Do you tell your kids...

[beckymomof2]

Do you tell them before you go to Disneyland? I'm just wondering how many of you have waited until the morning you are flying out and say "Surprise we're flying to California today... and guess where we're going... Disneyland!!!"

[wilkeliza]

I don't have kids myself but in our family telling the little ones about trips always depends on the kids.

My Aunt and Uncle don't tell their kids because they are 6 and under (all the way to 1) and the kids love just hoping in the car and driving for hours so they would freak out with joy if all those hours meant Disney World.

On the opposite side my DBF's niece and nephew are told about everything because at 9 and 11 they have crazy busy schedules and get very upset if they aren't involved. If they weren't told what was up they wouldn't understand why they would have to miss karate, miss parties, miss social dates, etc. These two kids have busier social lives than I do and if they aren't well informed will just pout and be mad the entire trip about what they are missing instead of what we are doing.

[bfamily5]

We have teenagers and have told them as soon as flights were booked. They LOVED being part of planning and most of all it's the anticipation of the trip that gets us excited! That being said, our next trip is Land/ Sea and we have told the kiddos that we are not going back because they are getting into higher grades, it's too much $$, etc. So we have booked for March Break 2014 and we are giving it to them for Christmas This way, they get the surprise factor as well as the anticipation/ planning fun.

[Magic3forme]

we have only suprised our kids once with a trip to Disney. it was right after my fil passed away, so we all needed a little happiness!!
(kids were 12,10 and almost 7)
we put the kids in the car like normal and started driving.. they figured it was the beach or Disney since we were headed south.

[ChipnDaleRule]

When our kids were 10 and 7 we kept it a complete surprise.Main reason was on our previous trip(their 2nd time to WDW) they micro planned EVERYTHING, talked about it all the time and got themselves pretty over excited, so by the time we arrived we were all EXHAUSTED.S o we didnt tell them a thing and then one thursday morning we woke them up early and told them to go down stairs quickly.bleary eyed they stumbled into the living room where all our cases waited,then we told them they were not going to school but going to Disney instead It was very emotional,well worth all the secrecy and to this day they say it was the best thing EVER.

[ItsNotMuchofaTail]

My DD (now 10) has been 3 times, at age 4, 7, and 9. On the most recent trip I surprised her and it was really fun! I was nervous because she doesn't like surprises or getting up early, and she had a huge surprise at 4:00 am. It went off without a hitch. I read on here and in other places about fun ways to surprise kids, but in the end, I just woke her up and let her find a pile of suitcases in the LR. She was suspicious because I had told her dad I had to cancel his visit on Saturday without an explanantion (He didn't know I was taking her, long story). She did all the appropriate screaming and jumping up and down, and we were off to the airport.

If we ever go again, I will not surprise her. It was fun, but I think once is enough for me, and now that I know her dad won't give me a hard time about it, I will just tell her. Keeping the secret is hard work, LOL.

[Princess Disney Mom]

I always tell my kids but they were 9 and 10 when we started going. After seeing a bunch of YouTube videos where the kids burst out crying and one said he will not go I figure advance warning is good. Check out the videos.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

[1dorseer]

I have always told my children, but I have decided not to this year. It is harder for them to sleep when the trip gets close, so we start off more tired. Also, they have gotten sick twice right before the trip. So this year it will be a surprise. I will wake them up with Disney music and off to the airport we go!

[karenklo]

We surprised our two boys last year for a birthday trip for our youngest boy. Our two year old daughter passed away in 2012 and she and her brother had the same birthday. We needed to get him away for his birthday without his sister. He turned 10 at Disney and they did not know a thing until we got to the United Terminal at the airport. It really is fun to watch them wonder why we were at the airport and they be so surprised when my Dad put on his Mickey ears! It also kept the boys distracted and they had a great time. We have involved them in the trip this year and they are having a great time with the planning.

[TwinkleKS]

We tell them. Having Cinderella watching you is better than Santa

They know Cinderella is watching to see how good of princesses in training they are.

For us it works better because we prepare them for what is going to happen. Talking about the drive to the airport (3.5 hours), the flight (two 2 hour flights), reminding them of their friend that meets us there to ride rides with us (VIP tour guide). Their regular life is pretty routine so we like to get them warmed up to the change.

[homedad]

every time I spill the beans, would love to try and surprise them but I love to plan and get them involved. They are 12 and 10 and made it very clear that this year they wanted to try the waterparks.

[wdw71]

We have always shared with the kids until this trip. We decided to keep it a secret this time because we are going over our spring break and we want the kids to stay focused on school and not the trip. We are going to tell them when they come home from school the day before we leave. This will give them one evening of anticipation and no sleep instead of weeks of it.

[KELLY]

I have only been able to do it once. But it is mostly because we go every year. So I like to ask the girls what they would like to do. Where would they like to eat. Since it is there vacation as well. Of course mom and dad get final say.

[melissacan]

We go go Disney every other year and have always told our kids. It's been so much fun having them plan with us. This is our year to go and my 17 year old son has decided he doesn't want to take a vacation because he wants to work hard for his senior year of football. What no vacation??😭 So I have decided to surprise my daughter, soon to be 20, with a birthday trip late May along with her two best friends from high school. She is going to flip!!!! We are going to have a magical time.