Ideas on how to tell my daughter....

[pooky_uk]

OK, I was going to keep this as a complete suprise for her...

We have booked a 10day stay at All star movies and a 4 night DCL - we have also booked discovery cove as her birthday treat.

We have never been abroad for a holiday and she knows we are planning a holiday - she has seen me on the websites looking at WDW and DCL - and I'm "oooo, I'd so love to go their poppit, wouldn't you?"..."yes" she replies....I then go on to explain the it costs thousands of ££ and would take years to save...so she thinks we are going to Polzeath (North cornwall - we go there nearly every year!).....in February!!! Bless, she's 6.

Anyway, she knows she has her passport ordered "just in case the holiday lady can book us a holiday where we need to go on a plane"....but I have told her that we don't know where the holiday lady will send us, we have to wait til we get on the plane....

That's where we are at the mo.

Now, I am a wee bit concerned that WDW will be such a huge suprise for her that not telling her beforehand may be too much for her to take in??

So, I have now told her that I have asked the holiday lady to give the "money" to father Chrsitmas and he will work his magic....

Thinking that I will wrap up some disney stuff, the Disney planning DVD (which she hasn't seen) and maybe a postcard from Mickey.....for chrsitmas so she will know she is going to WDW. Going to keep Discovery cover & DCL as the suprise bits.

Would love your views on this....I just don't know what to do - I really wnt to keep it all under wraps, but telling her on Christmas day also gives me some slack on cutting back on Xmas this year!!!!

Anyway...IF (and I think I will) tell her at Xmas, can you guys give me some ideas on what else I can do? Would love to ask if someone on this board could get Mickey to sign a postcard or something???

Yup, I'm a big kid - me (32) and hubby (40) have never been abroad before - this trip is so gonna knock our socks off, let alone Millie's :)

[Hilary]

Wow! What a fabulous surprise! :teeth: And what a fantastic Christmas 'present'!

I know that most adults find the planning and anticipation of a trip to WDW as enjoyable (well, maybe not quite enjoyable ;) ) as the trip itself, but whether a 6 year old would handle it in quite the same way, I'm not sure.

If you're going in February, and you tell DD at Christmas, that gives her about 8 (?) weeks to look forward to the trip. Is your DD going to be sooooooooo excited that she'll be completely wound up for the entire 8 weeks? Or will she be the kind to get gradually more and more excited as the time draws near?

Our youngest DD was almost 6 the first time we went to WDW and she wasn't at all interested in the preparations (she's now 15 and she still isn't LOL!), but had a fabulous time when she was there. Eldest DD was (obviously :rolleyes: ) older and very, very excited about the whole thing (and still is ;) ).

I do remember youngest DD asking for a hamster for one birthday (stick with me on this, it is relevant!) and, once we'd agreed, we'd find little notes round the house with '78 days until I can have a hamster', '77 days until I get my hamster', '76 days...', etc., etc. We gave up on about 65 days and bought her an early birthday hamster!!

I suppose what I'm trying to say in a very round-about fashion is that it all depends on how, and when, you think your DD can best handle the information.

[pooky_uk]

Thanks Hiliary - I agree, it is tough.

1. Do I tell her - then have the "are we there yet" mode to have for 8 weeks!!!!

or

2. Don't tell her and risk that the suprise may be way too much and she may not be mentally prepared for the holiday......(OK, she's 6 so how much mental prep she can do is limited!!!!)

or

3. Just tell her about WDW (like it's a "just"!!!!) and don't tell her about the cruise and discovery cove.

I think I may risk option 3, tell het at Xmas. We had a similar thing with our trip to London and Alton Towers, she knew about it in advacne and wasn;t too bad (nothing like telling her we're going to WDW I know).

But I would love to see her face Christmas morning.....or am I being selfish....

Grrr....dilemma....


*fingers crossed I can book cindys for her birthday*

[allie5]

Pooky, Im going on Dec 9th and would happily send your daughter a postcard signed by Mickey saying "look forward to seeing you soon" or something?? It should arrive by Xmas if I post it in my first few days!

What a lovely surprise you have planned! Your daughter is going to be over the moon!

The cruise looks wonderful, lucky you!

Let me know if I can help...Id be happy to send anything back from WDW for you.

Allie

Edited to add...I would tell her on Christmas Day. What better present could there be? My 4 year old loves planning our trips, so Im sure yours would as well.

[pooky_uk]

Allie - THANK YOU ::Pinkbounc

I have just sent you a pm with more info in :)

[Mrs Dazzle]

Pooky - lkike others, our DD was 5 1/2 when she first visited and had a brilliant time, so much so we've been back each year since (she's nearly 12 now).

For our second trip, it was a surprise for both my DH and DD. Eventually told DH *** he was badgering me so, but we decided to wait until 8 weeks before we went to tell Katie. She knew we were going away "somewhere", but really didn't think it would be Florida.

I got a huge back in which I'd put lots of little "clues" as to the destination. Now this wasn't really fair because some of them were pretty non-descript and could have been for anywhere, but she was eventually convinced we were going to DLP.

She was so excited when I said we were heading back to Florida.

She made herself a "countdown" calendar on the computer and everyday would tick the day off.

She told me after the holiday that she was so pleased we'd told her where we were going because she could really look forward to it.

[Miffy2003]

What about giving her Birnbaum's Kids Guide to WDW? My 8 year old loves looking through this, planning what rides and meals she wants to do. (She first had one when she was 6 and loved it). If this sounds good, you can get them from Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786854294/qid=1098370081/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_8_3/026-7598197-0785262) (It does say on the description that this book is for ages 8-14 but I still think a 6 year old would get a lot out of it; there are photos on every page / games / activities to complete.)

[Camac]

I surprised my DS on his 10th birthday with a large box inside of which was a helium Mickey Mouse balloon. As he opened the box the ballon rose up with a large ticket tied to the string saying "Happy birthday Ali, see you when you visit me in December".

This went down really well - just a suggestion.

Camac

[Scotfan]

Whatever you do dont tell her about the daft scots laddie that will be in her group at the kids club on the ship or she'll never go. LOL.
I wish that I'd been able to keep it a surprise from my 2 but it wasnt to be. DS has started saying "I cant wait............" already!so when you see the boys in their kilts getting pictures with Mickey and co come and say HI

[KayleeUK]

Wow how exciting :teeth:

I would tell her at Christmas, but her lots of little prezzies to do with Disney - I love the idea of a countdown too.

[pooky_uk]

Thanks for the replies - Miffy, I have ordered the book!

Scotfan - looking forward to seeing you !!

Hey - finanlly got a pic on my sig and a countdown timer :)

[KayleeUK]

Nice picture :)

[maureen4200040]

Hi Pooky UK

When we took my niece on her first trip to disney in 2001, we did'nt tell her at all until we got to the airport. She thought her and mum were taking me to the airport to see me off. We did'nt put the luggage tags on the suitcases. I told her I was going to see a relatives aboard and the extra luggage was clothes and food we had to take for them.

Once we got to Gatwick check in, I asked her if she wanted to come with me for company, but she said no because she did'nt have her passport. I said that's ok I've got it in my bag and it would'nt be a problem - she looked so confused. I then gave her the ticket and told her to read it to make she that they had spelt my name probably. Well, the look on her face after she read my name and where I was going was fanastic, then I said what else does it say, She started reading her name, she did'nt even get to her surname before she starting screaming, she even made and check-in lady jump.

This is probably one of the best surprises we have done on her, and just the look on her face is something I will never forget.

I would say buy little disney stickers and put them on all your daughters xmas presents, as a extra surprise make a airline ticket with her name on it and put it in a card for her.

I hope you have a wonderful trip in february.

[tiggerlady]

Probably not a good idea for your 6y old but had to tell how we told my god daughter & son how they were coming with us to florida in Nov2000, they Knew we were going as we were going to visit dd as she was a cast member in Epcot, the weekend before she was due to go we had a large bbque / leaving party with lots of friends & relations there, it was mid JUne,during the party we played games and there were prizes, I announced that we had a special prize A trip for 4 to come with us to Orlando in Nov (their parents had already booked their flights and were sharing a villa with us, my sister & family & my mum). The question was what was Amandas middle name (god daughter) she was 11 at the time and her face lit up as she realised she knew the answer, she did not believe that rhe prize really was to come with us until I showed her the itinery from the travel agents with their names on it, she was so exited that she "had won" this wonderful prize.

We had a wonderful time though hectic with a total of 15 people,

[peewakio]

Hiya Pooky
What a fantastic surprise:earseek: for Millie.
I'd love to do something like that for the kids but I would just blurt it out the day it was booked:crazy: .
How about telling Millie that you are going to Disneyland Paris (good but not the full banana, and it's not really where the magic is):sunny:
Whatever you decide to do, have fun with the planning and I promise you will just adore your holiday in Florida.

Peewack

[sharon-o]

We planned a huge suprise for our son and planned to reveal it on christmas day, we did'nt reveal it christmas morning we thought the excitment would be too much (forget prezzies, eat no lunch etc) so we planted it on the christmas tree, then after lunch i sort of looked quizingly at the tree and said 'oh Tom santa has planted a surprise prezzie here for you', not only was he sooo pleased he had an extra prezzie to open he was over the moon for the rest of the day!

Whatever you do it wil just be amazing. ENJOY!!!
Sharon x:wave2:

[Miffy2003]

Let me know what your DD thinks of the book :) :)

[mushumadness]

i hope she really enjoys the suprise and the trip

[TandCmum]

what a fantastic surprise. I think it would be nice to tell her at xmas. I think sometimes young children can et a bit overwhelmed if it dropped on them at the last minute.

not sure how i am going to tell my two. DD will be too young to understand properly, but DS will be nearly 4, so i guess he will understand what is going on, but too young to get really excited about it.

I cant wait till they are old enough to be surprised properly

Suzanne

[Kissyme]

The first time we went to Orlando I decorated 3 envelopes with Disney bits and bobs then put $30 in each envelope (all in one dollar bills)

Have to say that the kids loved counting the money over and over again and were very proud to have their own "america" money.

Eight years later I still do the envelope thing and the boy`s still love it :D

This year going with two other families in Jan 2005 so might make some crackers and plant $ inside :Pinkbounc :bounce:

Can feel the excitement taking over so better have a bit of a lie down

Kym -x-

[DisCharmed]

HI, very interesting reading all these comments! As you can see from my countdown we are heading to Florida next year - we have been counting down since 600 days and the kids are still pretty excited.

They decided (aged 7 and 9) that they would just have a small present each this year for xmas and put the money towards discovery cove. What they don't know is that we have booked Paris for xmas.

We have made the brave/foolhardy decision not to tell them. They will be woken up early christmas eve morning with their cases packed and a xmas card off mickey saying 'see you in a few hours!'

Maybe we should all post back after xmas and see if we did make the right decision...

What ever you decide, best of luck and much happiness in the land of the mouse.

Charmedpirate:

[disneyholic family]

wow...i just read your post for the first time....nothing to add to what others have said....
you're all going to have a fabulous time....
that's so wonderful to be going on your first overseas trip....

i went overseas (although it was reverse, from the US to Europe) for the first time when i was 7 years old.....every second of the trip was an adventure to me and i remember every moment of that trip (even though there have been thousands of trips since then, and it was over 42 years ago).....

not just disney will be amazing...everything will be....

[danandjackie]

never mind a 2.5year old daughter..I cant get my wife to stop climbing the walls in excitement now and we still have till christmas to wait...

[Philth]

We're going to WDW this christmas and aren't telling our DS (aged 12) until the night before.

He's never been before, and only been as far as Spain - so this is going to be fantastic.

Was hoping to get the Planning DVD soon, re-edit it on the computer and then play it that night, on the pretence that it 'had just arrived in post and thinking about going in a couple of years'.

Re-edited version will have a message at the end, telling him that his bags are packed and leaving in a cpl of hours. Can't wait to see his face!!

[MadAboutDisney]

Hi,

I booked my holiday in January for our holiday in December (11 months of a wait) which my now 6 and 4 year old new about at the time.

For a while they kept asking us how long before we went and it was like, 320 sleeps, 300 sleeps etc and after a while they stopped asking because they were so fed up waiting for so long so when we got down to 82 sleeps we made a calendar of boxes numbered from 82 down to 1 (the number of sleeps left) and each morning when they get up they cross a day off and I swear to god it's kept the excitement in check.

Now they're starting to get more excited knowing it's only 26 sleeps away and periodically they watch the WDW Video so they know what to expect. I have guide books too so they often flick through the pages of that and ask questions.

They also know that the characters will be there (although I haven't told them that it's Joe Normal dressed up) and they have suggested that they will give them big hugs and kisses.

I think as it's only 8 weeks (60 sleeps) the countdown calendar would be a good thing for her to do so she can keep an eye on it herself and trust me the days have just flown by, I just cannot believe that it's only 26 days away and this holiday has been in the making for 10 years!!!

Whatever happens you will have a great time but be sure to take plenty of things for her to do on the plane because 9 hours on a plane for a 6 year old is not a great experience.

Kind regards

Paula-Jane (PJ):Pinkbounc :bounce: