A Disney Birthday Surprise!

A friend of ours turned the magical age of 40 on Monday. To honor her birthday, her husband surprised her with a trip to Walt Disney World. While it really isn’t my story, I was involved in lots of parts of it and have kept it a secret for a while. So, here’s the wonderful story of a wonderful birthday surprise.



This all started about two months ago when our friend’s husband conspired with another couple to get his wife on a plane and to Orlando to celebrate her birthday. First issue was the fact that the wife typically handled all the vacation details, reservations, etc. and the he didn’t know who to call. I gave him the name and number of our fantastic travel agent, Shauna. She was happy to help!



I then got another call, “We’re making dining reservations, what times are the parades?” Yep, I could help with that one, too, and asked some questions about where they were going to eat, etc.



Another call, “What kind of a reason can you think of to get her to Des Moines on Sunday without it seeming suspicious?” While this one was a bit harder, I came up with an idea of a “couples only brunch held at a hip art gallery on the East side that offered watercolor painting and sculpture making while drinking champagne.” Pretty good, huh? While I don’t know if he used the story or not, (I’ll find out later) I was thinking that if an art gallery doesn’t already offer this experience, they may want to start!



Next call, “What’s something we could do that would be special when we get there Sunday night?” Well, my idea was the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage, but they actually got tickets to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. That will work, too!



I checked in on Sunday. Boy, was she ever surprised! They had landed in Orlando and were on the Magical Express on their way to the surprise resort! I knew it was the Contemporary with a Magic Kingdom view, but I wasn’t telling. They had had a great flight and were now in love with AirTran. Yeah, me too!



At 7:00 am Monday morning I got a text. “We’re opening the park!” Yep, I knew what that meant. I meant that they had been chosen to be the First Family at the Magic Kingdom. That they would ride through an almost empty park on a fire engine and board the train in Toontown and ride into Main Street Station during rope drop and get to countdown and throw the confetti to officially open the park. What a great thing to do on your birthday!



I got another call Tuesday morning. “When are parent/teacher conferences in February? There’s a free dining special and we are thinking about coming back.” I answered the question and asked how their trip had been so far. Great! They are coming back home today—the birthday woman, her husband, and their friends. And, while I wasn’t with them in body, I was with them in spirit. I could imagine their excitement at being at the happiest place on earth!



That’s what Disney does, you know. It brings out every part of you that is still young and young at heart. A visit to the Magic Kingdom makes you believe that all your dreams really can and do come true. And, for one very lucky person, yesterday, many of her dreams were coming true!