Planning Family Trip for Mom's 50th

[ncscgirl2005]

Hello All. I am beginning to plan a trip for my mom's 50th birthday in early November 2008. The "cast" will include:
1. My older sister & her boyfriend
2. My younger brother
3. My family: DH myself, & DDs (ages 11 & 7 at the time of the trip)
4. And of course the birthday girl, Mom

We were going to throw her a really nice party at a local hall but my mom has expressed that she is really not interested in having an over-the-top birthday party. So I (being the Disney lover that I am) suggested (or demanded :secret:) a trip to Disney World and she agreed. This will be her very first time going to Disney World. My sister and I feel that we would much rather spend the money we were going to use for the party on a family vacation instead of one night of partying anyway. 50th birthdays are a big deal in our family since my mom has lost 3 sisters before they even reached the age of 50 and my mom has already suffered through a bout of breast cancer.

So now that we have all that information out the way, I have no idea how to proceed. I've really been considering allowing MJ's to handle this trip. We don't have a whole lot of money to spend on luxury accomodations but I would love for everyone to stay together; not necessarily in the same room but perhaps in at least the same resort. My sister's boyfriend suggested staying offsite to save money and they probably will. While I have ABSOLUTELY no problem with saving money, I want my mom's first trip to be very "MAGICAL". I want her to be able to experience what we felt when we went there on our first trip from the beautiful landscaped grounds, to the cute towel animals left by mousekeeping, to the transportion, to the friendly staff, and the extra magic hours. We have all agreed to pay for our own accomodations and split the costs of my mom's vacation. I have looked into staying at the POP and Shades of Green (we're military). I don't know if MJ's will handle SoG reservations though.

Can anyone give me some suggestions as to how to proceed. We have pretty much agreed on going November 6-11, 2008 because my mom's birthday is November 7 and we want that to be her first day in the parks. Also how about a special place to dine for her birthday dinner? I was thinking about the Spirit of Aloha dinner show.

Being the planner that I am, I would like to go ahead and book a package now since I know we'll have plenty of time to cancel or change if need be. The only problem is getting my sister and brother to do the same. Will Disney allow me to book their packages on my card and then transfer the packages to them before our reservation takes place or can I keep them in my name and just let them (sis and bro) pay reimburse me?

Sorry for the long post but I need help and you guy are great!

[laprana]

What a great birthday your mom is going to have!! :party: I agree that staying on site makes the trip to WDW a lot more magical! If it's just going to be your family and your mom staying on site, you could consider a family suite at All Stars Music resort. They don't have these suites at Pop (although I've heard they're planning to build some there in the future), but they have 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchenette and can sleep up to 6. Or, you could look into a cabin at FW, which I think also sleeps up to 6 and has a full kitchen, plus FW is close to MK!

I'm not really familiar with SOG, although a friend of mine stayed there last May with his DW. They said it was nice enough hotel-wise, but didn't feel as "Disney" as the other resorts. But, the rates were a lot lower!

Just from past personal experience, I don't think I'd recommend the Spirit of Aloha show for your mom's b-day. We went 2 summers ago, and no one in our group (4 adults) enjoyed it much. The food was just ok, and the show itself was kind of corny. Reminded me of a bad high school play. Although, I really enjoyed the island dances, especially the fire dancer - but that was a pretty small portion of the show. It seems like it's geared more for kids, so your DDs might enjoy it.

What about getting an ADR at California Grill for your mom's b-day around the time Wishes happens at MK? I think they pipe in the music from Wishes, and although I've never been there for it myself, I hear it's one of the best places to watch the fireworks! You could request a table by the windows, and if you tell them you'll be there celebrating your mom's b-day, they might do something really special for her! Whatever you decide to do, have a great trip!!:mickey:

[wdwfansince75]

Shades of Green! Go for it!....Each person with an ID card can make reservations for up to 4 rooms (except during Holiday seasons)...self and three rooms...$100-$120 per night.....depends on rank/status.....great rooms, with 2 queen size beds and day bed......you can request, and usually get, connecting rooms....also, they have several suites available.....may serve your crowd well.

In spite of other reviewers, transportation is not a big problem.....if the driver does not seem to be having as much fun as you, its because he/she is on the job, and you are on vacation....do not agree that "it is not Disney"....while waiting for the bus, you can hear the wolf, and the train whistle.....easy walk to Poly, buses to TTC and to AK and Studios....learn the schedule....or use your own car.

Reservations are easy through SoG website, or call...# is on shadesofgreen.org.

Meals at SoG are ok.....but I wouldn't go just for the food....cheaper than Disney buffets, and as good as you will find at Morrison's, Ryan's, or Golden Corral.....Good room service (great breakfast), and pizza from Evergreen's was declared great by most of my grandkids!

For Birthday Dinner...about the same price as Spirit of Aloha, you can do a Grand Gathering...Safari and Dinner at AK or International Gathering at EPCOT....takes eight to have a GG....can coordinate through Customer Service at SoG....they can arrange by phone....

Adult birthdays are also special at California Grill, Ohana's or Brown Derby.....the first two can be done in conjunction with Wishes, and having a Birthday can help get "Window treatment"...Now that can be special!

I know you can't do a SoG trip through MJ....and considering the time of year, they may be able to get you a great deal elsewhere in WDW....But don't rule out SoG.....Beautiful place, great location, great price....(don't let anyone else know I suggested this, but you can make several reservations, watch the date, and cancel all but the one that suits you best)

[CBMarks]

We just got back from celebrating my mom's 70th birthday at Disney. She didn't want the same old same, old party, so we did a Disney Party at her request. Takes alot of planning and well worth every minute. It was also my birthday so my sister did do some surprises for me as well. :mickey:

First we decided where we were going to stay Mom likes the Pop Century, but we wanted to upgrade to a moderate so we decided on the Caribbean Beach Resort (we saved all our pennies for over a year). As this was planned as a Grand Gathering celebration (8 or more people), they do have some special things you can do, some are rather pricey. We did decide to have the t-shirts made that said Mom's 70th Magical Birthday Celebration, October 2007 on the back and there was a really nice disney scene on the front. My sister made all the reservations for the rooms, she gave the number of rooms she needed, who was in each room (they take everybody's name, we had to show our license at check-in). We all received individual email/US postal mail, confirmations so we could make our payments, made it easier to pay for as we spread it out over the year. We all paid for our individual rooms, tickets, etc. and split mom's. We were all in the same building, same floor, 2 rooms were connected, the other 2 were alittle further apart but we were all very close to each other. We had what they called a Preferred Room, we were close to the bus stop, the big pool, and food court. :cloud9:

We made our dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, as they do Character greetings while you are there they stop at every table, you can take pictures, get autographs, it was Pooh, Tigger, Eyore and Piglet and it was great fun. My sister had also ordered a special cake to be delivered to the restaurant and it was brought to the table and they all sung happy birthday and the table was decorated with a birthday flare. We really wanted the California Grill but waited too late to get reservations but that is a cool place to watch wishes and wish we could have gotten in but there is always a birthday to celebrate on another date.

We also had ordered balloons and a card to be delivered to her room, so when she came back from the park, she had balloons and a card (5x7 glossy of Mickey Mouse) waiting for her return.

I hired a professional photographer :photo: to take our pictures, he's an Intercot Sponsor, Stan Kelley's Photography, below are the links to a sampling of the photos he took, we choose 2 sessions, one at MGM with our special t-shirts we bought from Disney and at the Caribbean Beach Resort where we stayed, despite the rain he took EXCELLENT photos, it started to rain :rain: half way through our photo session but that was ok, we waited alittle wet for the remaining photos, but we didn't mind the photos came out great and it's all part of the experience and Stan was very patient with all of us.

MGM Studios (http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561032063fIkUHx)

Caribbean Beach Resort (http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561005774pQDSSw)

We also had made reservations at the Sci-Fi Cafe in MGM and were givena birthday sundae with a candle in it and of course Happy Birthday sung, that was very cool.

You must remember to pick up a birthday button, as they write your name on it and cast members as well as tourist say happy birthday, had a bus load of people going back to the resort sing happy birthday, received a couple "instant fastpasses". The day we wore our shirts, people were looking to see what they said and would say Happy Birthday Mom, she felt so special!

We started planning early so we could get everything in place. The last minute item was the photographer as I found him on Intercot and was lucky enough to be able to set up 2 sittings with him on short notice and it is well worth it!

Hopefully this gives you some ideas, as you have a year to plan, but the time flies by and before you know it, you're there and back home again, but you will have great memories!

:minnie: