Pre-Trip Those banked points aren’t going to use themselves Part II: Code Name DMCA

Cast:
DW(Laura)

Me(Sean)

Where:
AKL Jambo 1-bedroom for 2 nights
Disney Dream for 3 nights
Bay Lake Tower for one night
When:
September 16-22
What:
Operation DMCA

Prologue:
For those interested, part 1 with the banked points back story can be found here and followed up here:

This fall will mark seventeen years of marital bliss to my best friend. Lots of back story of here
and I won’t throw it all at you again but long story short; my wife sat in front of me in the 5th grade and I think that is pretty awesome! Anyway, we had a blast this time last year when we embarked, get it embarked, on a trip that included our very first cruise, read more about that here.

I was never one for the boat idea and was against it for so long but my better half wore me down and I am hooked, this stuff just writes itself! When we left we decided that we would be back on the boat and bring the DD too! So a few months later we had a nice April 2016 booked for the family, hooray! Fast forward a few more months and we’re hip deep in DVC resale purchasing and planning our next anniversary trip with these banked points we have. No talk of a boat trip, just a week-ish stay around our Fall teaching schedule. The plan is set, when we hit the 7month mark we will try to nab some split stay action and see what resorts we can get for fun. This is where I saw my opening!

Operation DMCA

1,000 internet points for why I used “DMCA” in all my file folder, calendar reminder, and email subject naming during this operation.
My opening was there! There would have to come a point during our stay where we would be changing our resorts and THAT is where it would happen! “What would happen” you say? Well that is where I would slyly make my way to Osceola parkway, hop on I-4 and make that right on 528 towards The Dream. THAT is where I would drop the bomb! We’re heading to the boat! It was early February and I had an abstract plan that needs fine tuning. I quickly made a checklist of what needed to happen:
How to get DD’s approval so she doesn’t blow a stack when she finds out we’re going to WDW without her.
How to covertly pay for this without raising suspicion.
How to get DW’s mom in on it so she can watch DD while we are gone.
How to get all the boat needs into our luggage without raising suspicion(passport, fancy clothes for Palo, beach attire,etc.)

So I have a rough plan, time to take action…

 

[cfry06]

Sounds like quite the operation! And a fun one. I think we are on the same cruise, too! (Also sans our DS - love him more than anything, but looking forward to an adults only getaway!)

I look forward to reading more about how it all gets pulled off .

 

[wdisney9000]

You've got quite a challenge ahead of you. This will be fun. First, I'll need to have some beer. I'll go with a Canada Pavilion favorite....

And also, my wife broke out the Naan bread and I couldn't help but think of your last TR and ur visits to Sanaa

She is grilling sausages and we will use the Naan in place of a hot dog bun then fill it with peppers and onions. I'll be trying to.come.up with solutions as I eat and drink. I'll report back soon.

Glad you started your PTR. Always a good time. Let's do this!!

 

[lostpro9het]

...I think we are on the same cruise, too!....

Heck yes we are!! Small world! We were on this exact same cruise last year, same dates and all, and had a blast!

You've got quite a challenge ahead of you. This will be fun. First, I'll need to have some beer. I'll go with a Canada Pavilion favorite....
View attachment 105220

And also, my wife broke out the Naan bread and I couldn't help but think of your last TR and ur visits to Sanaa

View attachment 105221
She is grilling sausages and we will use the Naan in place of a hot dog bun then fill it with peppers and onions. I'll be trying to.come.up with solutions as I eat and drink. I'll report back soon.

Glad you started your PTR. Always a good time. Let's do this!!

This plan required something a little stronger:

 

[lostpro9het]

Operation DMCA continued:
(Still no guess on DMCA? We’ll let it stew a little longer then)

Task 1: Convince the Kid

This was probably the most difficult part of this whole process. We’ve got an awesome DD and she loves herself some Disney. Telling her that mom and dad would be going to WDW without her would probably be hard to take and I honestly felt bad about telling her…until I thought about it more. See, the DW and I each went to Disney 2 times or less as a kid. The DD has been eight times already and two more trips planned in the next six months! And she is just 13! So why am I feeling bad about dropping this bomb on her? Ugh…Im a sentimental fool that’s why.

Truth be told, the DW and I have been making solo trips to Disney for the past three anniversaries but have been telling the DD we were at a cabin in the mountains, our regular anniversary getaway before Disney took hold, so she wouldn’t be hurt about it. Again, just more irrational overly sensitive dad feelings here. ANYWAY, I spend a few days conjuring how I can bring it up without ruining the surprise and having a DD melt down. Finally on the drive home from school one day I begin to explain to her how mom and I have an anniversary coming up and how I would like to surprise mom but need her help. At this time she knows we are going on a cruise in April and I think that helped. I explain to her that I want to surprise DW with a Disney cruise but I need for her to be ok with it. I immediately follow up that it will include spending a few nights at WDW and since we have APs it would mean DW and I would be hitting up the parks. To my surprise, she took it VERY well and I think liked the idea that she knew something mom didn’t know. She had one stipulation though; we were not allowed to ride the Auqaduck on The Dream! No problem! I gotta give credit to the DD, she did an excellent job keeping this between us! Task 1 complete!



Task 2: Disney Dollar Laundering 101

Its early February and I’m racking my brain how I am going to conceal this purchase. The DW and I share all financial responsibilities so this won’t be easy. I’m not 100% sure when it struck me but it did; Disney gift cards!

[TANGENT_TIME] I’ll make no secret about it; I like to cook! I do most of the cooking in our house and therefore it makes sense that I would also do the grocery shopping, which I do, I enjoy it even. Probably not what you’d expect from a high school wrestling coach but it’s a fact! We took second at State this year!

[/TANGENT_TIME]

The perfect cover, Kroger & Disney gift cards! Since I am at Kroger every week why not purchase a small $25-50 gift card each week until the cost is covered? I figured a small bump in the weekly grocery bill would probably go unnoticed, and I was correct! So for months I toiled like Andy Dufresne at Shawshank and scratched out a huge dent in the Dream’s bill. Here is a small portion of that work:

In addition to the grocery laundering, I was also able to purchase a larger gift card with some cash I received for coaching private wrestling sessions; this allowed me to cover the initial deposit! By the time mid May rolled around I was ready to pay off! Task 2 complete!



Still to come: Getting the DMIL on board, booking the cruise, and how to get all our cruise stuff packed without being too obvious!

 

[catmom46]

OK, I'll take a guess: Disney Magic Cruise Adventure?

 

[lostpro9het]

OK, I'll take a guess: Disney Magic Cruise Adventure?

Not a bad guess, but it actually has nothing to do with Disney. I'm probably the only one that will appreciate it at the end of the day . I'll drop a hint: I teach a computer ethics course and DMCA came up as a topic of discussion but the reason I chose it has nothing to do with computers.

 

[catmom46]

Not a bad guess, but it actually has nothing to do with Disney. I'm probably the only one that will appreciate it at the end of the day . I'll drop a hint: I teach a computer ethics course and DMCA came up as a topic of discussion but the reason I chose it has nothing to do with computers.

That did not help.

 

[catmom46]

All-righty, I'll take one more stab: Deviously Manage Covert Act.

 

[lostpro9het]

All-righty, I'll take one more stab: Deviously Manage Covert Act.

 

[cfry06]

Heck yes we are!! Small world! We were on this exact same cruise last year, same dates and all, and had a blast!


Awesome! We are really looking forward to it. Read your report (very entertaining, thank you) - the weather looked pretty good on your last one, so we'll hope for the same in just over a month! We enjoy a great drink (or several) on vacation, and planning on mixology on Nassau day (not sure if you are repeating) so maybe we'll bump into each other!

 

[lostpro9het]

Awesome! We are really looking forward to it. Read your report (very entertaining, thank you) - the weather looked pretty good on your last one, so we'll hope for the same in just over a month! We enjoy a great drink (or several) on vacation, and planning on mixology on Nassau day (not sure if you are repeating) so maybe we'll bump into each other!

Our fingers are crossed for a repeat of the weather! We still have no desire to check out Nassau so we will take in a move, mixology, and the spa on that day. Will you guys be enjoying Palo or Remy?

 

[lostpro9het]

Operation DMCA continued:
(Hint: digital)

Task 3: Get the MIL on board
This was probably the least concerning issue I was facing with this endeavor and as expected it was the most uneventful part of this operation. As short phone call and she was in. She’d come up and spend the week with the DD and the cats. She’s retired anyways and it would probably do her good to get out of her house for a while. So, as fast as the task cropped up it was done. Task 3 complete!

Task 4: Smuggle the cruise goods
This problem posed some issues. There were some things the DW would just need to have while on the cruise and I needed to work on a story for each. The easiest items would be sea lice lotion (hide it I my suitcase), bathing suit (she’d need it anyway for the pool), and passport cards (hide them in my wallet). The items I was going to have a tougher time working in was the dress and shoes for Palo and the large quantities of alcohol for Castaway cocktails:

I figured if I could work in a signature restaurant ADR that would give me cause to suggest bringing a dress and shoes suitable for Palo. So I dropped the subtle hints of wanting to go to a higher end signature restaurant but maybe something we haven’t tried and make a real date night out of it. DW chose Shula’s and I thought “that will work!” I made the ADR and still had plenty of time to work in hints about dressing up for it. As for the libations, I figured I could hit the package store during one of my grocery trips and just keep the fun hidden in the garage until I loaded the car the night before. Since I was the only one who loaded and unloaded the car during trips I felt I could hide this well enough without raising any suspicion. So I had a fine plan for the goods and it wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be. Task 4 complete!

Wait a minute, you’re forgot something!
I guess there really is a big hole in this story so far, right? Gotta book that cruise! It was early March and the subject line read “Interested in a surprise cruise for my wife”. I shot this email off to the same agent that handled our cruise from the previous year as well as the one we just booked for April’16. I was clear with the agent that this was between her and I and that the DW had no knowledge of the situation; she loved the idea. I told her how we were in 7582 last year and we really loved that room, deck, as well as the location on the ship. The room was conveniently located near the mid-ship elevators and stairs for quick access. Additionally, the starboard side of the ship was preferred so when we were at Castaway we could look out over the island, we really liked that too. Unfortunately, my first choice was not available. She did have 7066 available and that was very close to 7582 but on port side. She also said she had a deck seven starboard side room that was near the forward elevators. This option didn’t sound bad but I was concerned with being too far forward that we may feel more rocking with the boat. She responded that she had just come back from a trip and did not find that to be the case. Additionally, she said the forward elevators, where the room was near, were less crowded and it was easier to get to the theater on decks four and five. So it was settled, I booked the deck seven starboard side forward room! I hammered home the point that NOTHING was to be sent to the house but rather my office at work. I made it redundantly clear that the DW was not to be contacted I any way. The agent got it and reinforced this with Disney when booking the cruise. When I received the initial down payment and booking email from Disney I had a moment of panic, what if the DW got this email too!?!? After a few hours, and no word from the DW otherwise, I had worried for nothing. So things were cruising now! Every two weeks or so I’d email the agent with a new set of gift card numbers and get an update email about my new balance. Smoooth sailings, right?

Up next: The first sign that the Cruise Gods can be a real jerk…

 

[catmom46]

Having never been on a cruise in my life, I at first thought sea lice was a typo! I had no idea this was an issue. And I didn't know jellyfish sting lotion existed either! Learn something new every day on this forum.

 

[lostpro9het]

Having never been on a cruise in my life, I at first thought sea lice was a typo! I had no idea this was an issue. And I didn't know jellyfish sting lotion existed either! Learn something new every day on this forum.

I don't know how real of an issue it is but we are just siding on caution. It's cheap enough snake oil .

 

[catmom46]

I don't know how real of an issue it is but we are just siding on caution. It's cheap enough snake oil .

And apparently sea lice is a misnomer and it's actually larvae of thimble jellyfish: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/debunking_the_sea_lice_myth

Learning so much from your thread now!

Spoiler

Except what DMCA stands for...

 

[cfry06]

Our fingers are crossed for a repeat of the weather! We still have no desire to check out Nassau so we will take in a move, mixology, and the spa on that day. Will you guys be enjoying Palo or Remy?

No Palo or Remy this trip. We have yet to try all three dining rooms on the Dream, so thought scratch each one off our list this trip. We might regret it - have loved the two Palo meals we've had (one dinner, one brunch) - so maybe we'll book last minute once on board...

Having our [then] 2 or 4 yr old with us on the other cruises, there are a ton of areas and things we just haven't had the chance to explore yet. We are looking forward to that - and truly relaxing- on this trip. And drinks and food. Lots of that! Not sure if you are aware, but there is a DVC event the first day (usually around 2?) with giveaways, drinks, and a drawing for $200 onboard credit. And a sales pitch for more points , but it's usually a good time. Worth the chance for the credit, in my opinion.
I may have to try the coconut/pog concoction - that looks good!

 

[lostpro9het]

Not sure if you are aware, but there is a DVC event the first day (usually around 2?) with giveaways, drinks, and a drawing for $200 onboard credit. And a sales pitch for more points , but it's usually a good time. Worth the chance for the credit, in my opinion.

We had heard of that and you're right the prospect of the credit sounds pretty good. Any idea how long the pitch lasts?

I may have to try the coconut/pog concoction - that looks good!

Its so simple and yet soooooo good! I tried making homemade POG a few months ago to mix with the rum and it just wasn't the same, can't wait to mix up some more!

 

[RyPat]

Ah Sam Adams Octoberfest One of the few good things about summer ending!

 

[cfry06]

We had heard of that and you're right the prospect of the credit sounds pretty good. Any idea how long the pitch lasts?

I think it usually lasts an hour (the whole event). We really liked the pseudo-tervis tumblers they gifted last time.