Trip Report SURPRISE SEPTEMBER TRIP REVEALED.... BUT WAS IT A SURPRISE?

This is my first trip report and I hope I can compare to the high standards of some of the trip reports I read before our trip, during my research period. Thank you by the way to all who indirectly made this a magically and memorable trip.

We did manage to make it to WDW and back home safely. Been home for about 6 days now and still working at cleaning/organizing everything after the trip. Especially all the photos taken. I had a personal count of about 2200 pictures/videos of my own. Now mind you most of those were similar. By that I mean, my cameras have the option of taking up to 3 photos in a row. I thought best to use this feature in order to acquire the perfect shot, instead of being stuck with only the 'one' picture of someone looking elsewhere or with their eyes closed. And of course there were those few shots taken of the ground that always appear to happen. Not to mention just over another 1000 photos in my Memory Maker account. I think this was a very good investment on my part.

I guess I should start by back tracking a little.

Why? Besides the answer of why not, this trip started to flourish by the kids last year asking if we could go to WDW. I promised we could in two or three years but we would have to cut back on some of our spending and start saving for it. So, true answer, promise made.

How? Things just ended up falling into place to go this September, about a year in advance. I was able to receive some severance from a project I was helping with and thought our WDW trip would be a good way of using it.

When? I was originally thinking of going around March 2017, near to DD's birthday, but further research provided information September provided some of the lowest crowd levels. This would be an extra benefit for someone who has not been to WDW in about 40 years to be able to get around. September provided some extra benefits besides the lower crowds, lower costs and free dining. I would happen to have the children for a 3 week period in September and would allow flexibility to when we would fly. (Only later to decide we would be driving instead, but still allow us to be at WDW longer than the normal 7 days I have the children.) It would also be DS's birthday during this 3 week period and who won't want to celebrate their birthday at WDW.

I decided we would drive down (more due to trying to keep it a secret longer), departing Canada on Monday, September 12th taking the scenic route to WDW. We would arrive at WDW on Thursday, September 15th and depart on Friday, September 23rd. This would give us newbies 7 full days in the parks to explore.

I should add that while I was organizing the above, the children were planning a trip for the three of us to go to WDW July 2017 for my birthday. I know I am mean in being so deceitful, but I actually did give them the option to help plan 'a trip I was planning' but they wanted it to be a surprise. So, really it is their own fault. :p:D:rolleyes:;):joyfull:

Who?

Me- Paul

9 MK_ENCHANTEDTALESGOLD (2).jpeg


DS - Daniel

9 MK_ENCHANTEDTALESGOLD (49).jpeg


DD - Christina

9 MK_ENCHANTEDTALESGOLD (57).jpeg


I think I will end it here for now. I will be back soon to report our departure and our first leg of our drive.
 

Scoppin

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was wondering when you were finally going to post a TR! I can't wait to hear all about it and hear what your kid's reactions were!

Hey, I haven't been home that long. :p Sorting through pictures is a harder job than one may think. Not to mention the downloading from the Memory Maker/Photopass. I actually missed some photos at first. Good thing I counted to double check. I had to do it all over again a second time last night to find my 'missing' pictures. Otherwise I would have posted our first leg last night.

If it works, I will have a video of their reaction, when it is time to reveal. :p:rolleyes:

Thanks for following.
 

Scoppin

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Monday, September 12th, First leg to Virginia Beach

Well, my meeting after work went a little longer than I hand expected/hoped, but I had mentioned earlier I would start my report and I do like to keep my promises. So, I will start our first leg, but will have to continue/finish it tomorrow.

So, as mentioned in my pre-trip report, the children came home Sunday afternoon totally clueless as what was about to happen to them. However, there was some concern as DS did get sick just before bed. I however didn't think it was illness related but more food or stomach related. I did think I could also turn this to my advantage as well.

I was able to turn all the clocks ahead an hour prior to waking the children. Knowing we had an 11-12 hour drive ahead of us I wanted to head out at 8:00 am rather than 9:00 am. And the only way I was going to be able to get away with this was only if I moved all the clocks ahead. I woke the kids as per 'normal' for a school day. Trying to get them up at 7:00 am and working on pancakes for breakfast. Chocolate chip for DD and blueberry for DS. The children woke easily enough, considering it was actually 6:00 am. I know, I am bad. Once, we were ready for school I posed the kids a question: would they rather go to school or on an adventure? The chose school. Not! I then asked if they wanted to take pizza or Nutela sandwiches for the trip. As luck would have it they each stated something different. The pizza was easy as it was left over from the night before. The sandwiches were not bad either, didn't take long to get ready. I did mentioned for them to gather their toothbrushes, PJs, pillows and fleece blankets while I prepped the sandwiches. Toothbrushes and PJs went into the suitcase and pillows & blankets in the back with the kids in case they wanted to take a nap or got cold.

Things still looked good at keeping this adventure a secret. DS didn't notice he was lacking shirts in his closest. Nor did he mentioned why there were other suitcases/carry-ons in the back of the van. He did say, 'I know where we are going' when he saw the journals in the van. I asked him where but he didn't respond. I asked them to pick out 4 movies each as we had a long ride ahead of us of about 12 hours. I helps having a DVD player in the van to entertain the kids on long trips. Not to mention the had their phones with access to an adapter in the back, snacks/food/drinks and toys I had pack for them. These included Star Wars for DS and Princesses for DD. These would also come into play for another part of our trip as I was hoping these would enhance character encounters.

So, we started our journey shortly after 8:00 am (real time) with our first stop to be the border crossing. I was worried this would be where the mystery would die. I debated on if I should be proactive in trying to keep this a secret or not. Knowing if I got the wrong Border Officer it could cause a delay and being pulled over to further questioning. The night before I decided to the gamble on continuing the mystery and write a letter for the Border Officer. Basically the letter stated: I had planned a surprise trip and surprise birthday for DS. I have conducted many of these before but mostly within Ontario. Yes, we were going to Orlando and yes we were returning on September 25th, all of which was confirmed in their mother's letter of permission of travel. Adding I knew they had a job to conduct and if they needed me to confirm I would comply. And I concluded by thanking them for their consideration. The US/Canadian border is about 30-40 minutes away so it wasn't long before we were there. When I pulled up into a line I noticed I had chosen the correct line as it appeared the car by the booth in the line beside me was being delayed. The occupants were being escorted to the adjacent building and a Border Officer drove the car to the side. Honestly, I was expecting a little more to occur but glad it didn't. It was shortly our turn at the booth. I gave the border officer 'the letter', our passports and the letter of permission of travel. I honestly don't remember him asking me any questions. He did get up to open the side door to verify the children. I asked DD to wake DS as it appeared he was asleep. The Border Officer mentioned it was okay. I was a little surprised at the response, but okay. He handed me back the passports and the letter of travel. Then he asked if I would like him to dispose of the 'evidence'. I have to be honest. I was a little surprised by the question and after a short pause stated yes thank you. Then we were off to continue with our journey and secret still intact. I still believe the Border Officers have access to certain information when they pull up the plate numbers, such as work location. In this case, may aid in my crossing. If it is listed, it would state I work for the Canadian Federal Correctional Service. For which most usually believe I am a Correctional Officer, which I am not, but don't always want to explain what I actually do. So, I just go along with it.

I think I will end this here for now. It is getting a little late and have to be sure I am able to work in the morning. The problem with work is I am not able to bring mobile phone in nor able to download pictures. I can read/reply to posts. I may even be able to continue with the above, just won't be able to add pictures until I get home.
 

TiggerDad

Well-Known Member
Monday, September 12th, First leg to Virginia Beach

Well, my meeting after work went a little longer than I hand expected/hoped, but I had mentioned earlier I would start my report and I do like to keep my promises. So, I will start our first leg, but will have to continue/finish it tomorrow.

So, as mentioned in my pre-trip report, the children came home Sunday afternoon totally clueless as what was about to happen to them. However, there was some concern as DS did get sick just before bed. I however didn't think it was illness related but more food or stomach related. I did think I could also turn this to my advantage as well.

I was able to turn all the clocks ahead an hour prior to waking the children. Knowing we had an 11-12 hour drive ahead of us I wanted to head out at 8:00 am rather than 9:00 am. And the only way I was going to be able to get away with this was only if I moved all the clocks ahead. I woke the kids as per 'normal' for a school day. Trying to get them up at 7:00 am and working on pancakes for breakfast. Chocolate chip for DD and blueberry for DS. The children woke easily enough, considering it was actually 6:00 am. I know, I am bad. Once, we were ready for school I posed the kids a question: would they rather go to school or on an adventure? The chose school. Not! I then asked if they wanted to take pizza or Nutela sandwiches for the trip. As luck would have it they each stated something different. The pizza was easy as it was left over from the night before. The sandwiches were not bad either, didn't take long to get ready. I did mentioned for them to gather their toothbrushes, PJs, pillows and fleece blankets while I prepped the sandwiches. Toothbrushes and PJs went into the suitcase and pillows & blankets in the back with the kids in case they wanted to take a nap or got cold.

Things still looked good at keeping this adventure a secret. DS didn't notice he was lacking shirts in his closest. Nor did he mentioned why there were other suitcases/carry-ons in the back of the van. He did say, 'I know where we are going' when he saw the journals in the van. I asked him where but he didn't respond. I asked them to pick out 4 movies each as we had a long ride ahead of us of about 12 hours. I helps having a DVD player in the van to entertain the kids on long trips. Not to mention the had their phones with access to an adapter in the back, snacks/food/drinks and toys I had pack for them. These included Star Wars for DS and Princesses for DD. These would also come into play for another part of our trip as I was hoping these would enhance character encounters.

So, we started our journey shortly after 8:00 am (real time) with our first stop to be the border crossing. I was worried this would be where the mystery would die. I debated on if I should be proactive in trying to keep this a secret or not. Knowing if I got the wrong Border Officer it could cause a delay and being pulled over to further questioning. The night before I decided to the gamble on continuing the mystery and write a letter for the Border Officer. Basically the letter stated: I had planned a surprise trip and surprise birthday for DS. I have conducted many of these before but mostly within Ontario. Yes, we were going to Orlando and yes we were returning on September 25th, all of which was confirmed in their mother's letter of permission of travel. Adding I knew they had a job to conduct and if they needed me to confirm I would comply. And I concluded by thanking them for their consideration. The US/Canadian border is about 30-40 minutes away so it wasn't long before we were there. When I pulled up into a line I noticed I had chosen the correct line as it appeared the car by the booth in the line beside me was being delayed. The occupants were being escorted to the adjacent building and a Border Officer drove the car to the side. Honestly, I was expecting a little more to occur but glad it didn't. It was shortly our turn at the booth. I gave the border officer 'the letter', our passports and the letter of permission of travel. I honestly don't remember him asking me any questions. He did get up to open the side door to verify the children. I asked DD to wake DS as it appeared he was asleep. The Border Officer mentioned it was okay. I was a little surprised at the response, but okay. He handed me back the passports and the letter of travel. Then he asked if I would like him to dispose of the 'evidence'. I have to be honest. I was a little surprised by the question and after a short pause stated yes thank you. Then we were off to continue with our journey and secret still intact. I still believe the Border Officers have access to certain information when they pull up the plate numbers, such as work location. In this case, may aid in my crossing. If it is listed, it would state I work for the Canadian Federal Correctional Service. For which most usually believe I am a Correctional Officer, which I am not, but don't always want to explain what I actually do. So, I just go along with it.

I think I will end this here for now. It is getting a little late and have to be sure I am able to work in the morning. The problem with work is I am not able to bring mobile phone in nor able to download pictures. I can read/reply to posts. I may even be able to continue with the above, just won't be able to add pictures until I get home.
Sounds like a great adventure. You fared much better than I did crossing the border from Winnipeg to North Dakota a few years ago without the children's mother but that's a story for another day.
 

Scoppin

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sounds like a great adventure. You fared much better than I did crossing the border from Winnipeg to North Dakota a few years ago without the children's mother but that's a story for another day.

Do do believe they are able to pull some personal information. I remember one time crossing at Niagara Falls and the Officer mentioned I worked for Corrections and asked which Institution I worked at. That caused a side bar conversation and then proceeded to wish me a good trip. But a lot also has to do with attitude I believe.

Yes, things can be more difficult crossing without both parents. I do understand the reasoning behind it. But in all honestly, if you wanted to 'escape' with your children or even someone else's, you really could. I just won't wish that upon any parent as I know how I would be dealing with it.

Thanks for following.
 

littleroo

Well-Known Member
Wow!! I grew up in Watertown, NY. My parents, now that we are all gone, live on Wellsley Island in the 1000 islands. We spend a week there every summer. We always take the kids to Fort Henry. We love chez piggy. We are sad the big bookstore, can't remember the name presently, closed a few years ago.

I wondered when you said how close to the border you were. So many great spots in Kingston. Just love it!!!
 

Scoppin

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Monday, September 12th continued.

Okay, lets continue with our first leg.

As mentioned above, DS was 'laying' in his seat and apparently sleeping. I started the trip with a full tank of gas as I filled up the day before. So there was no real reason for me to stop anytime soon unless requested to do so. Not to mention they had plenty of food/snacks/water. The kids have learned from our previous trips if they need a 'rest' stop to ask, otherwise I just keep driving.

A couple of hours into the US and DS 'wakes' up and asks, 'what did the officer mean by getting rid of the evidence?' Opps, I'm now in trouble. Apparently he wasn't totally asleep while at the border. Evil dad came out and I replied, 'I have no idea.' Playing dumb works sometimes. Besides, I have a secret to keep.

Our drive was lack of a better term, uneventful. Which is a good thing. It would have been easier with a navigator to assist, but I managed. I just like to do things correctly and when you haven't been somewhere, I just don't want to take the wrong turn. Mind you, I am not afraid of asking for directions.

I don't remember all the stops we made as I don't have all the receipts for the gas. Not all the pumps had paper to print a receipt. But I am sure I stopped for gas somewhere in New York or Pennsylvania sometime in the late morning, early afternoon. I remember thinking the gas price was lower than at home. Believe it was $2.26/g. And hoping that if I drove a little further it won't be even cheaper. But I filled up anyway. And yes, as luck would have it, not more then 10 minutes away I noticed gas for $2.19/g. I know this may not appear to be a huge difference but it is to us Canadians. Now if I can go off on a tangent for a short while.

1 US gallon is equal to about 3.75 L. Lets just round up to make things easier and say a gallon is equal to 4 litres. The price of gas at home was $0.925 when I filled up the van. Which if converted to a gallon would be $3.70/g. The other thing we have to deal with. Now I am not sure if this happens to all of Canada, or just all of Ontario or just Eastern Ontario, but the price of gas fluctuates just about each and every day. One day, usually Tuesday or Wednesday, the price will go up 10-12 cent per litre. Then it will start to go down slowly each day, as early as the night it went up. It may go down 8-9 cents before it goes up again. There are a few times when they may not increase the price but this doesn't happen often. So, going back to the above, the 9 cent/g difference made me flashback to Ontario pricing. But I did notice on the way home the prices were about the same as when we went through the first time around. Price was about $2.25-$2.17 in the Northern States. $2.19-$2.10 in the mid States. And $2.13-$1.99 in the Southern States. On the way back I tried to fill up more the more South I was.

I did have one problem while filling up at the pumps. The pumps didn't like my Canadian credit card the further I was from the border. I was fine in New York and I believe Pennsylvania but anywhere else. The pumps would ask if it was a credit card or debt card. Then ask for a zip code. I would enter 5 digits but it didn't like it. We don't have zip codes up here. We have postal codes. 6 digits numerical and alphabetical. A1A 1A1. So, each time I would have to go into the store/kiosk and prepay for my gas. Somewhat of a pain when trying to move along quickly. Not to mention I had to try to guess how many gallons it may take to fill the tank from where it was and convert to dollars.

Okay back to the trip. I honestly only remember having 3 'rest' stops on this leg. I may be missing one or two. But not surprisingly they all came from DD and all of them came at the most inconvenient time. By this I mean, just after I filled up with gas or just after I passed an off ramp with access to a gas station or restaurant. I think the three I remember all occurred in Delaware, maybe it was Pennsylvania. The first she had to remind me of and it was just before we came to a toll station. I decided to pull over and see if they had washrooms. If they had staff they should have washrooms. And there were public washrooms on the outside of the building. We all took advantage of this stop. I then stopped shortly afterward for gas.

A second time did occurred in Delaware. I remember staying off/avoiding the toll highway in order to try to find somewhere to stop. We came into a small town but was having a difficult time finding one on our side due to the medium. Then I noticed a fire hall up the way on the right if I turned left at the lights. I did and parked in their parking lot. By this time she was saying she really had to go. We knocked and knocked and not answer. I sent DS around the back to see if any doors were open. No doors open. DS offers to take DD to go behind the shed in the back. I was heading to the van to get some tissue for her to use. I had noticed two State Trooper vehicles in the back corner but was unable to see if they were occupied. While heading to the van they started to leave. As the first one drove by I stopped, they stopped and I asked if there was a washroom DD could use as she really had to go and I had directed her to the back of the shed. He stated he could open the building and she could go in. I called for DD and she was able to use their washroom. We thanked him for his assistance. But later I wondered if they were parked in the corner all this time we were there, which was easily 5-10 minutes before they moved why didn't they inquire why we were there. It was a fire hall after all. People just don't pop in to visit. I also figured it must have been a volunteer fire hall and the reason why no one was actually there. Not use to this here. I do believe most Canadian fire halls have permanent fire fighters with volunteers to assist.

The other one I can remember actually corresponded with a gas fill up. I learned from this that I should always ask her if she needed to go.

I know we were in Georgetown, Delaware at 4:16 as per my receipt for gas. It was somewhere between this time and 6:00 pm when I ask those in the back if the were hungry and wanted to stop. They stated they were not. I stated I was and again asked if they wanted to stop. They again responded no. I guess I shouldn't have given so much food to eat. We continued without stopping. I guess going without eating for a while won't hurt me too much. I could gain from losing a few pounds.

At 6:46 pm we came up to my first surprise of the trip, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel system. I had traveled on this once before and thought they would enjoy/find it interesting. I was sure none of their classmates had been on it. I tried to explain what it was and why it was made this way. DS was a little hesitant by saying he was a little claustrophobic and afraid of what would happen if the tunnel would cave in. I responded I was sure it was built correctly, nothing had happened with many people traveling it daily and really no different than traveling on a bridge. If a bridge was to collapse, you really don't have anywhere to go. They did think it was neat, after surviving the trip through and something to share with their classmates. By this time we were really close to our first destination. We arrived at about 7:30 pm at our Super 8. I checked in as the kids tried to find the washroom, which they were told was on the first floor, but no where to be found and check out the pool, which was outside. There was some difficultly with checking in. My card didn't work. But I didn't give her my card. Somehow she had my old card number. But this worked out. I mentioned it had expired and gave her the new one. She replied, 'oh, I reduced the price so Merry Christmas.' I guess she thought I would then be paying by cash. She was pleasant enough and no issues with the front desk. She was more than friendly and willing to agree to some of our further requests.

You know there was going to be a but. But, this was not a hotel to write home about. It did have it upsides. So, after checking in we grabbed our suitcase, pillows and blankets and made our way up to the fourth floor to our room. The was an odour about the hallways/elevator. Got to the room, and like I stated nothing to write home about. But plus sides; two queen beds, fridge, microwave and coffee maker. In fact, I would have to say all the hotels we stayed at outside of WDW had fridge, microwave and coffee maker. The biggest plus was the room had a balcony with a view of the beach. Pictures to follow. The downside I would say was the bathroom. Definitely needed some work. Okay, a bit of work. And were other cosmetics that the room needed. The one thing I did notice was there was no bath, but a long shower where the bath would have been, and no shelves for soap/shampoo. And there were no towels and only one bar of soap for the sink and shower??

We then went downstairs to move the van and get something for dinner. DS mentioned he wanted Subway as there happen to be one on the corner. We parked the car in the designated lot, which just a happened to be behind the Subway. It was about 8:20 pm when we tried the Subway doors but they were locked. Apparently they closed at 8:00pm, which to me appeared to be a bit early. We settled for Domino's Pizza, which was close and didn't want to waste time trying to find a place. We ordered a medium cheese pizza and drinks and brought it back to our room to eat. DD barely ate one slice as she stated she didn't like the sauce. Which was fine by me, as if you remember, we didn't stop anywhere to eat on our way there. DS had about 3 slices. I ate the rest in less time than DS ate his three including DDs slice as well. Did I mention we didn't stop to eat.

After eating we went for a tour of the boardwalk. But I will stop here. The next part will be better with pictures and I am unable to add them at this time. Not to mention, the above is enough to read for now.
 
Last edited:

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom