The Drive, the Dream and DVC - A March 2011 Birthday Surprise TR(NEW 11/9 p. 32 END)

[Charleston Princess]

What an icky, rainy day at Pop, but I love the girls' reactions to going on the Dream (and how they were trying to figure out what the surprise was before)! Great reveal!!! Sarah made me laugh putting the pillowcase on her head -- that's something Chelsea would do!

 

[Monny2AE]

Catching up on your loooooooong drive! Those gas prices made me cringe! Glad it went smoothly though despite the rain!

Love the surprise, especially when they start singing that they're going on the Disney Dream...too cute!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Boy, I am behind. Love the surprise for the girls. You could tell they were sooooo excited and happy. I wish I could keep a secret and surprise DS like that!

Pop looks like so much fun. I would like to stay there sometime.

Yikes, $37 for a meal! I just ran the numbers for our summer trip and eventually decided to do the dining plan. Food can be outrageous at Disney.

Too bad about driving in the rain, but so glad you hit Florida sun!

Can't wait to read more.

Erika

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Aw, look at how happy those girls were!! Today is "some day". I love that Sheree. What wonderful parents you and Dave are.

 

[Dancegrl624]

Love the surprise video!!! You guys stayed in the same building we did in September, except our room faced the pool. Yes, there is usually shampoo in the bathroom at Pop (Tony took it everyday along with the bar soap and put it in his suitcase. He is still using Disney soap!).

Can't wait to see some pics of the Dream!

 

[Native NYer]

What a great surprise!
The pillowcases and FE are so cute.

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

Can't wait to hear about your big suprise trip!

 

[mtmbyck]

Yours is the first dream TR I've read so I am super excited to follow along. We landed in that rain on the 10th so pretty sure I know how your weather was. Guess you would have been back at the world when we were.

Can't wait for more pics.

 

[MEK]

Sheree - You guys are amazing. Driving 24 hours straight! I don't think I could do that. I also hate driving in the rain and the dark. Isn't getter older great? I blame my dark & rain aversion to my aging eyes. I wonder what I'm going to be like 10 years from now.

What a lovely video of the girls. .... "I'm going on the Disney Dream"...... WOOT! That brought a huge smile to my face! Loved it!

I can't wait to see that boat! I hope you have an uneventful arrival and check-in!

 

[k_reile]

just found your report. we are thinking of driving from Ohio to WDW in Nov 2012 and staying at Fort Wilderness with my inlaws big 5th wheel camper! I have NEVER drove to WDW so that should be interesting for me...but I'm really excited about taking a bunch of stuff with us and possibly the dog too instead of limiting what I can take when flying!

Can't wait to hear about the Dream. I want to do a disney cruise when DS is older (he's only 2.5 yrs now)

 

[onejellyshelly]

Love to hear more about your wonderful trip.

 

[clayfolks]

Subscribing. Can't wait to read more!!

 

[MeMom]

That is a nice view.
We love Pop, as you may already know.
It's neat to be able to watch the Animation Suites go up across the lake, too.

Too bad about the rain, but at least you weren't getting on a bus to go to a park in it. Hopefully, you were driving out of it as you went toward the ship.

Never having been on a cruise, I look forward to your pictures.

 

[GoofyWife]

great job surprising the girls! Can't wait to hear more

 

[jenseib]

What a wonderful video of the surprise! I love how it takes a minute to dawn on them. We had rain on our port day as well....and it never went away till late at night.
I also was rushed a lot and left/lost a few things in my haste. I am kicking myself now.

 

[jenseib]

I also wanted to add that Pop does supply a shampoo in your room. So you were jipped...sort of. It's a shampoo/conditioner combo and it's pure crap

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

What a good surprise you two did!!! LOL!! Aren't the suprises the BEST!!!? I love when you told them today is some day!! The girls are precious as always!!
I can tell you have lost weight too!! Good for you!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Love the video of the surprise, put a great big smile on my face! And I must say, I love listening to you guys talk, reminds me of 'home'. My parents were both born and raised in Minnesota and I spent every summer vacation there as a kid visiting relatives. In fact I'm going up next month for my cousin's high school graduation

I'm a little worried that you might have left something important in the room......

Oh thanks! I definitely have the Minnesota "O" accent going on, although I'm not as strong as some here. (mostly the Scandinavians!) I'm glad you get to come back soon - I hope we have good weather for you! Where about will you be??
No, nothing left in the room...

I caught up just at the right time!
First of all, all of that rain on your trip down.... UGH!
Next I can't wait for our drink of OJ at the welcome center!!
Lastly the video, You look terrific! The surprise turned out just perfect!
I'm anxious to read more!

Whew, I wouldn't want you to fall too far behind the group! Thanks, it was fun surprising them, but difficult too. After the trip I told Sarah there were so many times I just wanted to ask if she'd want this or that. Had to tell a lot of little fibs in the process. She forgave me!

I was thinking the same thing too....

It really wasn't THAT horrible.

LOVE the video!!! Sarah's little dance was just so adorable!!! What a surprise filled trip you had!!! Hope that the rain lets up for you at some point!!! Can't wait to read more!!!

I'll let you know now, that weather did NOT cause us any trouble the rest of the trip. Sarah was just so funny!!

Great start to your TR! I loved the surprise video. It's so fun to watch the kids faces as they figure it out.

Sounds like you made good time on the drive despite the rainy weather. I would have had a hard time sleeping while DH drove through bad weather too. I always feel better with another set of eyes on the road.

Love the Mauer jersey too! We have a Mauer fan and a Morneau fan at our house. Hope the jersey and your families presence brings our struggling team a little luck. I know it's early in the season and we already lost our 2nd baseman, but come on guys! It's never easy to be a Minnesota sports fans. . .

Looking forward to your first impressions of the Dream.

It seemed to take them a minute to grasp the idea, didn't it? I have a Mauer fan and a Cuddyer fan. It's a lot harder to find the Cuddyer jersey in kid sizes, but I'm looking. It is tough to be a MN sports fan!! They'll come around (I hope) We went to a game on Saturday night and it was windy and so hard to watch them lose. Again.
The Dream is coming up today!!!

What an icky, rainy day at Pop, but I love the girls' reactions to going on the Dream (and how they were trying to figure out what the surprise was before)! Great reveal!!! Sarah made me laugh putting the pillowcase on her head -- that's something Chelsea would do!

Yeah, the rain wasn't great, but it didn't kill our excitement!!! Sarah is such a goofball!! I think they just didn't know what to do!

Catching up on your loooooooong drive! Those gas prices made me cringe! Glad it went smoothly though despite the rain!

Love the surprise, especially when they start singing that they're going on the Disney Dream...too cute!

Yeah, that was a long night and day!! They were really funny! I wanted to jump up and down with them!

Boy, I am behind. Love the surprise for the girls. You could tell they were sooooo excited and happy. I wish I could keep a secret and surprise DS like that!

Pop looks like so much fun. I would like to stay there sometime.

Yikes, $37 for a meal! I just ran the numbers for our summer trip and eventually decided to do the dining plan. Food can be outrageous at Disney.

Too bad about driving in the rain, but so glad you hit Florida sun!

Can't wait to read more.

Erika

It was really hard to keep the secret. I don't know how some people do it for a year! I think Pop is a fun place. The whole atmosphere just screams "FUN". It was a bit crazy/hectic at some points, but if you like the energy, it would be perfect. Dave was not all that excited about it. He has gotten spoiled with the Deluxes and DVC resorts now!
The nice thing about the Dining Plan is that you don't have the surprises - it's paid for, you can order a big expensive steak, or a basic burger. I don't like to worry too much about every last penny and breaking even, but that food court dinner was ridiculous! That one meal was almost the cost of one day for an adult on the DDP!
More will be coming today!

Aw, look at how happy those girls were!! Today is "some day". I love that Sheree. What wonderful parents you and Dave are.

Aww, thank you so much. That's very kind of you! I have contemplated sending the video to Disney for the Let the Memories Begin campaign, but decided against it. I doubt I'll get anything in return, and it is just free advertising for them! I do enough of that anyway! Although it would be cool to see my kids on the commercials!

What a great surprise!
The pillowcases and FE are so cute.

Yeah it was fun! Thank you - they are from a seller on Etsy who was just wonderful! If anyone is interested, PM me and I'll pass on the name.

Can't wait to hear about your big suprise trip!

It was just a fabulous trip - we had a lot of fun. I just wish the cruise was a few days longer!
Maybe another time!

Yours is the first dream TR I've read so I am super excited to follow along. We landed in that rain on the 10th so pretty sure I know how your weather was. Guess you would have been back at the world when we were.

Can't wait for more pics.

I hope to give you lots of good info and pictures from the ship! We were at the world from 3-13 - 18. We may have crossed paths! There were enough people there for sure!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Sheree - You guys are amazing. Driving 24 hours straight! I don't think I could do that. I also hate driving in the rain and the dark. Isn't getter older great? I blame my dark & rain aversion to my aging eyes. I wonder what I'm going to be like 10 years from now.

What a lovely video of the girls. .... "I'm going on the Disney Dream"...... WOOT! That brought a huge smile to my face! Loved it!

I can't wait to see that boat! I hope you have an uneventful arrival and check-in!

It really was all Dave. I would have stopped if he weren't with me. But we had to get to WDW by Wed. night, so we soldiered on!
It is really fun to watch the video again and again. I'm glad I was able to make you smile. Although I hate listening to my own voice. It sounds different to me and I like the one I hear in my head when I'm talking better! KWIM?
The boat will be coming up this afternoon. After replies, I've got to run for a bit and I'll be back! Promise!

just found your report. we are thinking of driving from Ohio to WDW in Nov 2012 and staying at Fort Wilderness with my inlaws big 5th wheel camper! I have NEVER drove to WDW so that should be interesting for me...but I'm really excited about taking a bunch of stuff with us and possibly the dog too instead of limiting what I can take when flying!

Can't wait to hear about the Dream. I want to do a disney cruise when DS is older (he's only 2.5 yrs now)

Wow! Driving a big 5th wheel? That's gutsy! Driving a car or van is enough for me. It really isn't that bad if you plan well and bring things to keep everyone occupied. No one wants to hear "I'm bored" or "are we there yet" every 20 minutes when you have 20 hours to drive! It's nice to be able to bring extra "stuff" that you can't fit on a plane.
The Dream, in a word, is AWESOME! I recommend EVERYONE get to go someday!

Love to hear more about your wonderful trip.

Coming up!! I'm excited to tell all the great stories! We really had a blast!

Subscribing. Can't wait to read more!!

I will provide more soon! I'm sure everyone is anxious to see the ship!

That is a nice view.
We love Pop, as you may already know.
It's neat to be able to watch the Animation Suites go up across the lake, too.

Too bad about the rain, but at least you weren't getting on a bus to go to a park in it. Hopefully, you were driving out of it as you went toward the ship.

Never having been on a cruise, I look forward to your pictures.

Yes, you are the Queens of POP! I'll be curious about those suites when they open. The rain didn't really phase us too much, but we were thinking, it seems every time we go on a ship, there is rain to start our journey!
The pictures probably won't do it justice, but I'll try! There was just so much to see!!

great job surprising the girls! Can't wait to hear more

Thanks! It was fun - more is coming along shortly!

What a wonderful video of the surprise! I love how it takes a minute to dawn on them. We had rain on our port day as well....and it never went away till late at night.
I also was rushed a lot and left/lost a few things in my haste. I am kicking myself now.

I also wanted to add that Pop does supply a shampoo in your room. So you were jipped...sort of. It's a shampoo/conditioner combo and it's pure crap

Yeah, the reaction is why I keep watching the video. That may have been the ONLY thing we videotaped the whole trip!
I just hate being rushed for anything - it always leads to trouble later!
Dang rain! It can be such a pain. I hope it didn't take away too much of your trip. Are you doing a TR? I have been looking at all your cruise pics on FB- your daughter is adorable!

Yeah, I didn't really WANT the shampoo, it was just the principle of the thing. It was supposed to be there, and it wasn't. So I feel a little jipped, but it wasn't the worst thing. It did make me think perhaps the service was a bit lacking.

What a good surprise you two did!!! LOL!! Aren't the suprises the BEST!!!? I love when you told them today is some day!! The girls are precious as always!!
I can tell you have lost weight too!! Good for you!!!

Shawna - it was so much fun! Thank you - Of course after the cruise and the parks, the weight is creeping back on. I need to get out and walk. So glad it's spring finally!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Oh thanks! I definitely have the Minnesota "O" accent going on, although I'm not as strong as some here. (mostly the Scandinavians!) I'm glad you get to come back soon - I hope we have good weather for you! Where about will you be??

They live in a small town in the SW part of the state, about an hour and a half from Sioux Falls, SD. I guess the closest decent sized town to them is Marshall. I hope the weather is nice too! I've gotten used to warmer weather already here, it's been in the 80s for most of the past 2 weeks.

No, nothing left in the room...

Well thats good, I hope.....

Also, I forgot to mention before, my youngest son is a catcher and he LOVES Joe Mauer! He would be quite jealous of Sarah's jersey.