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JoanW · 06-22-2005, 09:54 PM

The Plan

I originally started calling this trip the Big Extravaganza. Later, I changed it to the Big Trip Surprise.

The Cast of Characters: Joan , age 46, the wife of Pat, planner of all things Disney and all vacations wherever they take us; Pat, age 60 (yikes, how did that happen?) husband of Joan for the past 16 + years, source of income for this madness; Camille, 23, step daughter graduating with a Master’s Degree in May 2005; Grace, age 14, daughter, lover of Pirates of the Caribbean, 8th grade graduate; Rachel, age 12+, daughter, my co pilot in the car and assistant in the kitchen; Neil, age 26, future son-in-law, too many tattoos but nice guy anyway, able to withstand high pitched squeal of fiancée; and Marco, age 16, Camille’s half brother (and we’ve never met him because he has lived in another state with their mother).

March, 2004
I started planning this trip in March 2004, with a price quote for a 3 night Disney Cruise from Mouseear Vacations. I planned on surprising my stepdaughter Camille with a trip to the Mouse for her graduation from college with her Master’s Degree in Speech and Language Pathology. It was like going to medical school. And as costly. We didn’t do much to celebrate her undergraduate degree, as she went straight to grad school and never looked back. We just wrote checks.

I put a deposit down on two cabins for a June 9, 2005 - 3 Night Wonder cruise on April 1, 2004, well in time for the early booking discount and well ahead of the California West Coast cruise announcement.

I told Camille’s younger sisters about the cruise as we had already been on one and loved it. We even thought about the excursions we’d like to do. They are big planners like me. And Grace would be graduating from the 8th grade. Another reason to celebrate!

At about the same time, I heard through a family grapevine of the demise of Camille’s half brother’s home life situation as their mother was in some kind of trouble, again. I had an idea.

I contacted Camille’s uncle by mail at the end of March 2004 to find out who to ask if Marco could join us for the secret trip a year and three months away, as Marco’s home situation was changing on a weekly basis. My letter was forwarded to Marco’s adoptive father. He gained sole custody of him last year. He called me on Easter Sunday, which was in April 2004 and very happily said Marco would love to join us. I swore them to secrecy. I called my TA Tim Larison and added Marco’s name to the list. And I told the younger sisters. They have to help me plan, after all.

And now to tell Pat of my plans. Pat is not a vacation person. How he married a woman with a suitcase ready for an adventure is beyond me. His idea of a vacation is to stay home from work and putter in the yard, mow the lawn, dig around in the shed, fuss with the fish pond. Fortunately for the rest of the family, I am always prepared, always planning, and always have an idea of something good. He always goes along, never has to pack a thing but the suitcases in the car, and just has to provide me with funds. Well, and some type of “okay, it sounds like a good idea”.

So after I talked with Marco’s dad on Easter Sunday, and while Pat is doing all the dinner dishes, I call the younger girls in to the kitchen and we tell him out plans. He thinks it’s great, especially if we can keep it a secret for over 15 months. Let the planning begin.

I start by ordering a new Deluxe Passporter and Cruise Passporter. I try and fit them into one book, but decide I need TWO of the lovely padded binders. I map out my planning strategy. I sleep with my deeeeluxe binders. I flip between the two, as it has become two separate vacations. I budget for the cruise and the parks. I decide to add in Camille’s boyfriend, because what the heck, I am being generous with Pat’s money. I decide that we cannot afford three rooms each night for a stay on site in Disney and research off site housing. I find a four bedroom, three bathroom rental home with a pool in the back. I sent in a deposit.

I kept in touch with Marco and his Dad over the summer, and decided I have to alert Camille to the fact that she cannot make any plans or commit to anything from June 8, 2005 to June 19, 2005. One of her college roommates got engaged and asks Camille to be in her wedding, ON JUNE 10! I had to contact the bride and inform her that Camille cannot be in her wedding, but we will send her a nice gift. She’s miffed, but my planning continues.

I mapped out my strategy on a color-coded spreadsheet, with deadlines, downpayments, and balances due. I start adding things like hotel the night before the cruise, Limo rentals, Wishes Cruise, 5 nights of dinners, Wonder excursions, 6 park passes, one Annual Pass, Disney Dining Experience card, air fare, car rentals, and OMG the price is rising and rising! Am I out of control??? No way!

Christmas 2004
Suddenly, it's December. Grace, Rachel and I go to a Passporter Meet in Philly. Christmas comes, and then New Years. I start seriously shopping for airfare and I beat my budgeted price by $750! Then I pay off the cruise. Then I book two car rentals. And limo rides to and from the airport (7 people, plus 10 check in suitcases and 7 carry ons, okay, we need the 14 passenger limo!!!)

May 2005

And now it’s May. May is overwhelmingly busy. It starts with Grace’s Confirmation the first week of May. Then the third week of May is Camille’s college graduation. The girls and I made a Powerpoint slide show of the plans, except for who our secret guest is going to be. We made no mention of him whatsoever. We show her the ship, the Dolphin Swim, the cabins, the meals, the house we rented, the parks, the dinners in the parks, the water parks. She about fell off her chair.

June arrives and we are on a whirlwind trying to get packed and attend Grace’s graduation. It’s scheduled for Tuesday, June 7 at 7:30 pm, with Mass (Catholic School). I have Marco flying in from Indiana to Baltimore at 7:00 pm. Neil, the fiancée is supposed to pick him up and take him out to eat and to hide in the house till we get there. Camille must have called him 500 times from her cell phone to see where he was and why was he taking so long to get from his house in Pennsylvania. Ah, young love. She’s about to explode. Rachel and I sneak away from the graduation reception and race down the highway to greet Marco and Neil and to hide Marco in the kitchen. Pat HAD to stop and get an iced tea, so Camille knew we were up to something. Finally at 9:00 pm, she walked in and I told her, nonchalantly, that we had an extra to take on the trip. She burst into tears and hugged her brother. She has not seen him for two years.

Marco is the quietest 16 year old we have ever met. Maybe he was overwhelmed by our enthusiasm. Those of you who have met Grace and Rachel must know they pounced on him like Tigger with a million questions and hugging and okay, we were loud!

June 8, 2005
The morning of departure has finally arrived. The 10 suitcases are lined up outside as soon as they are zipped. The 14 passenger limo arrived promptly and we are off to the airport on time.

There are suitcases in the trunk, the front seat and the seats towards the front in the back of the limo. We laugh all the way to the airport. It’s starting to get warm. I’m sweating profusely. It’s a trend that will continue throughout our long 12 day vacation.

We are flying on AirTran, so we are checked in and on our way through security. I notice the guy behind us is our neighbor, and he invites us to wait out our time with him in the US Air Club. Oh we are feeling like we are so special.

Next: Florida, Here We Come!

06-22-2005, 09:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
JoanW Community Rank: Navigator Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Davidsonville, MD Posts: 6,015	Joan\'s Big Trip Surprise - updated 7/21 with both Parts I and II The Plan I originally started calling this trip the Big Extravaganza. Later, I changed it to the Big Trip Surprise. The Cast of Characters: Joan , age 46, the wife of Pat, planner of all things Disney and all vacations wherever they take us; Pat, age 60 (yikes, how did that happen?) husband of Joan for the past 16 + years, source of income for this madness; Camille, 23, step daughter graduating with a Master’s Degree in May 2005; Grace, age 14, daughter, lover of Pirates of the Caribbean, 8th grade graduate; Rachel, age 12+, daughter, my co pilot in the car and assistant in the kitchen; Neil, age 26, future son-in-law, too many tattoos but nice guy anyway, able to withstand high pitched squeal of fiancée; and Marco, age 16, Camille’s half brother (and we’ve never met him because he has lived in another state with their mother). March, 2004 I started planning this trip in March 2004, with a price quote for a 3 night Disney Cruise from Mouseear Vacations. I planned on surprising my stepdaughter Camille with a trip to the Mouse for her graduation from college with her Master’s Degree in Speech and Language Pathology. It was like going to medical school. And as costly. We didn’t do much to celebrate her undergraduate degree, as she went straight to grad school and never looked back. We just wrote checks. I put a deposit down on two cabins for a June 9, 2005 - 3 Night Wonder cruise on April 1, 2004, well in time for the early booking discount and well ahead of the California West Coast cruise announcement. I told Camille’s younger sisters about the cruise as we had already been on one and loved it. We even thought about the excursions we’d like to do. They are big planners like me. And Grace would be graduating from the 8th grade. Another reason to celebrate! At about the same time, I heard through a family grapevine of the demise of Camille’s half brother’s home life situation as their mother was in some kind of trouble, again. I had an idea. I contacted Camille’s uncle by mail at the end of March 2004 to find out who to ask if Marco could join us for the secret trip a year and three months away, as Marco’s home situation was changing on a weekly basis. My letter was forwarded to Marco’s adoptive father. He gained sole custody of him last year. He called me on Easter Sunday, which was in April 2004 and very happily said Marco would love to join us. I swore them to secrecy. I called my TA Tim Larison and added Marco’s name to the list. And I told the younger sisters. They have to help me plan, after all. And now to tell Pat of my plans. Pat is not a vacation person. How he married a woman with a suitcase ready for an adventure is beyond me. His idea of a vacation is to stay home from work and putter in the yard, mow the lawn, dig around in the shed, fuss with the fish pond. Fortunately for the rest of the family, I am always prepared, always planning, and always have an idea of something good. He always goes along, never has to pack a thing but the suitcases in the car, and just has to provide me with funds. Well, and some type of “okay, it sounds like a good idea”. So after I talked with Marco’s dad on Easter Sunday, and while Pat is doing all the dinner dishes, I call the younger girls in to the kitchen and we tell him out plans. He thinks it’s great, especially if we can keep it a secret for over 15 months. Let the planning begin. I start by ordering a new Deluxe Passporter and Cruise Passporter. I try and fit them into one book, but decide I need TWO of the lovely padded binders. I map out my planning strategy. I sleep with my deeeeluxe binders. I flip between the two, as it has become two separate vacations. I budget for the cruise and the parks. I decide to add in Camille’s boyfriend, because what the heck, I am being generous with Pat’s money. I decide that we cannot afford three rooms each night for a stay on site in Disney and research off site housing. I find a four bedroom, three bathroom rental home with a pool in the back. I sent in a deposit. I kept in touch with Marco and his Dad over the summer, and decided I have to alert Camille to the fact that she cannot make any plans or commit to anything from June 8, 2005 to June 19, 2005. One of her college roommates got engaged and asks Camille to be in her wedding, ON JUNE 10! I had to contact the bride and inform her that Camille cannot be in her wedding, but we will send her a nice gift. She’s miffed, but my planning continues. I mapped out my strategy on a color-coded spreadsheet, with deadlines, downpayments, and balances due. I start adding things like hotel the night before the cruise, Limo rentals, Wishes Cruise, 5 nights of dinners, Wonder excursions, 6 park passes, one Annual Pass, Disney Dining Experience card, air fare, car rentals, and OMG the price is rising and rising! Am I out of control??? No way! Christmas 2004 Suddenly, it's December. Grace, Rachel and I go to a Passporter Meet in Philly. Christmas comes, and then New Years. I start seriously shopping for airfare and I beat my budgeted price by $750! Then I pay off the cruise. Then I book two car rentals. And limo rides to and from the airport (7 people, plus 10 check in suitcases and 7 carry ons, okay, we need the 14 passenger limo!!!) May 2005 And now it’s May. May is overwhelmingly busy. It starts with Grace’s Confirmation the first week of May. Then the third week of May is Camille’s college graduation. The girls and I made a Powerpoint slide show of the plans, except for who our secret guest is going to be. We made no mention of him whatsoever. We show her the ship, the Dolphin Swim, the cabins, the meals, the house we rented, the parks, the dinners in the parks, the water parks. She about fell off her chair. June arrives and we are on a whirlwind trying to get packed and attend Grace’s graduation. It’s scheduled for Tuesday, June 7 at 7:30 pm, with Mass (Catholic School). I have Marco flying in from Indiana to Baltimore at 7:00 pm. Neil, the fiancée is supposed to pick him up and take him out to eat and to hide in the house till we get there. Camille must have called him 500 times from her cell phone to see where he was and why was he taking so long to get from his house in Pennsylvania. Ah, young love. She’s about to explode. Rachel and I sneak away from the graduation reception and race down the highway to greet Marco and Neil and to hide Marco in the kitchen. Pat HAD to stop and get an iced tea, so Camille knew we were up to something. Finally at 9:00 pm, she walked in and I told her, nonchalantly, that we had an extra to take on the trip. She burst into tears and hugged her brother. She has not seen him for two years. Marco is the quietest 16 year old we have ever met. Maybe he was overwhelmed by our enthusiasm. Those of you who have met Grace and Rachel must know they pounced on him like Tigger with a million questions and hugging and okay, we were loud! June 8, 2005 The morning of departure has finally arrived. The 10 suitcases are lined up outside as soon as they are zipped. The 14 passenger limo arrived promptly and we are off to the airport on time. There are suitcases in the trunk, the front seat and the seats towards the front in the back of the limo. We laugh all the way to the airport. It’s starting to get warm. I’m sweating profusely. It’s a trend that will continue throughout our long 12 day vacation. We are flying on AirTran, so we are checked in and on our way through security. I notice the guy behind us is our neighbor, and he invites us to wait out our time with him in the US Air Club. Oh we are feeling like we are so special. Next: Florida, Here We Come!