We carry moist towelettes. A *Mostly* Germ-Free TR ........

[Muffinygood]

Trip report pre-trip countdown....


So, I started planning this trip for myself (M) and my DS, (N) back in July when I received a discount promotion for the Disney Resorts. We’ve stayed on property before but they were only 1 or 2 night stays at the beginning or end of a much longer stay. Usually we rent a vacation home about 2 miles from the main gate. I love renting the house because we all get our own bedrooms and bathrooms and a pool right outside the door! There is something about vacationing at a resort though! You don’t have to make your bed. You don’t have to fill the dishwasher. You don’t have to even pick up your towels off the floor of the bathroom! IN FACT, the Disney Mousekeepers encourage you to leave them there so they know to replace them! WHOOHOO This is to be our first trip, just mom and son, ever! I am so excited to be going. He has NO idea. None at all. The trip is going to be a 10th birthday present. And a surprise. I have to keep the secret until we leave for WDW on Sept. 1st! Can I do it? Well, we’ll see. I’ve never actually kept a secret for two months before.



My DH is helping me plan this trip. The airfare is cheap cheap cheap! And that’s a great bonus to the very inexpensive stay we’ve booked at the Wilderness Lodge. This is our first stay at this particular hotel. I am looking forward to it very much. I’ve read the entire WL thread on the DIS to prepare for our stay. Requested our room choice (5032) and let them know that we were celebrating N’s birthday. Made our ADR’s for Narcoosee’s for a birthday extravaganza dinner, Whispering Canyon for bfast one morning, Hollywood and Vine for our MGM night dinner and a character bfast at the PR for our last day there. The trip is going to be 3 nights/4 days. N is even missing the first day of school! Lucky him!


I was obsessed with keeping this trip a secret! We didn't tell my older DS, who's 14, because we were afraid he'd slip and he barely speaks. My DH came up with a code word for all discussions involving the "trip." The code word was "brown." Don't ask me why....my DH said that was a good one so I went with it. But, that did attract alot more attention to us as the kids would always question a conversation that went, "So, the brown is looking good." "Really? That's great. I bought you a new camera for the brown." Confused looks all around. Sometimes even from me. Anyway, despite our bizarre attempts at espionage, we managed to keep the "brown" a secret. Go figure.



I hope everyone finds something to like in my trip report. It was a great trip with lots of pitfalls and some truly sweet moments. Photos will be included in the TR once I get rolling. That is if I can figure it out. This was a roller coaster ride of a trip! Tune in next time when M will say......

.........................”I‘m not sure you can actually breathe water. What? It‘s humidity?”

 

[scottny]

Ok I found you. I look forward to hearing of your trip. R u going to post pics?

 

[Trentmom]

See..I told you if you Post a link, they will come!!!



Good Start..........

So, you took your son for his 10th bday?? That is so nice

Did you do the same for your other son??

I can't wait to read all about it and to see some pics!!!


Postng pics is easy. You just need to take them off your computer and put them in a program like photobucket or imageshack..

Then, after you upload them to one of these programs...there will be codes listed underneath....You want to pick the one that starts with

 

[cmp1111]

See, we will follow!

Hi, I'm CE. I read Jen & Tera's report, too. I went for a first family trip in May and am now completely DIS addicted.

Great start!

 

[mousescrapper]

HI Muffinygood,

Your title caught my attention, got to love sanitzer.....I also love your picture-OPUS! My DPapa gave me a lttle Opus stuffed animal when I was proably 10 something, holds I special place in my heart, don't remember why I got it, but he sure is cute

Anyhow, I hope your suprise trip with your DS was great, how special! Would love to hear more about, hope you'll be back to post some more.

 

[dismom9761]

I already like it! I understand how you feel though,I started my first trip report a few days ago.My biggest fears were that nobody would read it or I would bore people to tears.

Anyway,I can't believe you kept it a surprise!That is so cool. My son's bday is in a few weeks(he will be 10) and he asked to go back for his present.

How did you tell him?

Love the code talk.

 

[Muffinygood]

Yay! You guys are sooooo cool! I know there's a way to multi-reply but in my excitement I forgot to do that! Duh!

So,
1. Thanks Cmp1111! I am so happy you think I'm off to a good start. And congrats for joining the crazies!

2. Trentmom- When you're right, you're right!
No, we didn't do this for the other son. He's neglected! It's a long story, but he's going to Washington DC with Dad for his birthday and it's their 2nd trip alone together...yadda yadda yadda! And THANK YOU SO MUCH for the posting pic info! That way I can answer ScottNY....

3. Yes, ScottNY, now that Trentmom has shown me the light I will endeavor to post those pics on a hosting site (terminology?) and then you can see them!

Thanks to all of you! You guys are so great. I look forward to telling you all about our trip. Germs and all.....

 

[cmp1111]

1. Thanks Cmp1111! I am so happy you think I'm off to a good start. And congrats for joining the crazies!

No problem! And, feel free to call me CE. Crazies are my kind of people...

 

[Trentmom]

You so funny..He neglected... That is nice he gets an alone trip with his dad...

to multi quote...go to each post your want to include...right next to the button that is quote, on bottom right, there is one next to it, it says multiquote, when you hold your cursor over it.


So, click on multiquote on every post you want to use, then hit post reply at top or bottom.....and then all the quotes will appear in your actual reply

Hope that was not too confusing

 

[Muffinygood]

I already like it! I understand how you feel though,I started my first trip report a few days ago.My biggest fears were that nobody would read it or I would bore people to tears.

Anyway,I can't believe you kept it a surprise!That is so cool. My son's bday is in a few weeks(he will be 10) and he asked to go back for his present.

How did you tell him?
Love the code talk.

Gosh, I missed you in my reply! It was SOOOOOOOOOO hard to keep the secret! I'm a big blabber mouth. My DH said NO way could I do it! Well, he was wrong! AGAIN! ha ha ha haha

I am starting your TR right now! So, there, we don't need to be a-scared anymore..

Keep reading! I will try to get the morning of the the "REVEAL" done tomorrow morning!

And get some pics up if I can.

 

[jcc0621]

I followed you over form Goofy and meeska's report. Great start. Can't wait to hear about how you told DS

 

[CruisinEars]

I followed you over her from goofy and meeska's thread too. Great start so far and I can't wait to read more. My son is going to be 10 for our next trip in May, so I can relate.

 

[Disneyolic]

Yes...links really do work. Now get writing!

 

[HomeschoolMama]

Subbing... I'll be back later to read, but I wanted to sub before I forget!

 

[Muffinygood]

Subbing... I'll be back later to read, but I wanted to sub before I forget!

Thanks! And Welcome! I have the next installment written but I'm trying to fuss with the photo things.... If I don't get the photos worked out I'll at least post the update today.

Yes...links really do work. Now get writing!

See above! Thanks for jumpin' on DM! Oh, and I love your myspace page. I have tink on mine too!

I followed you over her from goofy and meeska's thread too. Great start so far and I can't wait to read more. My son is going to be 10 for our next trip in May, so I can relate.

Ten is the best! I love 10! And welcome!

I followed you over form Goofy and meeska's report. Great start. Can't wait to hear about how you told DS

Goofy and Meeska's TR is probably the best one I've read! I have no illusions that I'll come close but I'm going to enjoy telling our story anyway! Welcome!

 

[dismom9761]

 

[Muffinygood]

Ok, when I left you guys I had just got done planning the trip (the essentials anyway, like hotel and airfare and ADR’s). The next two months will feel like, approximately, seven years! How on earth am I going to do this?! Well, the in-laws came for a visit and then we did back to school shopping. That ate up a week or two. I spent my days reading Meeska and Goofy’s TR (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20763692&posted=1#post20763692) and reading all the information I could on other sites like Allears.net and the threads on the DIS that apply to our trip. I was going to go the usual route for our Disney trips and plan out a daily itinerary but then figured that N would want to pick and choose what rides and things we see since it’s HIS birthday!

Wow! It’s only August. This is going to be a loooonnnngggg wait. Well, believe it or not we make it through August somehow. We had a 6 tornados rip through our county one night in August. One of them, an F2, manages to take down an entire small mid-western town. Thankfully, not mine. We spend a crazy amount of time at the pool that we have membership at. N and Z take tennis lessons at the local park. The whole time N complains that he is hot. And sweaty. He hates the hot weather, he says. Why does it have to be sooooooooo hot? Please, it was only 90 about 5 days this summer! This bodes ill for the trip to FLORIDA in the SUMMER!!!! Arghhhhh!!! At no point can I say, “Uh, it’s going to be WAY hotter when we go to FL for your birthday!” So, I say things like, “Well, think cool thoughts.” Lame. And then I run home and report to DH that the “brown” is NOT looking good. He says, “What were you thinking?” Ok, no help there. I spend the next 2-3 weeks till we leave watching the weather channel and hoping an artic front will speed on down to Florida for our time there.

This begins the time of “Extreme Worry” for me. I have to email his teacher and tell her why we won’t be there for the first day of school. She’s cool. Then somehow get every pair of shorts clean for our trip and squirrel them away without attracting notice. Not to mention cook meals and put them in the freezer for my hubby and older DS, Z. Oh, and my mother is coming to visit us the day before we leave for FL! She always comes for the kiddos birthdays so it would be odd if she didn’t show for this one even though the birthday boy will not be here. So, I’m making arrangements for her arrival and pick up at the airport.

**side note**
I have not told ANYONE of this trip. Not my sister, not DH’s parents who live in FL, no one! I was so worried they would tell him.

So, the Inlaws are calling and asking what N wants for his bday. I don’t know. I have no room left in my brain for anything NON-Disney related! I say, money. Well, that’s probably what he wants. I don’t know.

The big day looms closer and we set up the “GREAT DECEPTION” as we are now calling it. Two weeks prior to “the day” we are having breakfast at the table. N asked DH where he was working that day. He sometimes works from home. DH says, “I have to go to the airport.” DS, “Where are you going?” DH, “Nowhere, I have to pick up a package at FedEx. If you get a package that’s heavy or very large they make you pick it up at the office, which happens to be at the airport. ” DS, “Oh, I wondered how one FedEx guy in the truck could deliver heavy stuff all alone.” Ok, phase one complete!

Two days before “the day” we brief DS14, Z, who is sort of jealous but too kind to hold a grudge. He tells us he wishes we hadn’t told him because he will worry that he’d spill it! We make dinner reservations for the local “Mongolian BBQ” place for a birthday dinner with us 4 and Gramma. She arrives the next day. I retrieve her from the airport and admonish her the ENTIRE 25-minute ride home to NOT SAY A WORD!!! We go out that night for a great dinner and come home to cupcakes and presents. He’s thrilled.

**side note, again**
N has done something very odd this year. He informs us about a month before his birthday that he has enough stuff. He does not want to have a friend party unless I tell them not to bring gifts. And when asked what he wants from us and Dbrother, he says nothing. So odd.

Anyway, we buy him gifts, but they are little ones. Drum sticks from DS14, a t-shirt with his name on it from mom and dad, $ from Gramma. He’s thrilled. But now the hard part arrives. We have to get him into bed early because, we inform him of this during cupcakes, his REAL present is too big and is arriving at FedEx at the airport! TA DA!! And he will have to get up WAY early to go get it because with the Labor Day holiday if we don’t, the office will be closed till Tuesday! He goes to bed begrudgingly, and asks at least 4 times, what it could be? We all play dumb. As soon as he’s asleep we go into Ninja Packing Mode. Finally, around 11 pm I finish all the planning, packing, arranging and plotting. I fall into bed and sleep for 4 hours.

More on the “reveal” later guys! Sorry about the cliffhanger.

Next installment will feature the reveal (TA DA!!!) and the first half of our first day in the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH. Oh, and some pics finally!

***note*** I got the pics onto Photobucket!! Yippee for me!! Thanks to Trentmom for the tech support!!! Here’s one from last years Xmas trip so you all can see what we look like. Enjoy because until the Photopass pics come in the mail, I believe this is the ONLY photo to feature us BOTH because we didn’t have DH to take pics!!

That’s DH, DS14, DS10, and Moi... oh, and it's not our 1st visit, it was just our first visit to GF resort and they gave me this pin.....

 

[jcc0621]

Oh no you didn't just leave us hangin' like this

CLIFF HANGERS SHOULD BE OUTLAWED ON THE DIS

 

[Priorityonecb]

Great start!! I love reading "surprise" trips!

 

[luvmyboys]

I'm IN! Can't wait to see how he reacts!!