I have to share my surprise SHHH It's a SECRET!!

[chris1gill]

Hi Everyone,

Well, the time is coming close!! I planned a 4 night trip to CSR AND MY CHILDREN DON'T KNOW IT!!! We leave on FRIDAY!!

Thursday night we'll be spending a night at a hotel, closer to the airport... this won't be a huge surprise to the kids, we've stayed at a lot of hotels recently for some househunting we were doing.....

Anyways, DH will work on Friday, pick us up at 5:00 at the hotel & we will be driving to the airport.... it works out well that the Delta terminal has a great kids area... so we are going to give the excuse that we are going to watch the planes take off from the kids play area...

I'll have DH pull up curbside & check me in... then get the kids & bring us in the front door... we'll go over to the kids area & DH will park the car & check himself in & bring the booster seat... to check... he'll meet us at the play place... one hour prior we'll head to the gate... give the kids some excuse to go check out the planes or something & then when we are supposed to board WE'LL TELL THEM :bounce: WHAT DO YOU THINK??? Can we pull this off? It's DS age 6 & DD age 3, and they've been to Disney yearly.... Will the six year old figure it out???

[Barb D]

This is what I wanted to do! I was going to tell the kids we were taking Grandma to the airport, and then have the gate agent announce their names and say, "Get on the plane! You're going to Disney World!"

I thought it was a great idea, but DH really thought the kids should know so they can look forward to it and help plan. We told them, and they say they're glad we did. I still kinda wish we could have done the surprise, though! I would have loved to see the looks on their faces! I'm glad somebody is getting to do it!

Have a great trip, and be sure to post and tell us how it went!

[dezagirl]

We haven't told our 3 kids either! I want to tell them, but DH doesn't.
We leave in 25 days and the secret is killing me! But I think the look on their
faces will make the secret worth keeping. But it's sooooo hard!!

[Mom+4]

I'm trying to pull off the same type surprise for our trip in December. Our 11 year old DS overheard me making resort ressies, so he knows we're going. BUT, he thinks we are driving (from Missouri). He will be SOOOOOOOO surprised when we show up at the airport at the crack of dawn for our 7:00 flight. He has never flown before, but has always wanted to. Our 3 and 5 year olds have NO idea we're going at all. Any ideas on when we should tell them? At the airport, on the plane, when we arrive in Orlando??????

[prplcrzy]

When our daughter was four we told her we were going on vacation and she never asked where. When we were on the plane we told her and she watched the Disney channel and thought that's where we were going. Boy did she get a really cool surprise when we got there.

[chris1gill]

Thanks everyone :D The kids know we are going for our big vacation in December, but this is a 4 night quick trip... just because!! So we're still keeping the secret :pinkbounc I'll update next Tuesday with how it went!!!

[casmanuel]

I surprised my DD with a trip. I checked her out of school early, handed her a plane ticket to Orlando and said you have one hour to pack! It was priceless! Hang onto that surprise. It will be wonderful!

[skeezixspud]

DS, 4, thinks we are not going until February. Our plan is to get a set of mouse ears and put them in his carseat when I pick him up from school the day we leave. We're going to tell him that he will need them where he is going. I can't WAIT to see his face when it dawns on him.

We thought about waiting and having the gate agent announce it, but DH pointed out that all of the kids wearing Disney attire at that gate would give it away.

[casmanuel]

skeezixspud, What if you did wait until you get to the gate, and when your DS sees the other kids going to Disney, he will inevitably say he wants to go to! Then you can pull his mouse ears out of a bag and say, Okay! Let's go!

[jennybobenny]

I think I'm the only one with a nightmare-surprise story. My dh had a business conference in WDW a few years ago so we thought it would be fun for me and my then 5 year old daughter to fly down and meet him. He wouldn't get to spend very much time with us, but that's ok - we'd be in WDW! Anyway, I secretly packed all her things, arranged for Grandma to watch my younger son for the weekend and away we went to the airport. DD thought we were picking up Daddy but when the plane we were to board pulled up at the gate I told her instead of Daddy *getting off* the plane, we were *getting on*. I explained Daddy was waiting for us in Disney World and Surprise! We're going to meet him!

Much to *my* surprise, she freaked out. She was literally hysterical - saying she wanted to go home, wanted to go to school, wanted to see her brother, etc. Complete strangers were trying to help me calm her down. It was a mess. After about 10 lonnnngggg minutes she calmed down, and from that point on she was as good as gold. She really was excited, but I think the surprise was just too much for her. We ended up having a great time and had a very uneventful return flight. ;)

Since then she has reminded me several times about 'no surprises'. She knew about last November's trip from the moment it was booked - and the same for this year. Someday when she's older I'd love to try it again - maybe have Santa leave some suitcases and tickets to WDW for a Christmas Day flight....I don't know who would be more excited, her or me! :) :)

[Tracy0315]

This is so fun. We have a big trip planned next year and my DD-9 is helping me plan,
and our DS-5 does not know about. However, last weekend DH and I decided to go
Dec 9-15. Neither of them know about it. We are going to buy them both a 16" stuffed
Mickey and Minnie and attach their passes to them and wrap them up and then put the
box into a huge box and place it under the tree. On Dec 8th we are going to ask them
if you could open any box which one would it be. "Hopefully" they will pick the huge box
and we'll say open it. We can't wait to see their faces when it clicks they're going to
Disney the next day.

Tracy:D :D

[deeshie]

Can you check in kids without the check-in person seeing them?

[DeeDee2]

Making it a surprise sounds great!!! I'm just no good at keeping secrets. I would have to tell everyone! :smooth: ;)

[Disneycrazymom]

Last year for my DS birthday we suprised him and it was soooo fun! I set up a scavenger hunt for him on the morning of his birthday. As he was getting dressed for school he was finding clues. When he figured out that his bithday gift was a trip to WDW he asked when we were going and we got to say Right Now!!! Since he had to eat, dress, brush teeth etc. to get the next clue, he was completely ready right on time. As we walked into Mk that afternoon he kept looking at us saying "I can't believe we are here" . Even his teacher had fun sneeking his classwork home to me and keeping the secret.:D

[chris1gill]

DisneyCrazyMom, That sounds like an awesome story!! Glad that worked so good for you!! I can't believe you were able to implement such an elaborate plan, including the teacher in your plan!! Yikes!! Well, It's Tuesday, we leave Thursday night for the local hotel & we fly out Friday night... & it's STILL a surprise, everything is on schedule!! Keep the stories coming :) I just can't wait to see their faces, this is going to be the BEST!!!

[prplcrzy]

This is really a great thread!

[Brave Little Tailor]

We are leaving the second week of October! My kids don't know anything about this trip. We switched to a year round school schedule, so they have three weeks off in October. We went to Disney last year, and we have been to Florida several other times, but we have never flown there. So early on a Sunday morning, we splurged and booked a limo to take us to the airport (I have a mild fear of flying - the things I will do to get to go to Disney :D ) I have begun to gather things, and plan on packing at night when the kids are in bed. We plan on tossing them in the limo "just a fun way to start fall break." Then we will arrive at the airport "surpise we are going to ride in a plane." Then touch down in Orlando! I have Disney t-shirts to give them when they figure everything out - DS 7, DD 5, DS3. Then we will relax for a few hours when "oh my gosh, is that Grandma?" Yep, my Mother-in -law and sister-in law are going to join us there for a few days. Thank goodness my kids are all gullible - I have let so many things slip! Now I have started asking them what they would like to do for fall break - like maybe go to the zoo, or would they like to catch a movie, or we could spend the night at Grandma's house :p I have started putting in Disney videos to watch - so the youngest knows a few more characters than Pooh and Tigger. I sure hope I can keep this a secret!

[Kate-n-sam]

I haven't been quite as creative as you all have been.. We are going October 17-23. We have been telling DD-4 1/2, that we are going to visit grandma and grandpa in west palm. I can't wait to see her reaction when we walk through the doors of the WL. I have a fear though that I will get a reaction like Jenny's...."What do you mean we are at WDW, I want to go to grandma's" This will be her 5th trip since she was 2 1/2. We wanted to get one last trip out of our AP's and we were able to get $80 airfare from CT, so we are going for it.

[Rpsemont]

jennybobenny - same thing happened to us. I decided to surprise my daughter, then age 5, and woke her up early in the morning and said guess what, we're going to disney...and she freaked. She started crying, said let's go next week, she didn't say goodbye to her teacher, etc. By the time we got to the airport she had calmed down and was excited, but I don't think I'll try that again.

[bigsis1970]

Hi all, I have been keeping "our secret" since Jan 2001.. in 18 more days we will have a double
birthday party for DS 5 (10-3) and DD 8 (11-18 ) as i just can't stand to keep quiet any longer and i do want them to help plan some.. DD heard me on phone ordering MVMCP tickets and thinks we are going to dinner on Dec 2nd HEE HEE!! I have big boxes filled all kinds of Mickey and Minnie things that they will have a scavenger hunt to find.. Box 1 hold airplanes and says "this is how we will be getting to your birthday surprise" Box 2 has photo's of the hotels and pools and says " this is where we will stay for your surprise " Box 3 has the Mickey/Minnie things and says "this is who we will see at your surprise" !! Can't even wait to see their faces !!!

85 days to go !!! WDW or BUST

UPDATE 9/24/01 --- the party went off without a hitch except they got to the pary late - ex had them for the weekend. They were most surprised that there was a party period !! my 8 yr old DD didn't even get it at first !! but when she did there was a bunch of screams !!
it was great now i will be listening to "how many more days" LOL ,,, oh well you only live once ! BTW its only 67 to got now
:jester: :jester:

[chris1gill]

Well, WE ARE BACK!!! On the way to the airport, we only told the kids we were going to the Delta play area at the airport... they were pretty happy with this... When DS asked "Are we going somewhere??" I finally had to tell him... He was excited, but it just wasn't the excitement I'd expected!! I should have realized his personality wasn't such that I'd ever get a big rise out of him!! RATS!! But DD (age 3) was ecstatic, so at least one was ecstatic!!!

The trip had plenty of pitfalls may I add... they lost our luggage on the way down, DS got terribly sick & had to go to the ER, we then had to extend our stay at CSR since DS needed to be near a bathroom... Our flight was at 5pm, so we had no choice other than to pay...
Delta would not allow us to switch our tickets to a Wednesday departure (today), so we fully expected to be on Tuesday's 5pm flight... We checked out of CSR at 3:30, got to the airport only to find Delta cancelled our flight coming home!!! They then expected us to take a 7:50 flight that arrived back at 10:50... With 1 sick kid & now the other one has a cold!! Forget it, we told them to put us on Wednesdays (today) 11:45am flight... DONE they said... We'd already checked out of CSR, so I called the BW villa's (we're DVC'ers) we got a studio at BWV's & it was GREAT! We should have stayed there the whole trip!! Oh well, CSR was pretty nice anyways....

Well, that leads me to today! We got to the airport to find they NEVER REBOOKED US!! Even though they gave us seat assignments!!! Finally they rebooked us & we are home, but I can say we will never fly Delta again!!!


By the way, even with all the pitfalls, we had a good time anyways!!! The Magic Kingdom is the best place on earth & regardless of it all, we were there & we enjoyed it!!!! The BW was excellent & we made an excellent time of it anyways!!!

[pooh2001]

My DS (9 yrs old) and DD (6 yrs old) know about our 11 day first time to WDW trip this NOV.
However - I am ordering special goodies from the WDW florist for a surprise for my kids.

Also - I have prepurchased some items from the Disney Store to surprise my kids
on the plane ride. And some new Disney character t-shirts from the Disney Store for the first
five warm days at WDW (I assume the weather will be nice to us and give us 70 - 80 degree
days).

They aready have at least 2 Disney Character t-shirts.
I'll pack them too.

My kids do not like surprises too much.
They like to know where they are going. Once you get there they are always into
getting a little surprise trinket.


Also - my kids are old enough to help plan. This is a FAMILY vacation, to be enjoyed by the
whole family. If my kids did not help plan it, they may not enjoy it as much.

[eeyorepatty]

We booked our second WDW vacation for March 2002, this is to celebrate my DH 50th bday. We wanted to suprise our boys (age 10 and 7) so they do not know. Should be fun to pull off this! We are driving from Chicago (DH will NOT fly) We have not planned the story yet, but many come to mind. Love the idea of packing shirts! Thanks :pinkbounc :pinkbounc :earseek:

[KCFrew]

We've planned a surprise trip for our sons (9 and 11). We are going Oct 10-15. We were
planning on telling them the night before we leave. However, both of them have brought
home big school project assignments that are due right after we get back, so now I've got to get
them to get all of the project done before we go, without telling them why it is so important
to get it done early!!!! I'm thinking we may have to tell them early...... Any suggestions??

[eeyorepatty]

We are telling the boys that we are going on a trip to Texas (at least that is the state of choice right now) so getting the homework done should not be a big problem. We have already informed the teachers and we plan on the boys getting most homework done before we leave, also with easter break 2 weeks after we get back, both the boys teachers have said any lengthy projects will be due after the break. I do plan on having them read and do some work from Disney every night.

[deno2]

When my boys, (now 6 and 7) were 3 and 4, we surprised them with a WDW trip. We told them that they were going on an adventure. We had to switch planes mid-way through our flight and the boys honestly thought that we were simply getting on a plane to go back home. We arrived in Orlando after dark, so they still didn't have a clue. It wasn't until we reached our resort that the 4 year old realized where he was, (he recognized the resort from one of the Disney planning videos). It was a wonderful trip and it was great that I didn't have them asking 10 times a day, "how many more days before we go to Disney World."
We have a trip planned starting November 29 for 10 days and they don't know yet. With the recent plane crashes, I'm thinking that we should let them know ahead of time so that they can get used to the idea of flying.
deno