NO WAY!!!! I have several of his books!! He is an amazing author. I've done one of the Haunted Alton tours but unfortunately it wasn't one of his. I've been dying to do one of his though.
Really? I used to be a Rep for Chicago for him. What books do you have as we are in several of them! HA!
You should go to the conference in June we are thinking about going if i can talk my mom into watching the kids and dogs for a night.
Maybe get one of the planning videos & when it comes time for movie night, secretly pop it in instead of a regular movie? Maybe add in some Disney themed food, if that wouldn't give it away too much.
I did order one this year, i try to order them every year Im that nerd! LOL!! I do have some ideas i am going to toss out for you all to help?
How close to their birthday are you going to surprise them? You could also have them pop birthday balloons with little slips of paper in them that read "You're going to Walt Disney World!" or something like that.
I would like to be in Disney on their birthday! So the first week of Sept. I like the slips IN the balloons... going to incorporate that one!! THANKS!
EDIT: I forgot to weigh in on the resort again. I do like AKL but something about BW just keeps pulling me back in so that's still my vote. I think the tweens will love the atmosphere.
I think your right! With them being 13 they can do a LOT without us there too! so that might be great for them!
We used private sellers both times that I found on the DIS. It was very easy. It does require a lot of trust, but it is usually cheaper than going with a company. In fact I have made reservations for parents twice with one of the same people we used. It really has cut the cost down. If you're not comfortable with a private seller you can look into a company. They provide you with a contract. The company would charge you around $14-15 per point. A private seller can range from $12-15 depending on the resort. I know AKL has club level, but it is very hard to get even at 11 months out. If you wanted a shot at that you would have to find an owner that owns AKL.
this all sounds so hard! i think we will stay put at BW club level! plus how many points would you need for a week to 8 days??
I think a surprise trip for the kids would be fantastic. You could have a birthday party with all your family. You can get a Disney cake and make the party Disney themed. Buy some letter candles and spell out Surprise, We're Going to Disney World. That would be really fun and a little unexpected. Boardwalk looks like a great choice.
I have done the Disney themed Birthday You can see all that starting here:::
BIRTHDAY PARTY
But i haven't done it as a surprise we are going...
Yet i do want to be there for their birthday which means we would have to tell them a week before we go..
We worked with Lauren Enochs at the DVC rental store. She was fantastic!
I will def keep this in mind!!! I am still confused in how all this works. I know there are points but how does the point system work in currency? talk to me like i am 2? LOL
They were out all night when we were there in October 2015 - I believe they take in different species at different times of day as we really enjoyed the smarty pants giraffes sidling up to the barn area waiting on dinner time (we had a Jambo standard view hotel room which gave us a super cool view of the barn area for an inexpensive price). We saw deer type animals and antelope sleeping in the grass just under our balcony each night and we used the night vision goggles to see the other animals bedded down outside of Sanaa. Very cool to know the animals are having a snooze not far from you!
That's what the friend was telling me too. I was surprised they were out all night! Which just makes it that much more awesome! See! I need to stay here.. NEXT TIME!! I MUST!!
My daughter was attending a convention at McCormick Place while they were setting up for C2E2 this week. She has a picture of herself with Pikachu. The local news covered the C2E2 and showed lots of the costumes. I couldn't believe how hard people worked on these things. They looked great.
It was WILD! some of these people put a ton of $$ into this! I appreciated them all! I didn't get a chance to upload them yet.. I WILL! it was really neat to see! The people were really kind.
You need to do BWI CL first. The rooms have a daybed for one of your three kids to use. And you are walking distance to so many things. And its club level.
I think your right.. Talk to me about CL.. tell me everything! what about alcohol?
I think surprising your kids will be hard. They are smart and will look for clues. We've never done a surprise trip. I couldn't keep quiet about it.
But if I think of anything ingenious, I'll let you know.
It is going to be so hard to surprise them again.. the little snots.
Please think away! Nothing can beat the 2014 trip!!! I need to step it up!
I totally agree with you, but the folks on that thread seem really nice though. I've actually found that a lot of the resort thread peeps are really cool. I'm currently lurking on the Contemporary, Poly, BW, yacht & BC and POFQ threads! It's a sickness!
HA HA HA HA! Look at you go! I think i have read all the ones you are lurking on. i have read and reread BW a thousand times I do not think they give a great explanation.. I was more confused about the room types then EVER!
YES! you need to have a FULL report with tons of pictures!!!
We are using DVC Rental Store to rent points for our Poly stay in September. So far they've been great, and you don't have to pay all at once. I think their prices per point are slightly higher though, but I have zero complaints about them so far.
When i am ready to go to AKL you better be around to help with this whole point thing.
Oy, I was afraid to even look!
Just beautiful!
I know right?!?!
Personally I like the AK suite better, the other felt a little formal for my taste, I just wish AK wasn't so far removed. But It's such an amazing resort! Now if the monorail went out there....id be there in a heartbeat!
When we DO stay at AKL i
will have a car. it's just easier. this time i want to fly so BW just seems the best in regards to transportation ya know?
Sorry I have zero input on surprising the kids
I'm horrible at keeping secrets!
ugh. well I am sure you can help in some way!!!
Someone else suggested this too but maybe you get them each one of the planning videos (start ordering them now or enlist friends and family to order them as well so you have enough) and give them each a chapter - like "what to do with teens" and "new experiences at Disney world" (I am making these up but I suspect next year will include teasers for Pandora and a section on rivers of light, new Soarin', etc) and the last one is your resort reveal - maybe wait to do this until Magic Bands are delivered and give them the Magic Band too.
I did order the one for this year i am a Disney nerd and order them every year! LOL
Hummm Giving me MORE ideas... Will post a few soon..
Sorry for the delay. We renewed our APs last week and took a last minute trip this weekend. Stayed at a moderate for the first time. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, lol. We had our car, so just avoided the 8 million bus stops at Caribbean Beach, ha!
well color my JEALOUS! How did you like CBR? stupid question: how was your trip? Magical as always!?!
Boardwalk.
The QS options suck. That is my least favorite part of the resort. Poly has Captain Cooks, Contemporary has Contemp Cafe. The Boardwalk doesn't have a cafeteria style place to grab food. They should really put one it. They do have a great pizza window on the boardwalk. And the we've gotten coffee and a pastry from the Boardwalk Bakery. It's a 10 minute walk over the the Beach Club which is a good option for that. And of course Epcot is 5 minutes away.
Well. Don't think the QS sucky option is going to be so bad for us since we will stay CL! we will have all the munchies in the Innkeepers lounge!
I see there is a margarita station....
oooohhhh Kitchen sink.....
As for CL. The breakfast was great and had plenty of food options for our family. Lots to drink and eat. Lots of fruit and carbs. But there were some meats and yogurts and such for some protein. There are always snacks and drinks available. You can grab bottle water, soda, juices any time. There is a nice espresso type machine. There are a few hours in the evening where they have liquors and beers available as well and desserts. I think we made it one night for that when we were too tired for the park.
mmmmmm What kind of carb foods???
NO WAY! alcohol?!?!? Seriously?!?! I will take full advantage of CL... My kids eat. A lot.
and coffee??? So i won't have to buy the mugs? well that doesn't matter as it's part of the dining option now.
I want to know details!!! tell me all the yummies!
If you haven't yet, check out the Boardwalk fan thread. So much good info and pictures that will help you make up your mind!
Which one??? I only see one of the threads?!?!
Go to the completely boring place, check into a hotel for the night and tell them you are super excited about the events that you have lined up for the next day (complete with a long list of super BOOOOORING
). In the morning tell them to pack their bags because *SURPRISE* you are going to a super fancy hotel the next night *like that's the big surprise* pack them into the car and drive to MCO/Disney instead.
for my 1 br villa at the grand flo but that place is so expensive just for a hotel room I really got an incredible value)
