Kirk's Birthday Trip Surprise - Pre-Trip Report-Updated June 12 - YIPPPPEEEE!!!!! About This Page:

[GoofyMom]

Joy! How wonderful! I've got a swift kick aimed and ready to fly should you be tempted to spill the beans! You guys are going to love POFQ! The boat ride to DTD is wonderful (beautiful, enchanting, magical...). I haven't seen LaNouba, but I'll bet he (and you) will enjoy it! I think I would stick to dinner at DTD just due to the convenience of the boat that night. How about RFC?

Make sure he gets one of those birthday cake hats to wear!

[poohsgirl]

<font color="purple">Being that he is a theatre buff, I think MGM would be great! Ending the evening at the Adventurer's Club would probably be right up his alley! </font>

[Cinderbrella]

Joy, I would definitely keep it a surprise, no matter how difficult. What an awesome present it would be to see La Nouba and eat a great meal at Fulton's or one of the other restaurants at DTD. Is he into video games,etc? Maybe head to Disney Quest or catch a show at Comedy Warehouse. I think anything special that you plan he will love!! Happy planning!!

[zacksmom_1993]

Joy,

I'm a little bit older than your son (about a year), and it sounds like we might have similar tastes. I meeting the characters, and keep threatening my own son that I'll start collecting autographs when he gets tired of it. I think the character breakfast is a great idea and Cape May Cafe is one of my favorites.

Although I'd like to see La Nouba, I've never gone at WDW. I'd much prefer a day in the parks and a viewing of Fantasmic. The other thing I'd love to do is the dinner with an Imagineer. I don't know if they're still doing this, but I think they used to be at the Brown Derby. I also recently discovered Adventurer's Club, and I can't think of a better way to cap off a birthday. Good luck with whatever you decide, and keep us posted!

Karen

[Joy J]

Well, plans are just zipping along for this upcoming birthday trip for Kirk. I've now booked my flight and arranged it so that I will arrive in Orlando about two hours before he does. If all goes as planned, when he gets to the resort, I'll be waiting there for him with a Happy Birthday sign and some balloons or something of that nature. Does anyone know if it's possible to buy helium balloons at the gift shop at POFQ. If not, I'll probably just bring along some regular birthday balloons from home. Now won't I look cute huffing and puffing in the POFQ lobby trying to inflate these dratted balloons?

So far on the actual day of Kirk's birthday, I've booked Cape May buffet for breakfast and the Brown Derby Fantasmic package for dinner. I really want to do the scavenger hunt idea at Disney-MGM for him that day but I'm trying to figure out how I can get away from him long enough to plant all the necessary clues.

I thought that rather than try to cram too much into the actual day of his birthday that we'd spread the magic out over a couple more days. So now I'm trying to decide between taking him to La Nouba or booking the Segway tour as his other big surprise.

Keeping this secret from him gets harder and harder. He's a little spooked by the idea of doing a solo trip. I've been giving him encouragement about that by telling him about all the wonderful trips reports I've read on these boards about solo trips people have taken and how much fun they've had. Then, once I made that comment, I thought to myself, "Yikes, what if he decides to go to the Passporter boards to check that out for himself?" Being the quick-thinking mother that I am and knowing how much he dislikes the whole websurfing thing, I offered to print off some solo trip reports for him so he could read firsthand all about it. He eagerly went for that idea so another crisis was averted.

Oh, I got another brainstorm while typing this. Perhaps the gift shop at POFQ carries those birthday cake hats and I could buy one of those and use that to greet him in the lobby. Since he loved my DH's Christmas tree hat so much and "stole" it to wear himself at every opportunity, I don't think he'd have any problem with wearing the birthday cake one. Donna, thanks so much for that suggestion!

Joy

[chezp]

[ QUOTE ]
I've been giving him encouragement about that by telling him about all the wonderful trips reports I've read on these boards about solo trips people have taken and how much fun they've had. Then, once I made that comment, I thought to myself, "Yikes, what if he decides to go to the Passporter boards to check that out for himself?"

[/ QUOTE ]

As I read this, I was thinking exactly the same as you Joy - I'm so glad you were able to avert the crisis!

[mamapajama]

[ QUOTE ]
Well, plans are just zipping along for this upcoming birthday trip for Kirk. I've now booked my flight and arranged it so that I will arrive in Orlando about two hours before he does. If all goes as planned, when he gets to the resort, I'll be waiting there for him with a Happy Birthday sign and some balloons or something of that nature. Does anyone know if it's possible to buy helium balloons at the gift shop at POFQ. If not, I'll probably cake one. Donna, thanks so much for that suggestion!

Joy

[/ QUOTE ]

I got some balloons at luggage services at Pop. I'm sure if you brought a few mylar ones from home, they'd blow them up for you. I think that's very sweet!

Elise

[lauren-roxy]

What a neat surprise for your son!! Wish I could see his expression!! Have a wonderful trip!!!

[DawnDenise]

Sounds like your plans are just moving along great! He's going to love the surprise of you being there!

[Joy J]

[ QUOTE ]
I got some balloons at luggage services at Pop. I'm sure if you brought a few mylar ones from home, they'd blow them up for you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Elise, thanks so much for this tip. I had no idea that bell services could inflate balloons. I'll definitely pick up some mylar birthday balloons at home and bring them along to then surprise Kirk in the lobby at POFQ. With every day that passes I get more and more excited about this trip. I can hardly wait to see the look on his face when he walks into the lobby and I'm already there.

Joy

[Colexis Mom]

Hi Joy

Just catching up! What a wonderful surprise for Kirk that you're planning I love all your arrangements and can't wait for more details

[Joy J]

Well, I still don't know quite how I'm going to pull off the birthday scavenger hunt at MGM for Kirk but I have purchased the prize he'll find at the end of his adventures - the new Star Wars video game that just came out.

In the way of little secondary surprises, I would like to book some Priority Seatings for Kirk and I that will be something new and exciting for him to try. He's figuring on doing mostly counter service while he's down there since he still thinks he's vacationing solo. Therefore, I thought it would be a nice touch to surprise him with a few nice sit-down meals. I also thought it would be great to make them places he's never tried before. Below is a rundown of restaurants he has and hasn't visited. If you guys could give me some suggestions based on that of nice places for a meal, I would greatly appreciate it.

Magic Kingdom - He's eaten at all the sitdown restaurants here.

Epcot - The only restaurants here he has yet to try are Coral Reef, Teppanyaki, San Angel Inn, Bistro de Paris.

Disney-MGM - He has yet to try the Brown Derby or Mama Melrose's.

Downtown Disney - The only restaurants that he has already visited here are House of Blues and Wolfgang Puck's Cafe so there would be a lot to choose from here.

Resort Restaurants - Here are the resort restaurants that he has yet to try: Yachtsman Steakhouse, Big River Grille, all the restaurants at the Swan and the Dolphin, the buffet at the Fort Wilderness Campground, the luau at the Poly, Shutters, Maya Grill, Boatwright's, Narcoossee's, Victoria and Albert's.

Joy

[chezp]

Of the restaurants Joy, you have to take him to Teppanyaki - someone asked about this in the Eateries forum a few days ago and you should see the rave reviews it got. It's one of our favourites and it seems a lot of other people feel the same about it.

We didn't have great experiences at either the Coral Reef or the San Angel Inn, but I know others have had better meals at both than we did.

I think the Brown Derby is another must-do. The atmosphere is great - I just love the decor in there and we've never been disappointed by the food. Mama Melrose's, we've had a great experience now and a not-so-great experience, so I'd recommend the Brown Derby over this.

At Downtown Disney, I'd give Fulton's a go. It's not too pricey at lunchtime and you can quite often get a great view - we've been there twice and both times were seated looking out towards where Saratoga Springs is now.

As for the resort restaurants, I can recommend Fresh - we had a great brunch there on Christmas Day. And of course Victoria and Albert's is the ultimate experience! I guess it just depends whether you think he'd enjoy that, as I know some people aren't comfortable in that sort of environment and of course, then you'd have to take a jacket for him.

[BritDisFan]

I think he would like Teppanyaki too Joy. It's so much fun watching the chef prepare your food . What a wonderful surprise you are preparing for your Son, he is going to be thrilled .

Karen

[JulieandChris]

Good luck with keeping the surprise.
I`ve seen the birthday hats for sale at POR so you might get them at the FQ.
Kirks going to have a wonderful birthday - much credit to you for organising this

Julie.