Shhhh! A Surprise First Trip for our Girls! Feb 2017

[amberdc1987]

Welcome One and All!! As you can tell from the title we are going to DW in February 2017! This trip has been years in the making, in more than one way. But i'll get to that in a bit. This trip will be a first for both of our daughters, DD 7 and DD 5. They have been wanting to go for years and we have been wanting to take them. Our youngest, will turn 6 a few weeks before we go, so we will be celebrating her 6th birthday while we are there. First things first, I bet you'd like to know who we are. There are 6 of us going on this trip and we are:

Myself - I am Amber. I am a 29 year old mother of 2 beautiful girls. Recently, I was a stay at home mom until our youngest started school. Currently, I work in a Dentist office helping at the front desk. I absolutely love Disney World. My first trip was in 2003, where my high school marching band marched in Magic Music Days Parade in the Magic Kingdom. The park was love at first sight! My family and I went many years after that. My last trip was in 2008 on mine and my DH honeymoon. I love Tigger and BTMRR.

DH - 30 - His love for Disney is a lot less than my own. He puts up with me. But he loves me and understands my love for the World. He works as a order filler in a warehouse close to our house. He has only been to DW twice. His last trip was also in 2008. He claims to not really like Disney, but now that Star Wars is Disney , he can't make that claim anymore. He loves to play Xbox and pretty much anything superheros.

DD 7 - She is our oldest. She is a very quiet 7 year old that absolutely loves to read and loves school. She has been asking to go to Disney World for a few years, but it never worked out for us. She is a very tender hearted girl who absolutely loves her Sister and will do just about anything for her. She loves Ariel and Elsa and Anna. She loves to listen to Disney music in the car. She also absolutely loves superheros, like her father. She loves to watch the Lego superhero series and loves Spider Man.

DD 5 - She is completely opposite of her sister. She is our problem child . She is a very outgoing, stubborn child. She tells you exactly like it is and what she thinks. She is constantly doing something she is not suppose to be doing. She loves arts and crafts and school. She is always making us laugh by whatever she does. She loves to dress up in princess dresses. She also has been asking to go to Disney World for years!! She loves to watch Disney World videos on youTube. She loves Belle and Elsa and Anna.

Also joining us for this trip are my parents. My love for Disney definitely comes from them. They both went when they were younger, but the true love for the World came later in life when we went on my band trip. They love Disney so much they moved down there for a year to be closer. I call that the time when they briefly lost their minds. But in the end they missed their granddaughters to much and moved back home . DD absolutely loves Goofy and the Haunted Mansion . DM loves Lady and the Tramp and just about everything Disney. She also has a wide array of Disney song knowledge and isn't afraid to sing them.


Now that the Who is out of the way, up next the when, where, why and how details. I hope you will join along with my planning of this wonderful surprise birthday trip.
​

 

[smiley519]

Following along! I also hadn't been to WDW since 2008 before my September 2016 trip so I can tell you that a lot has changed in 8 years, mostly technology related and with the addition of FP+. It sounds like you're planning an awesome trip and I'm sure both of your daughters are going to have a magical time!

 

[amberdc1987]

Following along! I also hadn't been to WDW since 2008 before my September 2016 trip so I can tell you that a lot has changed in 8 years, mostly technology related and with the addition of FP+. It sounds like you're planning an awesome trip and I'm sure both of your daughters are going to have a magical time!

It definitely has changed a lot. I actually made a list of what I know has changed since I last went lol. It's pretty long.

 

[amberdc1987]

So now that the who is out of the way, let's get to the rest of the details.

When: February 25-March 4

Where: Pop Century

How: Driving. We live in Alabama so we will leave around Midnight on February 25. We prefer to drive at night. DD 7 gets car sick and they should sleep most of the way there. It will take us about 8 hours to get there. Hoping we can get checked in and head to World of Sports. (My mom and I are running (or walking quickly lol) in the Half Marathon.)

Why: (This part is very important)

This trip has been a very long time coming. Even before our girls were born my parents wanted to take our then "someday" kids to Disney World with them. So insert the year 2014. We decided our oldest was turning 5 and our youngest was still young enough to be free so we decided to go in May of 2014. We had everything booked and paid for. Shirts, Autograph books and reservations had all been made. We were ready to go! Then 1 week before we were scheduled to leave it was like any other day. We were up that morning getting ready to go register our oldest for Kindergarten when we got a call that would change everything. My mother in law was found unresponsive in her car at a stop sign and was being rushed to the hospital. You see, the day before she had a freak accident and fell outside hitting her head on a paver stone. At the time she was fine. She was alert and walking around, she was even making jokes about how she needed to wear extra make up the next day to work to cover the bruise on her face. The next morning after she was found, she was rushed to the hospital and then to another hospital. It was determined she had a severe brain bleed. She was immediately rushed into surgery to have brain surgery. She was then in a coma for a few days and it was very touch and go for over a week. We of course cancelled our trip because it was very touch and go for a few weeks. It took her months of recovery and rehab to even be able to come home. And then years to be pretty much back to normal. It was definitely a very long process. We were very grateful that she was able to recover from this whole ordeal and that something worse didn't happen. So many things could have gone more wrong than they did. God was really watching out for her during this whole situation. Now here we are 2 1/2 years later, we all finally got to a place that we are able to reschedule our trip. The whole ordeal in 2014 is why this trip is a surprise. Our girls knew about a suppose to be trip in 2014, when we didn't go it broke their heart! We decided that this trip will be surprise for them. Because I don't want to get their hopes up again and God forbid something horrible happens again. I can't do that to them or to myself. We decided the week of Mardi Gras because the girls will already be out of school that Monday and Tuesday. This trip just so happens to coincide with Princess Half Marathon, which my mom and I are running in. We will also be celebrating our youngest's 6th birthday.

I know this post was extremely wordy and I promise to not be such a downer and long winded in my later posts .​

 

[cinderaimee]

How fun! Can't wait to see what you have planned. I am taking my kids for the first time next month. The last time I was at WDW was in 2001! I have a lot of catching up to do!

 

[amberdc1987]

How fun! Can't wait to see what you have planned. I am taking my kids for the first time next month. The last time I was at WDW was in 2001! I have a lot of catching up to do!

Wow! That is awhile. A lot has changed since 2001. You will have so much fun. I hope you do a report when you get back I'd love to read it. I'm super jealous of you going in November. I've always wanted to see all the Christmas stuff.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello there!

I was re-reading my trip report and poked over here to read your pre-trip report. I hope your plans are still moving forward! I would love to here what you have planned!

We are going for a VERY short trip in early February. Just 2 days at the park, short but it will be fun!

DD 7 - She is our oldest. She is a very quiet 7 year old that absolutely loves to read and loves school.

My oldest is totally the same! She is thoughtful and pensive and so kind...

DD 5 - She is completely opposite of her sister. She is our problem child . She is a very outgoing, stubborn child.

And then my youngest is the same as well! So much more spunky and crazy! Too Funny!

 

[amberdc1987]

Hello there!

I was re-reading my trip report and poked over here to read your pre-trip report. I hope your plans are still moving forward! I would love to here what you have planned!

We are going for a VERY short trip in early February. Just 2 days at the park, short but it will be fun!


My oldest is totally the same! She is thoughtful and pensive and so kind...

And then my youngest is the same as well! So much more spunky and crazy! Too Funny!

I'm still here! I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to update on here. But we are down to the final weeks, so I will definitely be updating more. We are so excited to be going.

I guess 2 days is better than no days going to the parks. It's to far for us to drive for just 2 days, although that's not saying it will never happen. LOL.

I will get an update done soon.

 

[amberdc1987]

Happy New Year to everyone! We spent our NYE watching the fireworks online from the Magic Kingdom. The girls were completely amazed by these fireworks. Disney definitely knows how to do fireworks correctly!
This year is going to be a great year, because our year includes our trip to Disney World! Only 54 days, but who's counting. I am so sorry I haven't posted in a while, but now the Holidays are all done with I can really focus on this trip. Well that and planning our youngest 6th birthday party, which she has said she wants a Frozen/Princess Party. She has no idea how much of a Princess party she will have in Disney. She is going to freak when we tell her we are going.

We just hit our 60 day mark almost a week ago, but I haven't been able to make FP+ reservations yet. Not everyone in our party has their tickets yet. But I hope to do that within the next week or so, fingers crossed. We do have our tentative schedule and our dining reservations made. I was able to get all the reservations we wanted except 2 of them. I couldn't get BOG for lunch or TREX for dinner our night of AK. But I'm still trying daily . Here is our schedule right now.

(To save money we will eat breakfast every morning in the room)

Saturday - February 25 - We will leave our house in AL around midnight. We prefer to drive at night, because the girls will sleep most of the way there. Also, and this is the big part, both of our girls get car sick. So the longer it's dark and the longer they sleep. The better. It will take us about 8 hours or so to get there, that's including stops for potty breaks. We will probably just eat breakfast in the car. When we arrive to Disney, we will go ahead and go to WWoS and get our race packets for the Half Marathon. Then we will hopefully check in at POP and head to Magic Kingdom.
Lunch: CS somewhere or a light snack.
Dinner: WCC at 5:20pm (Kind of early I know, but we will make it work)


Sunday – February 26 – RACE DAY – My mom and I have the Princess Half Marathon this morning. I don’t know all the time details yet, but I know it will be early, around 3am or so. We are so excited and ready for this!!! After the race, everyone else will have breakfast in the room. Lunch will be at Tony’s at 12:55pm and dinner will be CS in MK.


Monday – February 27 – This day will be our Hollywood Studios day. Lunch will be at 50’s Prime Time at 11:05am. I’m trying to move this a little later, no such luck yet. Dinner will be CS in HS.


Tuesday – February 28 – Mardi Gras - This will be our “late” day. It was suppose to be our no parks day, but we have a slight problem with a no parks day. LOL. We will head to DTD (I will always refer to it as that). The girls have the BBB appts this morning at 10am. After that we have lunch reservations at T-Rex at 12pm. Unless I can move TREX to dinner, then we will have Earl of Sandwich. After lunch we will head to Magic Kingdom. This MK visit will be our princess visit, since the girls will be all dressed up.

Wednesday – March 1 – First day of Flower and Garden so this day will be our Epcot day. We have lunch scheduled at Garden Grill at 12:50pm. I am really looking forward to this meal. I have heard nothing but great things about it. Dinner will be CS somewhere.


Thursday – March 2 - This day will be our AK day. We will have CS in the park. Right now we have Rainforest Café outside of the park scheduled for dinner at 7:15pm. But this is the day I’m trying to get TREX for that evening.


Friday – March 3 – Back in the Magic Kingdom. Lunch will be at the Plaza at 11:05am and dinner will be CS.


Saturday – March 4 - We leave


Wow! I did not intend on that being so wordy I will try not to make any other posts like this. Anyway. I am still trying to figure out how to tell the girls we are going. We leave on a Friday, so I know I will tell them after they get home from school that day, but before we leave. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any. Until next time. Happy New Year everyone!

 

[spartankid34]

My family will be there during the same timeframe! Feb. 25-Mar. 7!! We have some of the same plans for some of the same days!

We went this time last year with my nieces and nephews and the crowds were wonderful, so we are looking forward to another trip The kids have no clue about this trip though, they think it will be another 2 years! We are surprising them on the way to the airport, yay! I'm super excited, as I'm sure you are!

 

[amberdc1987]

My family will be there during the same timeframe! Feb. 25-Mar. 7!! We have some of the same plans for some of the same days!

We went this time last year with my nieces and nephews and the crowds were wonderful, so we are looking forward to another trip The kids have no clue about this trip though, they think it will be another 2 years! We are surprising them on the way to the airport, yay! I'm super excited, as I'm sure you are!

Great to hear about the crowds. I am slightly worried about them it being Princess Half and Mardi Gras. But the time works for us because of school. Since we live in lower AL we have that Monday and Tuesday already off so it just made sense to go that week.

We are so excited!! It's getting harder and harder for me to keep it a secret from them. But I figured I've made it this far. I can make it another 49 days.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We are so excited!! It's getting harder and harder for me to keep it a secret from them. But I figured I've made it this far. I can make it another 49 days.

We kept our last trip a secret till the day of and it was SOOOOO hard to not say something. I think my oldest looked at me straight in the eye a week before we were to leave and said that she wished we were going to Disney again soon. It was so hard to not spill the beans!

My DH and I talked in code a lot too. Keep strong, you can do it!

 

[amberdc1987]

We kept our last trip a secret till the day of and it was SOOOOO hard to not say something. I think my oldest looked at me straight in the eye a week before we were to leave and said that she wished we were going to Disney again soon. It was so hard to not spill the beans!

My DH and I talked in code a lot too. Keep strong, you can do it!

Oh my goodness!! That would be so hard to keep a straight face!! We talk about Disney openly in the house, but it's always one day when we go. Lol. Our youngest keeps saying her birthday party will be in Disney World. She is completely set on that. But not once have we said that at all. It's like she has a 6th s nose about it or something. She has no idea that yes she will have her birthday in Disney. Just kills me. Fortunately I have DIS people to talk to . And my parents. My husband tolerates my Disney talk. He lets me talk, but it's pretty one sided. I just don't understand people like that. But he loves me anyway.

 

[amberdc1987]

Hello everyone! We are just under 48 days until we get to the World! I am so excited and ready to go! We were able to get our tickets this morning and I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with my parents making FP+ reservations for everyone. I know they will change a bit between now and then but i'm fairly comfortable with most of them. The only one I completely dislike is the only time I could get for FEA was 8:30PM . I knew that was going to happen. Which means we won't get a great spot for Illuminations . But we'll make do and i'll check periodically to see if I can get it earlier. But hey, I should be grateful for what time I did get. Here is our schedule for our FP+. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Saturday, February 25, 2017 - Magic Kingdom Park

Peter Pan's Flight
1:05 PM - 2:05 PM

Haunted Mansion
3:10 PM - 4:10 PM

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM


Sunday, February 26, 2017 - Magic Kingdom Park

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
11:50 AM - 12:50 PM

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
3:05 PM - 4:05 PM

Space Mountain (My Mom and Dad. Then we will get a Rider Swap (because DD6 is to short) and ride a 2nd time with myself, my DH and whoever else wants to)
4:20 PM - 5:20 PM

The Barnstormer (Myself, DH, and both DD)
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM


Monday, February 27, 2017 - Disney's Hollywood Studios

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
10:10 AM - 11:10 AM

Toy Story Mania!
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
3:00 PM - 3:15 PM


Tuesday, February 28, 2017 - Magic Kingdom Park (The girls have their BBB appts this morning in DS. Which is why all of our FP+ are for Princesses)

Enchanted Tales with Belle
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Meet Rapunzel and Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Meet Cinderella and Elena at Princess Fairytale Hall
5:40 PM - 6:40 PM


Wednesday, March 1, 2017 - Epcot

The Seas with Nemo & Friends
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Spaceship Earth
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Frozen Ever After
8:30 PM - 9:00 PM


Thursday, March 2, 2017 - Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park

Kilimanjaro Safaris
9:50 AM - 10:50 AM

Festival of the Lion King
11:30 AM - 11:45 AM

DINOSAUR
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM


Friday, March 3, 2017 - Magic Kingdom Park

Jungle Cruise
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Your fast passes look great!

The only thing I would say is dinasour can be scary. We haven' t done it yet. But other than that, they look good!

Have you looked, what is the average wait these days for frozen these days? Maybe you could find an earlier time once you are closer....

 

[amberdc1987]

Your fast passes look great!

The only thing I would say is dinasour can be scary. We haven' t done it yet. But other than that, they look good!

Have you looked, what is the average wait these days for frozen these days? Maybe you could find an earlier time once you are closer....

Dinosaur is scary. I have never actually seen the very ending of it, and I've ridden it at least 4 times. But both my girls have agreed when they finally go to Disney they ride everything once and after that it's completely up to them. I like Dinosaur, except for the very end of it. .

According to touringplans, Epcot for our day is suppose to be a 4. So I hope maybe we can get on it sooner than 8:30pm , I'd take either a short stand by or an earlier FP. I know that it's still been running about 60 minutes or so wait time. Although, today I noticed it was shorter, at least that's what the Lines app told me. So maybe it will be shorter. One can hope.

 

[amberdc1987]

Hello everyone who is still with us. We are at 42 days and I am super excited and can't wait!!! Disney released parade schedules and new hours for the time we are going to be there. The biggest change was the hours in MK, at the beginning of our trip the closing time changed from 9pm to 11pm. I am happy about this, but that also means they are expecting greater crowds.

Which I don't particularly like. Also all AK and HS changed to 8pm. I was shocked to see this for AK. I'm hoping maybe that means RoL is getting some more attention. That would be awesome. Although I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.

On a different note, I awoke this morning to see a picture on facebook of my parents....on Main Street!! They had left in the middle of the night and went to Disney World!!! Didn't tell anyone. There anniversary was at the beginning of January so they took a little short anniversary trip, because of the holiday on Monday. When I asked her when they decided to go, she said they decided on Tuesday. I work with my mom and she sat by me all week and didn't say a word about it!! I mean come on!! I'm happy for them, but gracious . Our oldest daughter wasn't too happy when she saw the picture, she said "why didn't they tell us they were going". You see last weekend we ate lunch with my parents and DD7 said to my mom that DD7 was going to get a blue Magic Band. Of course DD’s don’t know we are going, so my mom played along and was like “Wait when are we going? I don’t think we are going. But when you do go, please tell me you are going, so I can go to.” Insert this morning when she saw the pic, I had a very upset DD7 on my hands. Manged to console her and explain why they went without any of us . Come on 42 days!

 

[amberdc1987]

So last time I posted was a month ago! I know shame on me. But we are now at 12 days!! I am so excited and can't wait for it to get here. We have decided how we are going to tell the girls. They think they are going to spend the night at their Meme and Pops house on that Friday night. When they get there they will have a scavenger hunt set up for them, so they can find out what they are going to do with Meme and Pops that weekend. Of course the scavenger hunt will end with them going to Disney World. I am so excited for them to find out. This has been the hardest secret to keep. I just keep reminding myself, I've made it over 400 days, surely I can wait less than 12 more.

We have had a couple of big things happen over the past month. We received our Magic Bands. That was a glorious mail day.

I also sent Guest Services an email to find out if they could mail me some maps to look over. And they did! The girls were so excited to see these. DD 7 immediately realized that the Mickey heads on the map were character interactions and started planning out who she was going to meet and who was closest to the entrance gate.

I finally got out my Disney stash that I have accumulated over the past year or so. I had more than I thought I did, oops. I did add a few more glow items to this stash and a few more necklaces. I bought extra so the girls could share with whomever they feel on most nights. You never know who could use a little extra pixie dust. Besides, it gives the girls a good lesson in sharing with others.

I had their autograph books made. I had a wonderful Diser on here make the covers for me. Then I printed the covers on cardstock. I bought some colored 4x6 cardstock at Hobby Lobby. I then took the printed cover and 4x6 cardstock sheets to Staples and had the cover laminated and all of the sheets bound together. They turned out beautifully and I can't wait for the girls to see them.

Quite possibly the biggest event over the past month was our youngest turning 6! She was so excited to turn 6. She, of course, asked for a Frozen birthday party. Which I quickly obliged to. Cause you know I can reuse the party decorations and clothing for Disney.

And last but not least, I started making their shirts for our trip. I have made both girls their "my first trip" shirts. My mom is making skirts to match, which will be the same polka dot material. These outfits will be at the end of their scavenger hunt. I'm curious to see how long it takes the girls to realize how soon we are going.

Well I think that is all for right now. If anyone is actually still reading this, more power to you. I am so excited to share all the little details with y'all and get this trip ready to go!

 

[spartankid34]

I am so excited to read an update from you! We are 13 days out, and still keeping the secret. Boy it sure is hard! (We are planning on telling them at the airport, they think their Grandma and I are going to visit a friend).

I think your plan sounds wonderful, and the scavenger hunt seems like a fun way to get the tip started!

We have the same parks planned on the 26th and 27th...getting SO EXCITED!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So exciting!!! Take lots of pictures of the scavenger hunt/ reveal! We did that for our second trip. So fun.

Love the shirt too. Very cute.