Ideas for surprising the kids

[LisaFB]

We're thinking of taking the kids (ages 3,5,7) for a week this August and want to surprise them. Any ideas/ tips on the best way to tell them and when? For those of you who have BTDT did you tell them at the airport, that morning when they woke up, or wait until you arrived?

 

[TweedleDe&TweedleDum]

There are a few downsides to telling them the day of. The first being that your children are slightly older now and may want to help with the planning. Also, they wont be able to brag to thier friend!

We are telling them the day of but they will be 4 and 2 at the time of the trip and propbably not put any sort of input into trip planning.

We got an old friend who does animation to make a clip of mickey for us telling them that they are going to disney world. She is taking thier favorite disney movie - beauty and the beast - and puting the clip right in the middle of the movie. So while they are watching lumiere sing be our guest it will cut off and they will find out we are going to Dworld that day.

We dont know how she is doing everything but she said it was possible!

We also thought giving little hints all morning and seeing if they catch on - waiting untill we actually pull into the hotel before we tell them! First we were going to sneak in thier rooms and put a mickey and minnie in thier beds before they woke up. Next we would make mickey pancakes for breakfast while playing disney music all morning.

You can always do something easy and simple too - like buying one of the balloons shapped like mickey online and putting it in a box for them to open. Or write them a fake letter from thier favorite character telling them they are going to DISNEY!!!

 

[dragonfly08]

I'm taking my 4 and 7 year old DDs to WDW in April. They'll find out when we get to the airport (they'll think we're going there to drop off their Pop Pop, who is traveling with us). I'm pretty sure when we hit the terminal they'll say *something* about Disney, or why it's not fair Pop Pop gets to go to Florida, and then we can tell them "Oh, you want to go too? Ok, get out of the car."

I've got no problem not telling them in advance. I don't want them bragging to their friends, or bugging me with constant questions about how many days are left until we leave! There's no planning for them to be involved in, either...the budget for this trip only covers a value resort and I like POP, we aren't making any ADRs for several reasons, and packing will be a whole lot easier for me if I do it on the sly while they are at school and don't have four little hands messing around in the bags.

I did order some park maps through the website so that they can look them over on the plane. I'll be sure to pack a bag with a few new toys, maybe some Disney themed stuff, and I'll likely dress them for the day in the princess t-shirts we made for our last visit so that they're ready to go when we arrive.

 

[LisaFB]

Thanks for the ideas. We're definitely going to try to surprise them (if we can hold off our excitement!). We also have a strict budget and there's not much planning they can really do right now, they would want EVERYTHING! Also we have to plan meals in advance due to our son's allergies and it's easier for one of us to plan where to eat and when rather than ask them what restaurant they want, etc.

I like the idea of leaving hints that morning. I have a feeling my DD will figure it out when she realizes we're flying to FL since she asked me just a few days ago if everyone who goes to FL goes to WDW.

 

[ADKSPiette]

I recently bought a Disney plush for each girl and a 2011 Disney world t-shirt to put on the plush. We're leaving early in the morning and when we get to the airport, we'll give the girls their plush with t-shirt.

 

[MistressMerryweather]

We are telling our 5yo(6 in May) and 7yo(8 in July) the morning of. We have been prepping them though by telling them we have a surprise for them in April so they won't be overwhelmed. I'm not doing anything grand. I'm just going to tell them the night before that when they get up in the morning, I want them to put on the outfit I have laid out for them...Disney shirts/shorts/sandals and they will be very curious by then. I already told my 2yo. LOL I had to tell *someone* and he won't tell.

 

[chewysmom]

This is what we're doing. As you can see from my siggy, we've never been. My kids know I'm Disney obsessed though. They also know that I'm planning a trip, but they don't know when. Since we've never been, I'd like their input on what they want to do, where to eat, etc. So they have the best of both worlds: they get to help plan, but they don't know when we're going. They just know that one morning mom is going to wake them up w/ a "Suprise, we're going to Disney TODAY!!!!!!"

That's our plan anyway. We'll see if I can hold out that long. I'm the one that as soon as I buy a present for someone I want to give it to them right then.

 

[floreksa]

We are surprising our DD (6) w/ her first trip (DH's too!) in May. Our situation is a little different as we're driving down from MA. We are not planning on telling her before we leave. She knows we're going on a vacation, hasn't asked where. If she does we're just going to say "to hotels far, far away". She should be good w/ that as long as she knows there will be pools. LOL

We're not sure if we should wake her w/ a Mickey doll and clothes for the last leg of the trip down (we'll still have 8 or so hours in the car that day) or wait and let her figure it out when she sees the Mickey signs.

Funny story:
Last fall we took her to the Cape (Cape Cod) for her birthday and 1/2 way there she just randomly shouted out "Are you taking me to DISNEY??!!!!" so I can't wait to actually say "Yes, yes we are!" LMAO

 

[morrismhs]

One year we had "Mickey" send an e-mail to my daughter inviting her for a trip. She was not old enough to see it was from my other e-mail. She was so tickled when I said we could go. This year we are waiting for the day of. As OPs have said - I hope I can hold out til then!

 

[lawone]

We never tell our kids. They would make us batty until the time arrived!!! lol

First trip to WDW- got them up early and told them. So fun.
Second trip to WDW- same.
Third trip to WDW- drove to airport to drop off 'aunt'.... they lamented they wanted to go to Disney... we said "OK! Let's go!"... their reaction was priceless!

1st cruise- got them up and told them we were going to Disney... when we arrived at the ship they were thrilled!

2nd cruise-- coming up.... in April... haven't decided how to tell them yet!!

Girls are 6 and 7 yrs old.

 

[nana2tots]

Love Surprises

 

[LisaFB]

I'm loving these ideas! Thanks!

 

[kstgelais4]

We are driving from MA Thanksgiving night. My brother (whom my kids LOVE) lives about 10 hours away, and we already told them we will be visiting him after thanksgiving. They will likely sleep all night, and when they wake up we should be about 12ish hours from Disney, and we may or may not tell them then. I am planning on wrapping a Mickey balloon in a box, as it is DD's 4th birthday that weekend and letting them open when we stop to eat. Once the balloon pops out, they will totally get it. Disney gets brought up daily in this house. I'm hoping for an OMG moment!

 

[nancy drew]

I surprised my kids with our recent December trip a month in advance, for 2 reasons. 1) I couldn't wait any longer, 2) I wanted time to talk to them and prepare them for which rides/shows we would and wouldn't do, 3) a friend surprised her son and didn't tell him about the trip until they were almost there, and it totally backfired and he didn't really "get it" and wasn't excited until halfway through the trip and my kids are the same way and prefer to have time to process things, and 4) I think the anticipation is part of the fun!!!

Here's what I did. I made a page like a worksheet, that said something like "Guess where we are going at the end of December?" and there were enough blank spaces on the bottom to spell out "DISNEY WORLD!!". Each space had a number beneath it. Then I printed out index cards with Mickey head outlines (you'd think that would give it away, but it was part of a Disney Theme Night we were having so they just thought it was Mickey Night). Inside each Mickey outline was a math problem, like "4+3=D". Then once they had collected all of the Mickey heads, we sat and figured out the code. I mixed up the letters so they weren't spelling it out in order.

It took a few minutes to sink in, and a while longer to fully sink in. Yes, they became impatient and I heard a lot of "I want to go to Disney World NOW!!!!!!!!" but I think patience is a learned skill. And when they were complaining, we would gather around the computer and check out Allears or the Disney site, or watch a ridethrough on YouTube and talk about whether or not we would try it in the parks. I also gave each of them a gift card to use as part of their Hanukkah gifts, which I wouldn't have been able to do if I hadn't told them ahead of time. They really liked having their own money to use.

The surprise was great, and I'm glad they had the opportunity to be surprised with the trip as well as help plan which rides and shows we would do.

 

[vwlizard]

THis is our first trip. We are telling the kids (6 and 7 at travel time) that we are dropping them at the grandparents while we go away (the grandparents live on the way to the airport). We know that they will beg to come with us, so we'll say okay as we pass the exit. We are just telling them that we are going to a place called the Polynesian that looks like Hawaii. They know almost nothing about Disney, so won't figure it out from that. My guess is that they will figure it out when we land and they start seeing Disney signs (darn that school for teaching them to read ).

My kids have NO CLUE what Disney is really like. They've only heard some friends talk about it. On arrival day we will head to DTD. I'm wondering if they will think that is WDW.

The good thing about them being clueless is that there are things we are skipping (DHS) and they'll be none the wiser. My guess is they won't even recognize most of the characters.

My kids are go with the flow and easy travelers, but I wouldn't do this if the kids needed lots of warnings about transitions or changes.

 

[SJMomof4]

We were planning on keeping it a secret until the day of, but since they'll miss a week of school (5 of the last 7 days, so they aren't missing much.) I'd like them to have everything wrapped up at school. So we will let them figure it out on Easter, with Disney-themed baskets and clues in the egg hunt as opposed to coins & jelly beans like we usually do

Have fun with it!

 

[modnm]

We are surprising ( in advance) our boys (6 and 7).

We are going to florida in June and they think they are going in 2014 for our next trip.


We are planning on doing a easter scavenger hunt, with various clues around the house/ garden. Each clue has a maths sum, which will give an answer which will correlate with a letter.... then they have to figure out the message.... i've made it long so they don't get it ( meany mummy!!).. as i have one of the Disney store personalised mickey's with a message " i'm lost return me to disney on 20th june 2011!! as the final clue in a box with disney autograph books, and i'm planning on getting a disney guide to hidden mickeys
or the disney trivia book to read in the lines, or on the plane.
They are going to be so excited. We will have to tell them in advance to prepare them for the journey again. We live in Australia so we have a 12 hour flight to LA then 5 hours to orlando.


i'm so excited.... i've known since september when husband had to register for his confernce ( in lowes RPR resort for 4 days!!).... what type of wife would i be if i let my DH go all that way to florida by himself!!!! lol


i'm also excited as my sister who lives in england is coming to join us... I'm telling the boys i have to pick up some luggage from the airport!!!

Michelle m ( me doing my happy dance!! secretly of course!!)

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

I love all the ideas---We were supposed to be on the MR Wonder cruise in Oct but due to unforseen circumstances we had to move our vacation. So we cancelled trhe cruise and moved our dep to a Fantasy cruise next yr..so our kids just think we cancelled all together.

Instead 2 of the friends we were traveling with also cancelled and we are all going to WDW. The kids all think none of us are vacationing this yr. So they are flying from NY and we are flying from Detroit. Somehow, just luck I guess, both our flights have a layover(45 mins) in DC. That morning I will tell mine we are going to visit our Aunt in Tampa. Then when we land in DC and they see their NY friends, A lightbulb may go off, but confusion will still be set in. Then I am making up 3-4 signs that say (1)--We Are,(2) Going to, (3) Walt Disney World!! With our video cameras in hand , we are sure to get a Disney surprise commercial moment. Our kids love Disney so I am bursting having to wait to Sept 24, 2011( my anniv) to tell them. But it's all worth the moment. Also the girls will all have matching shirts on, which they will also find odd...LoL Ok I just got excited telling you all!!

 

[cnorth]

We are suprising the kids in May. We are also going on a cruise this summer, so we told them that was the only big trip we could take this year. But, we said that we could take a budget camping trip. That is where they think we are going. Little do they know, we got a cabin at Fort Wilderness! We plan to drive overnight and time it to get there about the time they should wake up

 

[ksloane]

I surprised my daughter when she was 7 with a Christmas trip (well actually Santa surprised her). She had to go on a 4 hour scavenger hunt to discover our destination.

Surprising her again in June. Bought some of the Mickey shaped balloons. Going to wrap them the night before we leave and give her the box after breakfast that morning and watch one of our Travel Channel disney shows on the DVR. She'll open the box and the balloons will fly up and inside will be her "We're On Our Way to Disney" shirt, auto book, etc....