sadism?

[ohanaMAMA]

ok so... we are getting close to WDW trip.. and DH thinks we should WAIT to tell DD8 and DD2 that we are going to the world!
I am having a HARD time containing myself. He wants to wait until the day we leave and just non-chalant say "hey kids.. ya wana go to WDW?" do yall think that this is sadistic or just plain fun?

i dont think i can take it!

ps.. this is MY first WDW trip

[Elk34]

Sadistic. We are down to single digits on our first ever trip to WDW with 7 and 4 year old daughters. I guess I can see the quick fun of springing the trip on them. But the fun that wehave had with our girls over the last couple of months in planning the trip together is much better than that quick fun of a surprise would be. Tell your kids you are going and then take them to a Disney store and watch them go nuts. Tell them ASAP.

[monalsw]

well, mama, i have to agree with elk. here's my experience...

i was going to do the same thing and dh and i kept it secret for 8 months! i planned, shopped, planned some more, acting like nothing was up the whole time. we were going to wake them up in the morning and say, 'we're going to disney, the plane leaves in 3 hours!' my kids have both have been to wdw before, 14 yr old 2x and 3 yr old 1x. they know that i'm wild for disney and was planning to go back at the end of this year, so they didn't think anything of the books, internet sites, etc.

on a sunday, we called them into the living room for a 'family meeting' and informed them that we were indeed going to disney-in 4 days!!! i couldn't take it anymore and wanted to share the magic!

my 14 yr old didn't believe us, and sat in pretty much stunned silence for about a half hour, wondering how we had already handled her school and all. my 3 yr old jumped and squealed in joy, then announced that he couldn't go to disney, '*** that's not my home.'

when they finally got over the shock; my dd understood that the school was aware of the trip and ok with it, and ds knew that he could go on vacation and come back home afterwards, the excitement started. they really got into packing and planning. a couple of thoughts on how this worked out:
-i'm glad we told them, because they apparently needed time to digest such an idea. they gathered all of their important things for traveling that i might not have thought of, and talked about what to ride and where to eat. if we had waited, they might have wasted a day or two there, getting over the shock.
-it added a great deal to my excitement about the trip too! dh is not the disney fanatic that i am and i was excited all alone pretty much. it didn't even seem real to me until the kids new and we could share the fun!

we booked a comeback offer while there and are going back in november, any surprises this time will be special meals, activities, etc. otherwise, the kids are in it with us!

HTH-Lisa

[campingcorgi]

If you have had fun planning and thinking about the trip, then I'd share the fun. Just don't do it too far in advance for the little one, they have no concept of time. You're liable to have one crying to go NOW, like we do!

[kilee]

Once we know we are going for sure, and only a major unforeseen emergency could stop us we tell DS (10). I can't keep a secret.
Somewhere on here there is a thread about suprising kids w/ the info. It was a couple pages long and told of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[drcmk]

When we last went to WDW our kids were 3 and 4 years old. We waited to tell them until about three days ahead of time because we knew their understanding of time was such that they could never wait longer than that. AND the three days between when we told them and when we left were absolutely frenzied, they were hyper and wacky.

We are going again this year and my kids will be 5 and 7. They know we are going back to Disney when they are 5 and 7 because that is what we promised when they begged to go back. But I'm holding off on giving them an exact date as long as I can because I know the wait will be unbearable (it is for me!). I suppose I will have to tell them a month or so in advance because I will have to tell our family/teachers, etc. But I wish I could wait until just a week or so in advance. But I wouldn't surprise them on the day we were leaving. For my kids that would be too much to handle and I think they need a little more time to get used to the idea and ask any questions they might have about flying on a plane or when we will come back or any other anxieties they might have.

[goofyernmost]

The best I can do is share my experience. When my children were 6 and 8 years old (respectively) we took them to WDW. We got together as a family and talked about what we wanted to do generally (we didn't know much about WDW at the time) We made list of things to bring and we welcomed their input. We discussed budgets and limitations on spending and how we all had to be cautious to not be careless in that area. We made list of items that they wanted to bring with them (this was a car trip from New England) and tried our best to make them feel that they had an important say in what was going to happen.

To make a long story short, it was the trip of a lifetime. It generated memories that are still talked about by all of us (20 years later) I would encourage you to include them in the planning. Just think how you would react if someone sprung that big a thing on you all of a sudden. It would ultimately be fun but the stress of dealing with it all, that fast, could be a downer in the beginning.
:bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc

[chrisney]

We've done it both ways, surprise and well planned. Now the kids are 17 and 20, so we're far beyond surprises--have to coordinate schedules!
One of our very best trips was a total surprise. I packed in the middle of the night, sent them off to school with a **** and bull story about having to pick them up for flu shots and then cooked up a story about having to run home to pick up forms for the doctor to fill out. Suitcases were in the garage under a sheet, behind one of the cars. They looked a little surprised when their dad was home but no big deal. Then my daughter ran up to her room, and came down yelling that her pillow was missing. My son ran to his room and said his pillow was missing too. At that moment, they looked at each other and screamed, "we're going to Disney World!" For the next 5 minutes or so we had not one but two Tiggers bouncing around the kitchen and foyer! I carefully looked at my watch, and asked them to go into the garage and move the suitcases out to the car (notice I didn't say my car) only to hear more shrieks as they opened the garage door to find their next surprise--a limo for the ride to the airport! (Honest, we're not that excessive--a friend owns a limo service). From beginning to end, it was a magical trip--one of our best!
They didn't expect it, by the way, because we'd tried to pull a surprise off the year before. It didn't work because my daughter found a note from me to the school in the wastebasket. No matter that it was in about 20 pieces....she taped the darn thing back together!

[pegasusEH]

I couldn't keep a secret and my son loves the build-up. He knows it's a long time but we all have to learn that good things come to those that wait.

However, having kept it a secret for so long, if I were in your position I would try and pull off the big last minute surprise.

[Tigger22]

My SIL & BIL surprised my neice (6) and nephew (8) with a trip to WDW last Nov. Went to church on Sunday morning, and then they were all going to take Dad to the airport for a business trip. Played it up all the way to the airport - and then (I think) once they were at the airport, told the kids - catching it on video. All the suitcases were in the trunk, and the kids were SOOOO excited.
Personally, I would LOVE it if DH surprised me with a trip like that!

Tigger22:smooth:

[jdads2]

Tell the kids or not? We do both. We let the kids know we are going but we lie about the day. This way they enjoy planning and the anticipation but they also get a decent nights sleep.

Our last trip to AKL we told them we were leaving on a Sunday. Saturday morning at 4:30 (had to catch a plane) we blared the opening to The Lion King over the home stereo, who needs an alarm clock! You should have seen the expressions!

It was like surprising them twice.

[cd&kids]

Don't wait another minute! We have three small ones and, as stated earlier, there is nothing like planning the trip with them. They get soooooo excited. Make a little game for them and spring it on them tonight!!!!!!

[markb]

We.ve done it both ways, we go quite often, here's a cool story.
Last year we told the kids (12,9,6) that we were going to Florida to visit family. When we past Pensacola, my son (12) noticed that we were passing our exit... we told him we had to go through Tallahasse. When we got to Tallahasse he was ready to stop. When we kept driving he was frustrated and asked when we were going to stop... I told him we had to go through Lake City. He looked at my wife and I and asked if we were going to WDW. I can't tell a lie to save my life, but my response was simply "You wish!", which was entirely true, but he assumed it meant "no", and he went to sleep! As we approached the huge sign that says "Walt Disney World" over the road (I'm getting goose bumps as I type this), we woke the kids up, pointed to the sign... and their faces were the most rewarding thing I have ever seen!!!! Now, I never would have lied, if one of them would have pressed the issue or asked a direct question, I would have folded, but the kids still think that it was the coolest vacation ever!
We leave in less than 24 hours, and the kids know about this trip!
Have fun.

[Kreid001]

Wife & I started planning our trip last September. We kept it secret until Christmas. The kids are now enjoying and looking forward to it. They are learning all about Disney, so they are well prepped for the trip. They are 13, 12, & 10. We leave in 6 weeks for 10 days at the Polynesian!

[Kevs mom]

We just surprised our kids (ages 11, 8, and 5) in January with our trip, I had know about it since March and it killed me to keep a secret but my husband convinced me it was worth the wait. We told them when they arrived home from school that Friday so that gave them a few hours to pack any extras they wanted. I videotaped their reaction and it was "priceless". They were speechless and we had the best family vacation of our lives this trip as well:D It is well worth doing just once!

[loriandmatt]

First trip - DS was 5 - we told him about the trip from the begining. He daily (for 6 months!) bugged me about when we were leaving. It was cute the first few days/weeks, but got old quick!

Second trip - he was then 6 - i leaned my lesson an we got him up one morning and asked what he wanted to do today. He said he wanted to go miniture golfing. "Good idea, how about we do that as soon as we get to Disney World?" His reaction was priceless. He at first looked at us like "yea right!" and even as we sent him upstairs to get his fav stuffed animal for the trip, he kept looking at us like we were full of it. He loves retelling this story and he loved the surprise. I don't feel it was sadistic at all.
It ended up being our best trip.

We have since let him in on the planning stage, but not until we are about a month away from leaving. Otherwise he would concentrate on nothing else and be wishing big chunks of his year away. "Aren't you excited about little league season? Yea, it's ok, but i can't wait until we go to Disney?"

Any way you cut it, it will be great.

- lori

[Gabe]

Part of the fun of a vacation is in the planning. Considering how fast the vacation time goes. You are back before you know it. Planning and dreaming adds length to the fun. It's nice to let the kids in on it, i believe.

[jwbaird]

We’ve done it both ways as well. Last time (spring break 2001), we told them we were going camping. This isn’t a big deal for us because we camp all over the southeast… all of the time. Spring break is pretty early around here (Memphis area: STILL COLD!), so we told them we’d decided to go to Florida. We have three sons. At the time they were 14, 9, and 7. Of course the oldest wanted to know where. We told him it was a campground that was sorta’ between Orlando and Tampa AND that a friend of mine had told us about it (all true). My kids had been to WDW quite a number of times and realized that we would be headed that direction. Believe it or not, none of them ever suspected a thing. Only the oldest even knew about Fort Wilderness, but he didn’t make the connection.

As we were nearing the US 192 exit, my wife asked them if they wanted to “take a small detour down Mickey Mouse’s driveway” (the oldest had called it that when he went the first time at age 4). The oldest grumbled something about wanting to ‘GET THERE’, but the little guys both thought it would be neat. We drove to the TTC entry plaza and my wife held up the reservation sheet where the kids couldn’t see it. They waved us through. The kids STILL didn’t get it. Just before we got to the Fort Wilderness entrance, the youngest asked, “When are we going to BE there?” I just put on the turn signal and said, “We’re here.”

STUNNED SILENCE. Then: “We’re camping at DISNEY?!?” from all three at once. As we approached the check-in hut, the oldest says something like, “You know, Eddie (his best friend) is supposed to be down here this week. If you’d let me know about this ahead of time, I could have arranged to meet him somewhere.” I just reached in my pocket and handed him a business card with Eddie’s Dad’s cell phone number! Eddie had known for a week. It was the best trip we ever took. We still can’t believe we pulled it off!

[donna in Oz]

jdads2 . . . Love your idea!! !!!!!

I gotta agree that half of the fun is in the planning and anticipation. Although I'm fond of surprising folks myself, this seems to be the ideal way to do both!!

We just surprised our daughter (who turned 23 last week) with a surprise trip to WDW coming up in October. She has just moved away from home for the first time and is finding that it's pretty expensive to live on your own. We sprung it on her over dinner at a nice restaurant . . . I had made a "Disney Quiz" using ridiculous questions that I was sure she'd know the answer to (What is Minnie Mouse's first name?) Only if she answered all the questions correctly would she be awarded her birthday gift. Her gift was a computer-generated banner proclaiming that she'd won an all-expenses-paid trip to WDW. The moment she saw it, she got teary-eyed and before it was all over, we were all wiping tears. One of those great at-home Disney moments . . . . . . . .

[Synonymous]

We're planning a surprise trip in April. Our DD is 5, and a WDW veteran. We're going for her school spring break. My DW wants to tell her when she gets home from her last day of school, I figure it's better if she gets up the next morning and we ask her if she wants to go see Mickey (who is offically her Best Friend) TODAY. The only thing we gain by telling her the night before is a sleepless night for her (and, necessarily, for us.)

[MELSMICE]

We have done both & I don't think I will do the surprise thing anymore & here's why:

--When we have a trip planned that they know about we have special songs that we sing about the trip. We count down the days together. Each person has to pick two special things to do when we get there - something they've done before & want to do again & something they've never done & want to try. We talk about it non-stop & it is just so much fun. They really get into the planning. I go shopping & bring home "vacation" clothes for them to try on.

--When we surprised them, first of all it was torture for me. When we told them they were ecstatic but for about the first 3 days they kept saying they didn't feel like they were in Disney because they didn't get to plan. They all said they missed the planning, and although they liked the surprise, a lot of the fun was talking, planning & singing our special songs.

We are going in 42 more days (but whose counting) & every day one of them tells me how much longer until we are WDW. Being able to share the excitement with them is much more fun.

[raidermatt]

I like surprising my son also, but when it comes to WDW, I prefer to tell him. We watch the planning video, and look at old park maps, stuff like that. Plus we use it to help him learn about calendars, by marking off days.

[BWVPam]

We have done both ways. I have to tell you though, that the looks on the kids faces are priceless when they are surprised. The first time we did it, we decided in March to go on the trip to WDW over Mother's Day Weekend. We kept it a surprise, picked up the kids early at school, told them we were picking up grandma at airport. got to the airport and parked and then went around to the trunk to get the luggage out. When my husband pulled my son around to help him, he still hadn't got it. Wanted to know what was going on. So I asked the kids if they could go anywhere, where would they want to go? Of course, they said WDW. I said we are going. That was a great trip. The kids talked about it forever.

The next time we surprised them, we told them we were going to WDW, but didn't tell them that we were also going on a 3 day Disney cruise. The morning of the cruise, we packed up and told them we were going down to Vero Beach for a few days. As we drove into the Canaveral area, we could see the Disney ship. I asked the kids if they wanted to go see the ship up close. Of course they did. When we pulled up to the terminal, one of the CM's asked if they could unload the luggage. My husband whispered to the CM to play along. I asked the CM if he thought there was any way we could get on the ship last minute. He said, yeah he thought so, so I turned around and asked the kids if they would like to go on the crusie instead of Vero. Their eyes got so wide and they were so excited. Then when we got to the staterooms, I had already ordered surprise gift crates with notes from Mickey. I started to cry. The kids were so happy and just couldn't believe it.

So yes, it can be fun both ways. Have a blast.

Pam

[CarrieAP]

Really cool stories and fun to read! I could never surprise mine as can't keep a secret and love to include them in the planning, but so neat to hear all your stories. Thanks for sharing!

[skoi]

We've also done it both ways. For our dd's first trip (she was 3) we told her about four months ahead when the down payment was made. Then we watched videos, looked at pictures, etc. Unfortunately this was before we had internet access so we didn't have half the info we do now.

The next time we also told them ahead of time. DD knew we were going when her new brother was 3, so there was no hiding it. We planned it all together, watched our videos, looked at pictures of the hotel on the web. They were bouncing off the walls by the time we left:bounce:

Of course we told them we weren't going back for a long time (until ds was at least 44 inches-- the magic Space Mountain number). But because we got great rates at the CR we went back again the next year! That was the surprise. We left the house, and told them we were driving to Virginia because of "a Navy thing" (well we did get the rates through a military deal). They didn't realize where we were going until we pulled up to the Autotrain, and the looks on their faces were precious. That is until they went totally ballistic and started jumping up and down. I was sure they were going to tip over the van.

We won't surprise again either, because it killed me to keep my mouth shut about the trip.

Julie

1975-off site
1992-CB
1997-DXL
2001-WL
2002-CR
2003-CR then first Disney cruise!

We won't be going back for a while;) but that's what I said in 2001!