for Chelsea (and you guys too! )

That will be an awesome vacation - can't wait to read all about your plans!

If I don't "talk" to you in the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas!

Thank you, Katie! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too. You are probably on your way to Disney World right now! I have lots of plans to share!

Enjoyed the stroll through Italy....and a yummy drink.

I'm so excited for Chelsea (and you too)! What a wonderful birthday treat!

I love the Italy pavilion -- it always makes me want to go there for real!

Thank you! I am going to have so much fun planning this next trip!

I am so excited about your Grand Floridian Trip!

Chelsea is going to be so excited.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas, LL! I think I am still recovering from the madness of yesterday -- we didn't stop until about 11:00 last night and then I fell fast asleep on the couch.

Thank you! I am going to have a blast planning this trip -- every time I get anything from Disney, it says "Chelsea's Birthday Celebration" and makes me want to squeal with excitement!

I love your "details" pictures in Italy! The fountain looks very similar to the fountain in front of the Library of Congress.

OK...maybe not as similar as I thought but it's close!

So excited about the GF! Who wants to start a pool on how long it will be before she tells the secret or let's it slip? LOL

I think it does look very similar! It always surprises me how many Roman and Greek motifs snuck into early 1800 architecture here in the United States.

Luckily, with all of you to dish about the trip with, I should be able to keep mum.

 

[Charleston Princess]

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So excited for the GF!! Chelesa is going to be super excited! 7 months is a long time....I don't know if I could do it. I get so excited about the planning and sharing it would just flow right out of my mouth!

There is a Basin in the GF isn't there????
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There is a Basin White at the Grand Floridian!!! I read over on the Grand Floridian thread that someone likes to get the bath bombs and soak in the tub in their room. How relaxing would that be?

I lost count how many Dragonberry's you had!

A very Merry Christmas to your family

Tracy

I had a lot of Dragonberries!

Merry Christmas to you, too, Tracy!

Merry Christmas Jackie, Charles, Chelsea, and Connor! Hope you all had a great day.
I bet the elves are back up in the North Pole relaxing after their fun adventures at your house.

Thank you! Yes, the elves are back at the North Pole and are now Mrs. Clause's responsibility. Whew!

Hi Jackie! Merry Christmas!!

I'm all caught up again - sounds like you & Charles had a lovely evening in Italy.

Congratulations on your next trip! That will be an amazing birthday present for Chelsea! We told the boys about our April trip today - they were luke warm about it - I'm sure Chelsea will be a bit more excited!

Merry Christmas, Amy!

We did have a lovely evening in Italy. I didn't really want to leave!

I am very excited about Chelsea's birthday trip, and I bet the boys will be excited about the trip when it is much closer. April seems a long way away when you are a kid.

Those Dragonberry Coladas look delish!!! What an awesome suprise for Chelsea, has she wanted to stay at the GF? Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.


Melissa

Hi, Melissa! Yes, Chelsea has always said that the Grand Floridian is her dream resort, so I am excited that we are able to stay there for her birthday.

Just wanted to come over and see if all was quiet now since the elves have gone back to Santa's workshop. I envision your house right now with four sleeping humans, assorted sleeping doggies, and new presents lying open under the tree and throughout the house. Enjoy lounging around in pj's for this last week.

All quiet now! The kids must have been exhausted because they are STILL sleeping.

I am going to Alabama, so we will be driving from Huntsville over toward Atlanta. The guys are leaving from Nashville. We are meeting in Perry for breakfast.

Happy Travels! The traffic should be pretty light through Atlanta since it is the weekend.

It will be fun to plan some really cool way to surprise Chelsea with the resort choice, and you will have to have the camera rolling so that we can share in the fun.

I already have a couple of ideas for the "reveal" twirling away in my brain.

I plan to be strolling around GF taking pictures of beautiful Christmas decorations within the next few days, so if you have a picture request, let me know here by tonight or through Trent's Facebook any time.

Any pictures you take of the Grand Floridian will be awesome, MeMom!

Jackie:


Merry Day After Christmas!

How did you not spill the beans already on Christmas day! The GF for Chelsea - that is so royally, freak'n exciting!!!!!!!! I can't wait to relish in pictures and descriptions of the GF when you write this PTR/TR.

She is going to be soooooooo excited!

I am sorry that your TR is coming to a close. It sounds like you both had a wonderful weekend and I'm sure you will be planning a return visit next Food & Wine. I really need a planning calendar with everyone's dates filled in. that will make it much easier for me!!!!!!!

Merry Day After Christmas to you, too, Mary Ellen!

Each day it gets a little bit easier to not spill the beans. It will probably get worse though the closer we get. I am already going to have to have two planning binders (one "pretend" one and one hidden away with all of the real information in it).

I am sad that this TR is almost over, too, but I already have a title for the PTR, so I will just start that one as I finish this one.

 

[Native NYer]

The photos of Italy are beautiful. And a dragonberry colada sounds like the perfect way to end the evening.

Yay on booking the GF Chelsea is going to love the surprise. I can't wait for the PTR to start.

 

[eandesmom]

Oh wow, a surprise trip the day after her actual birthday. How wonderful!!!!!!!!!

I love surprise trips.

YAY for magical PIN Codes!!!!!

The GF, how fantabulous, it will be incredible. Looking forward to the PTR.

 

[tiggrbaby]

I'm so glad you were able to book it! Make sure you take a video to post on her reaction when you tell her!

 

[jenjolt]

Holy Moly...you go on a brief hiatus and look at all the info I missed!! I'm so excited for you guys Jackie!!! SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!! I can't wait to read your PTR and I can't wait for the big reveal!!! Hope you guys had a great Christmas!!!!!!!

 

[pooh'smate]

Jackie, I hope you all had a great Christmas. I am slowly catching up on my Dis and I have to say that I am excited to hear about your plans for next summer. Chelsea will be so excited.

 

[Charleston Princess]

The photos of Italy are beautiful. And a dragonberry colada sounds like the perfect way to end the evening.

Yay on booking the GF Chelsea is going to love the surprise. I can't wait for the PTR to start.

Thank you! It seemed appropriate to end our evening with a Dragonberry Colada since that is how we began the Food and Wine Festival.

I have been haunting the GF photo thread and getting more and more excited.

Oh wow, a surprise trip the day after her actual birthday. How wonderful!!!!!!!!!

I love surprise trips.

YAY for magical PIN Codes!!!!!

The GF, how fantabulous, it will be incredible. Looking forward to the PTR.

I have never attempted a surprise trip -- wish me luck. Actually, we will tell the kids we are headed down there, but we will pretend we are staying at a moderate. Then, the night before, we will do the resort unveiling.

I'm so glad you were able to book it! Make sure you take a video to post on her reaction when you tell her!

I want to do something really clever to let her know where we will be staying.

Holy Moly...you go on a brief hiatus and look at all the info I missed!! I'm so excited for you guys Jackie!!! SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!! I can't wait to read your PTR and I can't wait for the big reveal!!! Hope you guys had a great Christmas!!!!!!!

We did have a great Christmas, Jen! Hope you did, too! I am planning on wrapping up this TR and starting the PTR near the New Year.

Jackie, I hope you all had a great Christmas. I am slowly catching up on my Dis and I have to say that I am excited to hear about your plans for next summer. Chelsea will be so excited.

We did! Hope you had a good day as well! Chelsea may be obnoxiously excited about it.

 

[winkers]

You are going to score alot of mom points with staying at the GF for her birthday!

It's my dream resort too...

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

The 2010 trip sounds fantastic. What a birthday surprise! I think my DH is praying that I don't get anymore pin codes.

 

[punkin413]

What? Did you want me to dish about the next trip? You have to promise to not say anything to Chelsea. We are booked at the Grand Floridian for five nights starting July 18 (the day after her 13th birthday) with that awesome 40% pin code, but we aren’t going to tell her until her birthday. I am saving all the details for the PTR though.

awesome!!! how exciting! and that's the day OF my 34th birthday....can i stow away in one of your suitcases?

 

[JenAusty]

YAY for Grand Floridian! Yay for Pin Codes!

And how do you get these pin codes? I must know! hehe

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Wow Jackie! That's some GRAND news that I've just finished reading! Congratulations on the resort choice! I can't wait to hear all the plans and how you are going to reveal the trip to Chelsea!

 

[MEK]

I am already going to have to have two planning binders (one "pretend" one and one hidden away with all of the real information in it).

Oh this is a great idea.....leave it to a true Dis'er to be so creatively conniving. Love it!

 

[Charleston Princess]

You are going to score alot of mom points with staying at the GF for her birthday!

It's my dream resort too...

I better score a lot of mom points! Just sayin'... The hardest part will be when Chelsea gets one of her attitudes, and I want to say, "Look, if you don't stop acting like that, I am switching resorts."

I have wanted to stay there since it was built, and I saw it across the lagoon. I am glad my brainwashing worked with Chelsea.

The 2010 trip sounds fantastic. What a birthday surprise! I think my DH is praying that I don't get anymore pin codes.

Charles is always thankful when I get a pin code as it saves us a good bit of money.

awesome!!! how exciting! and that's the day OF my 34th birthday....can i stow away in one of your suitcases?

Of course, you can, Dawn! There is a daybed in the room after all. We'll be leaving before it's light out, but not as early as Jill and MeMom left this morning.

YAY for Grand Floridian! Yay for Pin Codes!

And how do you get these pin codes? I must know! hehe

I read here on the DIS that if you go save a couple of vacation offers over on the Disney website, they send you an email with the pin code attached. That's what I did, and lo and behold, I received an email entitled, "Explore Your Resort Choices." Near the bottom was the pin code which includes almost all the dates in 2010 except the big holiday ones. I was super excited!

Wow Jackie! That's some GRAND news that I've just finished reading! Congratulations on the resort choice! I can't wait to hear all the plans and how you are going to reveal the trip to Chelsea!

Thanks, Anita! My only regret is that our dates don't coincide, but I have already decided that in 2011, I want to do the Christmas trip -- there will be a full week between the end of school and Christmas Eve, so it will work out perfectly. I think that's when you should go, too.

Oh this is a great idea.....leave it to a true Dis'er to be so creatively conniving. Love it!

I think it might be a sign of illness that the binder dilemma was one of the first things I thought of when I booked.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Charles is never one to linger around on the last day at Disney. He had us out of the hotel and on the road by 7:00. While I hated leaving my favorite place, I knew we needed to get home to get ready for the coming week. It was an adjustment from summer knowing we would have to jump right back into the real world with hardly any turn around time.

We made excellent progress until we hit road construction in downtown Atlanta. Really whose idea was it to merge six lanes of traffic into two on a Sunday afternoon. We were backed up past Turner Field, and it felt like we sat in traffic inching along forever!

It was a relief to finally arrive home and see the kids! They were super excited we were back home and of course, wanted their souvenirs immediately.

So, what souvenirs did we bring home? Well, you have already seen the pictures of Connor’s Toy Story Army Men. He is still playing with them. You’ve also already seen the pictures of my Mickey rhinestone earrings which I wear more than any other pair of earrings.

We also came home with some Food and Wine Festival merchandise.

Spoon rests for our parents. I wish now I had gone ahead and gotten one for us. I always find myself looking longingly at my mom’s when I am over at their house.

The Food and Wine Festival magnet graces the front of our refrigerator.

The Food and Wine Festival cookbook which I have yet to try anything out of -- the artwork is great, though.

Chelsea’s glass that she requested.

My favorite souvenir of all -- the Food and Wine Festival print -- it is hanging on our kitchen wall and truly makes me smile every time I look at it.

So, in true Charleston Princess form, I came home with enough souvenirs to help me remember our great adults-only weekend.

UP NEXT: Final Thoughts and a New Pre-Trip Report!

 

[praisehisname]

The Food and Wine Festival cookbook which I have yet to try anything out of -- the artwork is great, though.

Maybe trying some new recipes will help get you through the long winter!

Can't wait to start your new PTR!