**What is a good title to get people to read your pretrip report??? LOL

[tinkerbeth]

Call me Mrs. Softy! I know all about it! We had once thought about getting the premium plan for all of it's extras..including the free child care. But the fact is..I don't want to leave them at a kids club! I want to take them with me everywhere I go!

I am so happy Britt is coming with us. She has become part of our family. We met her when she was in fifth grade and now she is going on 17! I remember when she was younger I told her she had to be in at least 6th grade to babysit! I don't know where the time has gone!

I'm the same - I thought about making ressies at V&A and leaving the kids with a sitter but I couldn't do it. DD2 would cry and what is the point of that on vacation?? Our Brianna is like your Britt. She was a student of mine when she was in grade 11 about 6 years ago and she has become part of the family for sure. It's the greatest to have someone like that around.

I don't know how you're keeping this a secret from your kids! It must be killing you!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Yes..it's killing me! It's ok though..it'll be worth it in the end!

I need to get back into writing this pre-trip report!

I've been investigating the DVC! I think we are gonna buy! I just need to get the money together for the down payment! I'm soooo excited! I have sort of mapped out our trips until 2011 if we buy soon! haha..I'm such a nut! If Phil hears me say DVC one more time he may just puke!

 

[askelton]

Before we moved here, we all stayed in a house off property, but it wasn't nearly that nice. You'll love it. I can't wait to hear how you decide to tell the kids. They're going to be so excited!

 

[AZMickeyfans]

I'm joinin' in! Cute family and I love the pictures!

 

[supersuperwendy]

I'm so happy you guys stopped by!

I haven't added anything in a while! We are down to 44 days! I can't believe it!

I've been watching videos on youtube of parents surprising their kids. There is this one that made me crack up! I will look for it today and post it...it's a mom's worst nightmare!

Wendy

 

[Alysa]

Your vacation home is lovely!
Can't wait to hear more!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Just chiming in to say Hello! I have also seen some of the bad reactions to a surprise Disney trip. I hope you don't get to experience it first hand!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Ok..I found it! I'm guessing this mom told them they were going to "Dicks". I guess that's a person's house...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MIBxhh_R_w&feature=related

 

[ILuvCrush]

Hi Wendy!!
I'm subbing in too!! Your trip sound great so far!!
My DS went on his 1st WDW trip 2 yrs ago (he was 11 at the time)
he was all excited about going...but adamant the he was afraid to fly.
We took his fear into consideration and took the Auto Train down instead. We had a blast on it and if not for him, we'd have never looked at alternatives!! After we got there, however, DS was pretty much the boon of the trip...he HATED it..refused to get on stuff...wouldn't watch shows/parades...complained about the walking/heat you name it. He said he'll never go back and if he has kids someday they're lucky that their Gran (me) loves it so much cause I'll be taking them he's NEVER going back

So when me, DH, DD11, DD8 go next year we're leaving him at Grandma's...I refuse to spend $5-6 grand to have him make us all miserable for a week!! he's thrilled that we aren't making him go...but unlike your situ last trip, DS is older and has been there, so we know that it's just not his cup of tea. We're planning our "family' trip to the Beach in June..and he has no choice but to go on that one!!

I so understand how you felt getting ready for the last trip!! I'm also SOOoo happy that your DS eventually "found the magic!" and you all had a good time

About DC...we were there in June.. they have a terrific subway system... You could park on the outskirts of the city and take the metro in...you won't have to worry about traffic that way. You can get metro maps on the DC official webpage and figure out where to catch it. All three lines give pretty direct routes to the smithsonians and the Washington monument. The walk from the metro station to the national zoo was much farther than I had expected and it would be too easy to lose too much time on that one. The best thing about DC is everything is free (except the metro). look at the DC sites and see what you think. BTW the hike from Washington Mmt to Lincoln was longer than it looks...b/c they're so big. You may want to go just half way to the WWII mml...it was beautful!

Paula

 

[supersuperwendy]

Thanks Paula!

Where in PA are you? I'm not familiar with your town. We are in Chester County near West Chester!

I don't know if we are actually going to do anything in DC. I didn't realize when I booked the flights that Dulles is kind of far from the action. Our return flights are late in the afternoon so we'll be driving right home. DC isn't too far and I'm hoping to take a trip there soon. I've only ever driven past the stuff and been to Arlington, that's about it.

Can you tell me more about the autotrain? Don't you have to drive pretty far south to catch it? Was it expensive? Where in Florida do you get off?

Thanks!

Wendy

 

[supersuperwendy]

Today I went on airtran's site and pulled up our flights. I almost fell off my chair when I noticed they removed my direct flight and replaced it with a layover in Atlanta. I hadn't even been notified. UGH

I called and they were very friendly. They offered to put us on a different direct flight that gets into Orlando at 2:00! Our original flight didn't get us there until 7:00 pm! Woo Hoo!

Then...

I opened the email confirmation and realized our seat assingments (which i already paid for) were all wrong. I tried to change them, which worked except it wouldn't let me move MY seat! UGH...then I thought it finally worked and everytime I tried to continue it would say error. UGH!

So...

I just called and once again they were super nice! They got all six of us together..three in one row, three behind! WHEW!!!!

Now..

let's cross our fingers nothing changes in the next 41 days!

 

[mrsmouse]

So glad you got things straightened out with your flight! It's so nice when people are nice and helpful! Isn't it?

My sisters and grown neices and I are going Oct 4-9th! I hope all of the storms are long gone by then!

I can't wait to hear more...

Sue

 

[mickeysmyboy]

subbing in! I love your report! You sound sooo excited I'm excited for you!! That house looks awesome! We're traveling with a group of 10 family members in January and I thought about renting a house but then I figured the added cost of renting a 10 passenger van wouldn't be worth it. It's great that you go the free car! Can't wait to read more!

 

[askelton]

I just called and once again they were super nice! They got all six of us together..three in one row, three behind! WHEW!!!!

Well, that's one issue we don't have to worry about since it's just the two of us. I'm glad AT got it all worked out for you.

My sisters and grown neices and I are going Oct 4-9th! I hope all of the storms are long gone by then!

Our anniversary is the 4th and I think we're going to go to The Party For the Senses. Maybe we'll see you!

Usually October is great, but of course, anything can happen!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Woohoo! I made it near the beginning! I am loving your report and yes, your title caught my eye! It worked!

I love that you are surprising the kids like that! I have too big of a mouth to hold that type of secret. I think my kids are tired of hearing, "Oh guess what I read on the Dis today?".

I also love the house you are staying at! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[ILuvCrush]

Thanks Paula!

Where in PA are you? I'm not familiar with your town. We are in Chester County near West Chester!

I don't know if we are actually going to do anything in DC. I didn't realize when I booked the flights that Dulles is kind of far from the action. Our return flights are late in the afternoon so we'll be driving right home. DC isn't too far and I'm hoping to take a trip there soon. I've only ever driven past the stuff and been to Arlington, that's about it.

Can you tell me more about the autotrain? Don't you have to drive pretty far south to catch it? Was it expensive? Where in Florida do you get off?

Thanks!

Wendy

I'm about 80mile EAST of pittsburgh..just north of Johnstown, Cambria county.

The auto train leaves for Lorton Va...It is right off of the beltway going south on I95 It took us about 3&1/2 hrs from our house...from you I would think it would be closer. It arrives in Sanford Fl which is a smidge north of Orlando. It took us about 45min to get from there to POR (give or take).

We did coach seats and for 5 of us +a mini van it only cost a hair over $1000
...when we booked it for our "trip that fell apart" in June it was 2 adults and 2 teens and my Prius (which is a smaller sized car) it was $699.

I liked it..I had assumed I'd hate it, but I'm more than willing to do it again. Especially if we want to have a car while down there!! The train left at 3:30 (it left early..was to be 4:00, but everyone was there) and arrived at 7:30 am the next day..we couldn't get off the train til 8 though..b/c the station wasn't open yet
They fed us dinner and a continental bfast..the kids played their gameboy thingies and listened to music. It was nice b/c we did sleep/rest enough that we were able to go all day on our 1st day down there...Wishes and everything!
Did I do OK answering???
Paula

 

[supersuperwendy]

Thanks for stopping by guys!

MrsMouse: Where are you guys staying? I think October is a wonderful time to go! We have gone the last week of October a couple of times and thought we'd try early in the month!

Mickeysmyboy: Let me tell ya...allstarvacationhomes.com is amazing! If you need a big van like that you only have to pay the difference!! Also, if you guys wanted to break up into 2 houses, they can make sure the houses are next door to each other and each house would get a rental car with a week long stay!!! With a large group it could work out GREAT!!! This is our first time off site, so I will let you know how it goes!

Askelton: Happy Anniversay!!! How many years? Ours is later in the month on Oct. 26th..11 years this year! Our first day in the parks is Oct. 5 so I won't see you there. But later in the week keep your ears out from some really LOUD kids! They will be the ones crying in Honey I Shrunk The Audience! They are soooo scared of it! haha

Momof2boys: Thanks for joining! We are down to the 40 day mark and it's getting harder and harder to keep the secret! With the change in our flight plan, it's going to change when we leave for the aiport so I need a new plan for the surprise!

Iluvcrush: Wow..that's a pretty good deal. That sounds way better than driving the whole way. What are the seats like? Can you really rest on such a long journey? Being able to jump in your own vehicle sounds wonderful!

 

[supersuperwendy]

So...

As I'm sure you all know Disney released discounts for Oct. - Dec. packages. Last week my mom came over for the afternoon. I started poking around online looking at the discount. In passing I said to my mom....so how would you feel if we skipped the house and stayed at POR? She lit up! She was like..with dining? Oh yes..can we? It was so funny. So there we were...my mom, me and Brittany. We started the longest most stressful conversation!

We have until Sept. 4 to cancel the contract on the house. We would lose the deposit. If we were to cancel the house and send our passes back to undercover tourist, book two rooms at POR with regular dining and 8 base passes..it would cost us another $400 and my parents another $400. My mom was all about it...since otherwise we'd pay a lot more out of pocket for food once we are there. Also, we thought since we are off site guests we have to pay for parking everday. So that would be another savings. The more we talked about it the more it made sense. I called my husband at work and he was like....NO FREAKING WAY. haha He thinks we are NUTS! So he gets home and my mom is still here. She goes to town tryng to convince him to make the change. He says it's a bad idea since we don't know how long it would take undercover tourist to credit the money back. Plus they would charge a 5% restocking fee. Also, we were in the middle of our pay period with a week to go until payday. Since we were about to enter the window of less than 45 days we would have to pay in full. So we try to figure out how to get that sudden $400 together. So this is what I did.....

I CALLED AND CANCELLED HIS SEGWAY AROUND THE WORLD TOUR! haha

He told me to, if this is what I wanted to do! After a while my mom left and we got to talking. Although it sounds like a great idea we have all been looking forward to this awesome house! I have been really curious how it would feel staying off site. I called my mom and told her to forget it..that we are keeping the plans the same...minus Phil's surprise. She said it's fine and she understands.

So everything was restored to our original plans. Honestly....I thought the cost of the tour was crazy! $190 to ride around on a segway?! haha oh well!

I want to join the DVC soon, and once we are members we can do the tour with a discount!

 

[ILuvCrush]

Iluvcrush: Wow..that's a pretty good deal. That sounds way better than driving the whole way. What are the seats like? Can you really rest on such a long journey? Being able to jump in your own vehicle sounds wonderful!

I work 3rd shift...so seriously..I can sleep standing up!!! The seats are like extra wide charter busses..they're comfy and roomy enough (and I'm rather pooh sized, not super pooh..but not a skinny little chickie thats for sure!!)
The kids slept very well... DH not so much, but he's like that anyway. Since I'm used to sleeping during the day, I am used to a sleep mask and earplugs...which I heartily recommend, unless you can sleep through any amount of noise. The train "clickity clacks" along and people walk around to the restroom and dining/longe cars at all hours. So it can get a little annoying if you're near a door or the stairwells to go down to the restrooms.
I sorta liked sleeping on the train...it was like being rocked to sleep..clickity clack clickity clack!!

The BEST part about the Auto train is......
No luggage limit!!!...if it fits in your vehicle..it is OK!!!
great for strollers, shopping, taking coolers, whatever! That's the one thing I hate about flying...stressing over how I'm going to get everything back home I bought!!
The other thing is there's not all the crazy restrictions on board...you can take drinks and lots of snacks for the kids...carry on your waterglobe..whatever and no one makes a fuss!!

 

[supersuperwendy]

That really sounds awesome!

My husband is huge harry potter fan..He can close his eyes and pretend it's the Hogwarts Express! haha

Maybe we will try it sometime. My DH doesn't drive because of how long it takes. I'm guessing he would feel the same way about the train. Is it direct or does it have stops once it leaves VA?