Shhh...It's a Secret!

I am like the world's WORST person at keeping a secret.  I have been ever since I was a little girl.  Ask my dad; he's got TONS of stories to back that statement up.  

Anyway, I had originally been planning a trip to Disney with my sister but things kept getting put off and there were a couple of disagreements scheduling conflicts so I have decided to take the money that I was going to spend on a completely (worthwhile) selfish getaway and spend it on a mother/son getaway.

As the younger child, Michael had to spend most of his formative years in the shadow of his older brother.  Nick is like a force of nature; he is vibrant and personable and pretty much commands attention when he's in the room.  For years I would watch as Michael simply faded in to the background while Nick held the floor.  So as a way of doing something that is just for him, I am taking Michael away for 3 days in September, just the two of us. Where to?

Disney.

Seriously, was there any doubt?

I earned a free night through some freelance writing that I did for a Disney travel blog and I needed to use it before it expired.  So we are going to take the Amtrak train down to Orlando (it's an overnight trip) and then spend three days/two nights at one of Disney's moderate resorts and then take the overnight trip back on the train.

Do you know how much more cost effective it is to take the train??  When I was pricing flights, no matter how hard I tried, it was going to cost a little over $500 for the both of us round trip.  And that wasn't including the "extras" that the airlines are charging for these days.  For $180 we are both traveling round trip on Amtrak.  And really, what boy doesn't love a train??

Now my plan is to NOT tell him that we are doing this but to go on planning the trip as if I were going with my sister.  This way if he hears me talking about it, he won't think anything of it.  Then, the night before we leave, while I'm packing, I hand him a suitcase and surprise him with the fact that he's the one going!  I may find a more creative way of doing it, like a treasure hunt or giving him a puzzle of some sort to figure out where the final piece is the fact that he's going on this trip.

How cool am I???  This is a great time for us to spend together, one on one, where he is the sole focus of the trip.  I am really hoping that it's going to be a wonderful experience for us both.