Quick! Catch 'em before they spill!PAGE3 THE WRENCH

[mouseketeer_mom]

..... the beans! I've nearly spilled them several times

I'm so excited and have been so busy planning that keeping the secret is getting harder every day. I mean, come on! it's only 35 days until blast off!


to my pretrippee!

(raising my right arm) "I do solemnly swear to do my very best to make this pre trip report accurate, witty, and to remember to post pics. Amen"


The short version for those who do not like long winded monologues : Me, DH, DS12, DD10 and DS10 headed to Fort Wilderness in WDW on Turkey Day. Driving from MD, arriving in FL on Friday. 6 day hoppers, start the drive home on the following Saturday.

But... for those that like all the little, nitty gritty deets! Onward....

[mouseketeer_mom]

Well, where do I start... I guess with introductions....

Me, I'm the mom, the chaffuer, the cook, the laudress, the housekeeper, the errand runner, the personal shopper, private homework tutor, first aid administer and wife extraordinaire! Oh, and I work full time. I just celebrated the 12th anniversary of my 29th Birthday (you do the math, I can't bring myself to actually write it). I'm a planner and by that I mean nuerotic obsessive, compulsive list maker. A good plan gives me the illusion that I have control over my life Which I don't, have control I mean. My kids do. They don't know it but my life pretty much revolves around theirs. It's a secret, don't tell.


DH, the dad..... and he works full time too (notice the shorter list? I thought you would) Joking aside, best dad and husband, hands down, bar none. 38 years young and has spent the last 17 plus of those years tolerating my plans for... well, everything. I'm blessed, what can I say!


DS12 (just a month or so shy of becoming my first teenager and I can't wait) Awesome kid that I'm fortunate to call mine. He lives for football and this trip takes place just days after the end of his season so maybe it will help ease the let down.

DD10 My girly girl. She's hit the tween stage but we are close so I'm optimistic of our survival. She's a cheerleader and by that I don't mean "sis boom bah". Times have changed my friend. She is a competitive cheerleader and spends about 15 to 18 hours a week practicing or tumbling. It's been an eye opener for me as I had never been exposed to cheer as a sport before. This trip is sliding in just before her first competition of the season.

DS10 twin to the aformentioned girly girl and technically 19 minutes her senior. He's knee deep in 4H and if you have a 4Her you have probably guessed what he is actually knee deep in He's my witty one, the sneaky one and he hasn't quite hit the tween stage yet so he's my new favorite kid



There you have it! The G family in a nutshell.

[mouseketeer_mom]

SSHHHHHHH!!!! It's a surprise... the kids don't know yet.

The reason I started this pretrip is because if I don't have someone to talk to about it, I'm probably gonna slip. See, I'm the KOTS, that's "keeper of the secret" to the lay person.

We surprised them in 2007 but it was soooo much easier then. They were younger and bought every bit of the Golden Gate Bridge I was selling. We drove to WDW then too. But, like I said, they were gullible. We were able get to the arch and pull the ol' "we're lost, where are we?" bit.

This time, I have to tell them in advance of departure. First, we are leaving on Thanksgiving day to start our drive. I want them to have some advance notice so they aren't making plans for the holiday weekend and are thus disappointed when those plans fall through. Next, we will be pulling our travel trailer down to Fort Wilderness and that's a lot of prep and packing. I want three Helpee Helpertons eager to see Mickey instead of having to try sneek it all in myself.


What's that? Yes, yes... You in the back, what?

Camping? Yes, we're camping at Disney. Only way to go in my opinion. I'll bring my own germy sheets with me, thank you very much. Besides, we are a family of 5. If we were stuck in a hotel room together for a week, you'd hear about it on the evening news. Best that we travel with our own accomodations. We get the added bonus of being able to really relax in the evenings without being squeezed in someplace arguing over the remote control.

So, that being said... anyone got any great ideas on how to do a big reveal?

[Pixiedust530]

Joining in to read about your adventures. What form of bribery was necessary to get all 3 kids to take a picture together?

I surprised my son last year about 30 minutes before departure, but he was only 4 at the time. So as you mentioned, it's easier when they're younger. I don't have any suggestions for the big reveal but I'm anxious to hear what you come up with.

[mouseketeer_mom]

Originally Posted by Pixiedust530

Joining in to read about your adventures. What form of bribery was necessary to get all 3 kids to take a picture together?

I surprised my son last year about 30 minutes before departure, but he was only 4 at the time. So as you mentioned, it's easier when they're younger. I don't have any suggestions for the big reveal but I'm anxious to hear what you come up with.

Yea! Thanks for reading... I pinky swear to share some more of deets in my next post and I think I've come up with a scavenger hunt/spy mission for the reveal so I will share that too.

Looks like you are already ahead of the game with plans for next October. Congrats!

[librarygeek]

Your family looks awesome! Seems like you're a great mom And I can't wait to hear more of your plans! I'm curious to see how you come up with surprising them. I also just started a pre-trip report, but not because my trip is secret - just that everyone else in my family is sick of me talking about it! But I know my DIS-ers will never get tired of talking Disney with me

[mouseketeer_mom]

Originally Posted by librarygeek

Your family looks awesome! Seems like you're a great mom And I can't wait to hear more of your plans! I'm curious to see how you come up with surprising them. I also just started a pre-trip report, but not because my trip is secret - just that everyone else in my family is sick of me talking about it! But I know my DIS-ers will never get tired of talking Disney with me

and thanks for reading. I took a peek at your wedding link in your signature. BEAUTIFUL! your dress is truly stunning! Congratulations!

[mouseketeer_mom]

So, there is a little bit of a back story to this trip. Let me just say that no one that has only been to Disney once should long to go back the way I do. Ever since our last trip in 2007, I've planned and schemed nearly each year to get us back. But, ya know? Life has a way of getting in the way.

The G family is not wealthy. Disney is a 5K vacation for us. It takes some careful orchestrating for me to find that $$ in our budget. And, when we finally could.... the big ugly hideous "C" dropped in. My SIL and Dad were diagnosed since our last visit. My SIL is a strong survivor of breast cancer and my Dad is still fighting. So, in some ways, this trip is a little about celebrating life and a big "efew" to the ugly C.

My brother and his wife (aforementioned SIL) will be joining us in the World with my two neices. DN1 is 5yrs and DN2 will turn 3yrs a few days after we get home. This will be a firt trip to WDW for their family and I can't wait to see my neices reaction to the magic of it all. My SIL has been to Disney before but my brother has never seen it and it's really tough to describe that Disney Magic to someone that thinks we are headed to a sugary sweet Six Flags.

There is a small chance my parents will be able to join us for a few days but that remains to be seen.

Lastly, when we visited in 2007 the kiddos were 4,4, and 7. Big difference in experience I think from then til now. We will last longer in the parks, can enjoy more evening activites. Most importantly, everyone is BIG ENOUGH TO RIDE!!!!

[mouseketeer_mom]

So, I'm thinking I'm gonna do a little mix of a secret mission/scavenger hunt. Tell me what you think...

The kids will each get a letter on a Sunday morning (maybe the 28th as we will be 25 days out) The letter will simply state that throughout the day they will occassionally find or be given a small envelope with a clue inside. They are to say NOTHING to each other about what clues they've been given until the very end. Each clue will be color coded. So, for example, on red card stock each kid will receive a different word but when you put all three red clues together it will say BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN. Maybe all the yellow clues will be something like 25 SLEEPS LEFT.

Am I over thinking it? Think it will work?

What say ye great Dis minds?

[librarygeek]

Originally Posted by mouseketeer_mom

and thanks for reading. I took a peek at your wedding link in your signature. BEAUTIFUL! your dress is truly stunning! Congratulations!

Aww, thank you!!

Originally Posted by mouseketeer_mom

So, there is a little bit of a back story to this trip. Let me just say that no one that has only been to Disney once should long to go back the way I do. Ever since our last trip in 2007, I've planned and schemed nearly each year to get us back. But, ya know? Life has a way of getting in the way.

The G family is not wealthy. Disney is a 5K vacation for us. It takes some careful orchestrating for me to find that $$ in our budget. And, when we finally could.... the big ugly hideous "C" dropped in. My SIL and Dad were diagnosed since our last visit. My SIL is a strong survivor of breast cancer and my Dad is still fighting. So, in some ways, this trip is a little about celebrating life and a big "efew" to the ugly C.

My brother and his wife (aforementioned SIL) will be joining us in the World with my two neices. DN1 is 5yrs and DN2 will turn 3yrs a few days after we get home. This will be a firt trip to WDW for their family and I can't wait to see my neices reaction to the magic of it all. My SIL has been to Disney before but my brother has never seen it and it's really tough to describe that Disney Magic to someone that thinks we are headed to a sugary sweet Six Flags.

There is a small chance my parents will be able to join us for a few days but that remains to be seen.

Lastly, when we visited in 2007 the kiddos were 4,4, and 7. Big difference in experience I think from then til now. We will last longer in the parks, can enjoy more evening activites. Most importantly, everyone is BIG ENOUGH TO RIDE!!!!

I'm sorry to hear about your family's battles with the big C... but I love your positive outlook, it's very inspiring. It will definitely be a different experience with older kids, and I'm sure that will be great!

Originally Posted by mouseketeer_mom

So, I'm thinking I'm gonna do a little mix of a secret mission/scavenger hunt. Tell me what you think...

The kids will each get a letter on a Sunday morning (maybe the 28th as we will be 25 days out) The letter will simply state that throughout the day they will occassionally find or be given a small envelope with a clue inside. They are to say NOTHING to each other about what clues they've been given until the very end. Each clue will be color coded. So, for example, on red card stock each kid will receive a different word but when you put all three red clues together it will say BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN. Maybe all the yellow clues will be something like 25 SLEEPS LEFT.

Am I over thinking it? Think it will work?

What say ye great Dis minds?

I love this idea! It kind of reminds me of the children's book The Westing Game... if you haven't read it, there are pairs that are given a set of clues, but no one can make sense out of them. In the end it turns out that all the clues work together to spell out the lyrics of a song, but they couldn't figure that out until working together. Will you eventually give them a chance to compare their clues at the end?

[rebeccaariel]

Joining in!

There's nothing more fun than a surprise trip! My mom surprised me with a trip to Cuba last year and it was incredible.

I think the way you're planning to reveal it to them is really cute! It'll definitely get them really excited. Another option is to give them clues to find letters and then they have to arrange the letters to spell something (e.g. WALT DISNEY WORLD). They can work together to figure it out. That might be fun!

[Pixiedust530]

Originally Posted by mouseketeer_mom

So, I'm thinking I'm gonna do a little mix of a secret mission/scavenger hunt. Tell me what you think...

The kids will each get a letter on a Sunday morning (maybe the 28th as we will be 25 days out) The letter will simply state that throughout the day they will occassionally find or be given a small envelope with a clue inside. They are to say NOTHING to each other about what clues they've been given until the very end. Each clue will be color coded. So, for example, on red card stock each kid will receive a different word but when you put all three red clues together it will say BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN. Maybe all the yellow clues will be something like 25 SLEEPS LEFT.

Am I over thinking it? Think it will work?

What say ye great Dis minds?

I LOVE your reveal idea. Very creative. Out of curiosity, what are the chances that they can all keep their clues to themselves? Do you think they will spill the beans to each other? Be sure to take pictures when you do this. I bet they will be so excited.

[mouseketeer_mom]

Wow! More readers

Thanks Rebeccaariel and Pixiedust530! I'm excited you are here

To answer your questions, yes I will let them put them all together at the end. I really do think that they will play along and keep their individual clues to themselves. And I'm thinking that the clues will not necessarily be letters that spell anything together but more phrases that will mean something. Not entirely sure yet but I best get on it because will be telling them this coming Sunday!

I hope they are as excited as I will be to tell them.

Side note: so I was explaining my clue gathering plan to my husband last night and asked him what he thought of my scheme... because we are so very different and proof that opposites can attract, he says... deadpan... "why don't we just sit them down on the couch and say, we're going to Disney on Thanksgiving day... Merry freakin' Christmas" really? That's what he's gonna run with?

BORING! just sayin'

[mouseketeer_mom]

So, here it is.... drumroll please

I took into consideration that we are coming in on the tail end of a holiday week and the crowds should get progressively thinner as our week wears on. We also had to plan around MVMCP.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the kiddos have no school so they will be helping me get the camper packed and ready to roll. Since my borther and his family are flying down, we will be hauling down some of their crap too. Given that I suffer equally from over planning and over packing, we ought to roll down the road lookin' like we are bursting at the seams. My daughter will still have tumbling on Wednesday evening so hopefully we are packed and ready to go by 4PM.

Thursday morning, DH will once again torture himself by plaing in the annual Turkey Bowl. The game itself will allow him to relive a little of his high school/college glory and the after effects will allow him to dive head first into the economy jar of ibuprofen Why he does this to himself every year, I do not know. They play young versus old, so of course, I relentlessly remind him that he plays for the old guys team. I'll admit that I am a little nervous and wish he wouldn't play this year. If he gets hurt, I'll kill him!

Thursday afternoon, we'll hit the road... hopefully by 1:00 or so. We'd like to try to get 8 hours of driving under our belts before we stop for the night. That should see us in South Carolina.

Friday morning we are on the road again for another 8 hours and will hopefully arrive in Florida, at the Tropical Palms around 4 or 5 in the evening. This is only a few miles from Disney and should be a relaxing evening. I'm a little concerned about the weather for our trip. It could be kinda cold and we really like spending time outside. But, maybe Florida cold won't be as bad as Maryland cold.

Saturday is the big day! We'll have a lazy morning and head to Fort Wilderness about noon. Get ourselves settled, pick up our golf cart and enjoy the Fort until my brothers family arrives! I think we are just going to kinda play it by ear the rest of the day. My DB and his family should arrive by 4 and we can either relax and enjoy our evening or maybe head to MK. But MK will be soooo crowded!


Sunday is the official start of Disney parks. Regarless of crowds, we just gotta do MK first. So we are headed to WCC at the Wilderness Lodge for breakfast and then off to MK for the day. When we can't take the crowd anymore, we'll head back to the Fort and unwind for a bit. We plan on heading to HS in the evening to see the Osborne Lights. Disney at Christmas is a first for us and I can't wait to see all the decorations.

Monday we head to AK in the morning. This was our favorite park last time so we will see if it holds true for us this time. Again, we will head back for a break in the afternoon (you will see that this is a theme for us) And it's off to MK for the parade and fireworks in the evening.

Tuesday will find us in Epcot for the duration, or as long as we last but we won't be trying to make it long enough to see the fireworks. I think we will head back to the Fort and just enjoy a lazy evening.

Wednesday is HS for the day. We'll see how long we'll last and if we head someplace else that evening... just gonna wing it

Thursday is kids choice but I want to make it to see Illuminations in the evening so we shall see...

Fridayis a little sketchy. DB and his family will be heading out around noon to make their flight home. My DD will be flying home with them so that she can make a 6 hour practice scheduled for Saturday. I hate that she's flying without me. Not really sure why, I just do. So, we will have the boys for the afternoon. Not really sure what they will want to do.

Saturday is departure day and I'm sure we will have a very early start. We are prepared to break the trip home up in two days but I know DH and wouldn't be surprise if we drove straight through. If we leave FL by 5AM we could be home around 10PM or so... I'm kinda thinking that will happen but who wants to worry about going home before we even get there.

Up Next: All those ADRs that I don't have!

[librarygeek]

Looks like a good plan! Did you tell your kids yet about the trip? How did it go?

And I'm looking forward to hearing about your ADRs!