The Surprise!

So after months of asking and begging from our kids (specifically our oldest), today was the day we told our kids about our next vacation!

We started our day with these Mickey Mouse head chocolate chip pancakes:



But the kids didn't make the connection.

Then after breakfast, we started a scavenger hunt around the house. The first clue was in the advent calendar: (excuse the poor grammar)




The first clue sent the kids up to their cardboard clubhouse (see previous blog post). Our oldest son was in charge of reading all the clues out loud:


Here is what it said:


Then they went to their pirate ship toy to find this clue:
The spinning mirror in Mom & Dad's room had a poster hanging on it:

So after reading this, my oldest said "YAY! We're going to Disney World!" And I said, "No, we're going on a Disney Cruise!" And he kept saying, "So...we're going to Disney World?" Excited, but slightly confused!

So then we sent them into the office to the Christmas tree, where a wrapped treasure box was waiting for them.

The treasure box contained 3 Disney Cruise Line sailor caps, Mickey/Minnie sailor plush, Pirates of the Caribbean legos, pictures & maps, the DCL informational DVD, "tickets", and gift cards for each kid.



The gift cards had pictures of each kid on them (a gift from Grandma and Grandpa!)
The tickets! (created by DISigners on the DIS board):



So we were trying to explain to them what a cruise is and how it would be like a hotel and resort on a boat that travels to islands. And our oldest was like, "Where's the rides?" So still a little confused.

So we put in the Disney Cruise Line informational DVD. My 4-year-old kept saying, "Awesome!" My 1-year-old just kept trying to confiscate all the Mickeys and Minnie for herself.

We are going on a 5-night Double-Dip cruise to the Bahamas on the Disney Dream! It's called a double-dip because this cruise makes two stops at Disney's private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay. It also spends one day at Nassau on the Grand Bahamas, one day at sea, and one day at Port Canaveral.

While the DVD was still playing, we got a phone call from The Big Cheese himself! That's right, Mickey Mouse called to tell the kids he couldn't wait for them to sail to the Bahamas with them!


Then I told them that there is a Pirate Night on the ship, and that we will get to dress up as pirates. So of course they wanted to get into their pirate costumes (from last Halloween) right away!

I'm so glad this secret is out, because I could hardly stand it anymore. Now we can spend the next several months learning about our destinations and the ship! We didn't tell our son yet that we will also be going to Star Wars Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios the day before the cruise. I'm afraid his head would explode at all this news!

After the holidays, I will write a blog post about how to get the cheapest price for a Disney Cruise. Because after researching this for a few years, I've learned there are tricks to get the best price and very specific times when it's best to book.