Surprise gifts waiting in Resort Room

[gravel72]

We are finally taking a trip in September to WDW.

I want to have a surprise waiting in the room my wife and 3 year old. Do you any suggestions? (Flowers, balloons, matching t-shirts, etc.) Hopefully, All-Star Sports Resort will help me by having it in the room as we first enter.

Let me give you a little history and it may help :

We had a rough two years. I was unemployed and we scraped and borrowed to make it through. Now things seem to be stable again. We have money to take vacation, and what better way to celebrate the at Disney.

I wanted to show my appreciation to my wife for sticking with me through all of those hard times. The easy thing would have been for her to leave, but she didn’t.

I want to get her something nice, but also include our daughter in it somehow too. It could just be something simple like a t-shirt or something nice like jewelry. I am open to anything. Obviously, something with a Disney theme would be better.

Out last trip was on our honeymoon in 1999. This will also be our daughters first visit. She’ll be just under 3 (enough to still get in free)

Any suggestions?

-gravel72

 

[SamanthaL]

Well you could have those pixies plan something with you. I know they are expensive though but boy are the ideas memorable. I know they do a scavanger hunt that sounds so fun! I forget the name of the website but someone else here will know for sure.

I got a beautiful basket from Disney on my honeymoon. It was heart shaped and had everything from chocolates and bath products to little Disney gifts. You could call Disney about that too. I am not very creative but I would love for my DH to do the pixie thing. Let us know what you decide.
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Oh I also love the glass slipper desserts they do at the GF that would be a great surprise too. I am not sure where you are staying but maybe they can send it to your resort?

I just thought of two more things: YOu could try to book an Illumination Cruise and have the bakery do up a cake or dessert for her. The fireworks on the cruise are the best and that would be a wonderful surprise. Also my mom had the gift shop wrap up a pair of PJ's for me on one trip. It was nice to come back to the room and have a gift waiting.

Am I getting warmer?

 

[beavismom]

How about matching charm bracelets. I know they aren't "expensive" but I love mine. Disney sells a variety of charms you could probably order ahead of time. Maybe get one or two to start and let them pick more as you go along on the trip?

 

[Terry S]

I had a wonderful basket of goodies delivered to my Moms room for her anniversary from www.disneyflorist.com They don't just do flowers, they have all sorts of stuff from food items to Mickey Ears and Autograph Books.

 

[gravel72]

The pixie surprise planners would be a great idea, if I can afford it. It would be a better idea if it was just the two of us. But the toddler won’t know what’s going on and she’s little too young to . I will check into it and see what kind of options they have.

We are staying at the All-Star Sports Resort. Not a romantic place, but still Disney.

The charm bracelet is a good idea. Plus, I like the idea of adding charms for each visit. That is something they can both have too.

 

[GeekChic]

LOVE the charm bracelet idea! What a great thought! I wonder if i could pull that off for my MIL, her b=day is this week but i want to surprise her on our trip in a couple weeks too.

hmmmm...gears turning lol.

WDW florist is great! the only thing is that they told me before that they don't deliver the day you check in because they can't get room assignment info ahead of time, or if they move you to a different room for any reason it's a problem, so they deliver the day after you get there.

if anyone has a story how they got them to deliver the day of arrival please let me know, would much rather do it that way for my in laws since they're arriving early in the day (before we do)

thanks!
geek

p.s. gravel, congratulations on this trip and kudos to you for wanting to do something special for your wife! my DH and I went through 2 LONG lay-offs in 2001 and 2002 and it was really hard...only if you've been through it can you understand really what it's like and i'm so happy that your time has come to return to WDW at last to celebrate!!! *high five*

 

[Mark P.]

Here's link to the "Pixies":
Gifts of a Lifetime

We've used them in the past for "arrival gifts", and everything was perfect.

Have a great trip

 

[lrdgrifter]

Maybe you could book a mother/daughter spa treatment for them over at Grand Floridian? Maybe you could all go for afternoon tea with Fairy Godmother?

If there's magic to be made, CM's will be more than willing to help make it, I've found.

 

[gravel72]

Yes, it’s was rough there for while. And if you’ve been there, you know what that can do to a marriage too. But we survived it, unlike a lot of people who give up.

The mother –daughter spa treatments sounds like a good idea … but no when you daughter is under 3. Maybe in a few more years.

Thanks for the advice everyone, keep the tips coming.

-gravel72

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

The DisneyStore.com had the Tshirts you could personalize on sale. That wouldn't be too expensive. You could put something like The Your Last Name Family's First Disney Vacation....You get the idea. If you could swing the Charm Bracelets too, that would be a great gift! Good Luck!

 

[eeyore kelly]

after checking in the room have you DW take your DD to the pools, so you can set up DD's tinkerbelle surprise. Have a autograph book, pressed penny book t-shirt for DD, set up charm braclet matching t-shirt, mickey earrings for DW. It's not an exactly waiting when they come in the door surprise. Most items can be found in the Disney store or on ebay for cheap.

Just a thought.

 

[beavismom]

I would also add a handwritten note telling her how much she means to you and thanking her for her strength and love (encouragement) while holding your family together. Even if you have told her there is something about seeing it in writing.

While I think the pixies are cool, I would love something that my husband put together himself much more.

One more thought, maybe splurge for childcare one night and have some time alone together. Even if you just walked around and shared a churro...

 

[eeyore kelly]

I would also add a handwritten note telling her how much she means to you and thanking her for her strength and love (encouragement)

ITA!!!

As a DW, Iwould cherish the note most of all!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Yes, the handwritten note is a great idea. Have you looked into the rehitching ceremony?

As far as something to go in the room, maybe call the hotel directly and ask if there's anything special that they could do and have them make a note on the reservation. We've gone to WDW before celebrating birthdays and they've left chocolate creations in the room. You might want to arrange something in addition since they might not do anything (and you shouldn't count on it), but with some luck and pixie dust WDW might do something special.

T&B

 

[TammiMcMan]

First of all I want to say congratulations to you and your wife for sticking through the bad times. DH and I went through it around our 8th anniversary and we'll be celebrating our 21st next month. I can tell you from experience, that your marriage will be all the more stronger for it.

With only 28 days to go before your trip, you might be a bit limited to what you can pull together. For instance, ordering custom t-shirts might take you a bit longer for production and shipping. I've used Cindy at pixiegifts.com and she was terrific. They do have a minimum of $75 though and I'm not sure what your ballpark figure is. There's a questionnaire on her website that you can fill out or e-mail her directly. They are not able to have the items in the room for you, in fact, other than the resort itself, I don't think anyone will be able to do that for you. But she will bring it on the day you check in and as another poster mentioned, you can send your DW and DD out to the pool or food court while you set everything up. If you're looking for ideas, at that age, my DD's loved the small Disney stuffed animals. For your DW, I love the charm bracelet idea. DH bought one for me at Disney last year and I love slowly adding to it.

Have a wonderful trip, the three of you deserve much pixie dust.

 

[Mackie's Mommy]

gravel~ We just went to Disney the first week of August and I had three surprises for my DH and DD5. They were a "thank you for putting up with me for the past year" kind of thing.

The first one was two goodie baskets from www.disneyflorist.com. They will not put them in the room but they will deliver them the day you arrived. I selected the one for DD that had an autograph book, pen, plushie and photo album. DH got snacks. They were both thrilled when the CM brought them to the room.

The second thing I did was to set out Cinderella goodies the night before we went to CRT. This was just for DD and I included a personalized card from Cinderella that said "looking forward to seeing you at breakfast tomorrow." DH was in on this one an took DD to the pool so I could set it up.

The third surprise was a private dinner I arranged at the Grand Floridian. We weren't staying there (we were at WL) but I called and made arrangements with Private Dining 407-824-2578. We had a private balcony on the 3rd floor of the main building with a butler who served the meal (Butler service was $50 for 3 hrs. and well worth it.) I told DH and DD we were going to dinner at Narcoosee's and had personalized "invitations/thank you notes" I made and presented to them when we got to the GF lobby where the butler met us. It really was a beautiful, relaxed dinner and I planned it within less than a month of arrival. I selected a menu of shrimp cocktail, garden salad, filet mignon and then we each had a different specialty dessert (tuxedo strawberried for DH, mini-wedding cake for me and the slipper dessert for DD.) You order off the private dining menu so you could find something for you DD also if she does better with kid's meals. I was offered several locations but chose the balcony because we would have a view of the EWP. Didn't stay late enough for the fireworks buts probably wouldn't have been a great view for them. It was wonderful and the surprise for my family just priceless. PM me if you have questions. I feel this is well worth it and will probably do it again even if it isn't a surprise.

 

[Magic2000]

Congratulations - and how sweet of you to think of doing something so nice for your wife and daughter!!

In Oct, 2003, DH & I took our youngest DD for MNSSHP (older DD had exams and couldn't come). This trip was a special trip for Allison - for some good, quality time with Mom & Dad! I ordered a Mickey basket from Disney Florist - it had a stuffed Mickey, autograph book, fat pen, disposable camera, snacks, etc. and a balloon with a card that said "We Miss You - Love Mickey and the Gang". It was delivered to our room, the first night we got there, while we were at Downtown Disney! Allison LOVED her basket!! (Cost was about $60.00)

We are going back in early Dec - just DH, me and Allison. I am planning some surprises for her - I'm going to bring some party bags from home w/tissue paper, and every day, when she wakes up, she'll find a surprise!! So far, I've got some pins for trading, a pair of pajamas, I'll buy her a stuffed animal when we're there (DH can distract her while I buy it), and I'm looking for one more surprise!!

Can't wait til Dec!!! Enjoy your trip - I like the idea of a charm bracelet for your wife. That way, she can add to it each trip! I've started a collection of snow globes of the Disney characters, and I'm buying one for each trip!

 

[Rachael Q]

I recommend Disney Florist. I had been through their website and couldn't find the "perfect" gift. So I emailed them and asked if I could customise a basket....mickey shaped basket with blue ribbon, some treats and a couple of gifts. They didn't have either of the gifts I wanted (I asked for refillable mugs for our resort), but said they would get them from the World of Disney, park or resort and add them in. Total was about $60.00.

I like the idea of the basket, with charm bracelets - then you can add charms for other special events, not just disney but disney started it all.

They said they couldn't have it in the room before we arrived, so I set it up for the day after arrival...they delivered to resort and cm's put it in our room, while we were in the park.