When to surprise?

[MomToAp1699]

We surprised our son in 2007 with a surprise first trip to Disney. We let him in on the secret Friday before we left ( we left on a Monday ) his school and teachers all knew so we had to be careful. We surprised him twice that trip. Once with the Disney trip. We had a package in the mail when he got home with a note directing him to a website. On the website it was a series of pages with Stuff leading up to a last page disney reveal telling him we where going that week instead of he next year as he thought we had been planning.
The other surprise was when we had my parents come down from where we live in Pa and spend the day with us at Epcot and do Garden grill with us. The sunrise went so well and I think every kid should experience It at least once

 

[mymickeyfans]

Mickey is going to "mail" my kids (4 and 2) a box to the house the day before we leave. I'm going to fill a box with some disney essentials (mouse ears, autograph book, new shirts, coloring books for the plane, etc) and attach a "from Mickey" mailing label to it, then I'll set it outside our house before I go pick up the kids from the daycare. Guess this won't work for older kids though, since they would know it wasn't really mailed, but for my kids I'm thinking it will work prefectly! I can't wait for them to open it!

This is pretty much exactly what we did last year. When they opened the box, Mickey balloons came flying out of the box followed by a letter from Mickey and a bunch of other Disney/MNSSHP stuff. Doing it the day before was perfect for us, I wanted to do it the day of but I figured it wouldn't go over as well as I wanted at 3:00am!

 

[vming]

we are going in mid-April and I was originally planning to tell them the same day but a few of my friends who have done the last minute reveal have told me that their kids started crying hysterically- definitely not the "woo-hoos" they were expecting of their kids! So now, I'm planning a disney-vacation themed easter basket for each kid with goggles, sunglasses, new flip flops, mickey lunchbags for snacks, their luggage tag, stickers, etc. Anyone else have a kids who cried?/

 

[RedHeadedFairy]

We are AP holders & recently surprised DD8 & DN13 with a last minute weekend trip by waking them super early on a Saturday morning & driving the 3 hours to the parks. They were blown away BUT it also backfired a little. Since my kids know a lot about the parks & we were just there in Dec, they each had their OWN idea of what they wanted to see, ride, etc. Each of us ended up having our own little meltdown when our expectations weren't met & at first it peeved me off but then after I thought about it, I figured I couldn't really blame the kids. They were woken early & told they were going to DW & could do whatever they wanted..... but they are also used to being there for 4-6 days (not just a weekend) & usually spend some time planning strategies & having discussions about what they want to do. This time DD was interested in all the little stuff & shows & DN wanted to devote a lot of time to her SOTMK game. I wanted everyone to be happy & smile & not argue.

When they were younger the last minute surprise was THE way to go because it gave them little time to prepare, but now that they are a bit older & have more experience in the parks, they need more time to anticipate & formulate reasonable expectations.

 

[moviefreak78]

You guys are all so much stronger than me!! We were going to wait to tell the kids until just before we left or something, but DH let it slip in conversation and even though I don't think the kids understood, I still just had to tell them. They are 7 and 3.5 and so far they are being really good about not bugging me about when we are going. I actually think they are enjoying talking about when we are going.

We hope to make this a yearly or bi-annual trip so hopefully I can keep my mouth shut for the next time! I'm just so excited for this trip because it's my first time there since 1992!!

 

[StaceyTX]

We leave on May 19 for our first family trip to Disney. Boys are 10, 8 and 5. We keep going back and forth on how and when to tell them. Right now we are planning to surprise them the morning of. We are leaving on a Sunday morning...early, early flight! They've never flown before either so that will be a huge surprise. I'm kinda hoping not to have the anxiety over flying, even though they keep begging for an airplane trip.

We are taking them out of school for a week (already worked with teachers). Just not sure how to pull off the surprise since we will be leaving our house on Sunday at 5am. We have a lake house and we could say we are going there, but they know we usually go there on Friday nights or Saturday mornings.

 

[birthygirl]

I didn't surprise my kids and I totally wish I would have! However, happymomma-we are going the same day!

 

[HappyMomma]

I didn't surprise my kids and I totally wish I would have! However, happymomma-we are going the same day!

How cool! Which resort are you staying at?

 

[birthygirl]

We'll be at Hilton Grand Vacations. We debated a long time on whether or not to stay on property.

 

[Erinmc3]

We are surprising my son for our upcoming trip. He is 5 and graduates from preschool the morning we are leaving (our flight doesn't leave until 6pm). I was thinking about giving him a "graduation" gift and surprising him then...having it be all Disney-related stuff/things to do on the flight. Already purchased quite a few Disney t-shirts (he outgrew his ones from last year) and a water bottle from the Disney store. His second surprise will be when we get there and he sees his favorite cousin is there as my sister and family are going down too .

 

[gorkt]

I am contemplating surprising my kids also, but mine are a bit older now and they will be 9 and 11 when we go. I think I might tell them 1-2 weeks before we leave to give them some anticipation which I think is more fun for older kids.

There are some great ideas in this thread! I think I may combine some of these ideas - perhaps making a slip with a word on it and putting it in the mail box every day for a few weeks.

Like this:

Get. ready. for. a. special. surprise. trip. in. X days. to. Walt Disney World!

with the last paper saying Walt Disney World and having a care package in a box.

 

[MommyOfaPrincess202]

My DH and I are planning on surprising our DD7 and DS2.5 with our trip to Disney in May. Our DD know we are going sometime this year, but most likely the fall!

My idea was for my DH, DS and myself to go half hour before school ends (on the day we are leaving) and walk into her class with Mickey mouse ears on!! But my husband wants to wait until we are on our way (we are driving), but I think she will figure is out very quickly and it wont be as big of a surpise as we hoped.

I really like the idea of Mickey sending the kids a care basket and I also like the balloons in box too!

I am still undecided! :S

 

[kittyninja]

My DH and I are planning on surprising our DD7 and DS2.5 with our trip to Disney in May. Our DD know we are going sometime this year, but most likely the fall!

My idea was for my DH, DS and myself to go half hour before school ends (on the day we are leaving) and walk into her class with Mickey mouse ears on!! But my husband wants to wait until we are on our way (we are driving), but I think she will figure is out very quickly and it wont be as big of a surpise as we hoped.

I really like the idea of Mickey sending the kids a care basket and I also like the balloons in box too!

I am still undecided! :S

I would do it at school so it's in front of her teacher and friends!! That to me makes it more exciting for the kid!! Maybe MM balloons carried into the classroom with a ear hat for her to wear?

 

[QueenQueso]

I would do it at school so it's in front of her teacher and friends!! That to me makes it more exciting for the kid!! Maybe MM balloons carried into the classroom with a ear hat for her to wear?

Lol, my first thought was to NOT do it at school, so it doesn't disrupt the entire class (or make the other kids upset). Funny how everyone sees things differently.

My boys will be 7 and almost 2 when we go in September. My older DS goes to his dad's house for the entire week before we will be leaving, so we will pack and get ready while he is gone. He will come home Sunday afternoon and we are leaving early Monday morning. My current plan is to go with balloons in a box. I got one of those 'Surprise!' signs with their names on it from the DISigns board and I'm going to fix it so that the helium balloons make it rise out of the box when it's opened, but not float away so that DS7 can read it out loud. We are going to do that early on Monday morning, he will think we are waking him up for school but instead he will open the surprise box and we will head to the airport. (They have never flown before, so that will be a secondary surprise!)

 

[ibrokeitmommy]

I also would not do it at school unless it was at pickup, not inside the class. But that's just me.


My kids know we are going but not when. I don't know how people plan a trip like that and have them know nothing. Our plan is to wake up and ask if they want to go to Disney that day. It's going to be tough. We have both let it slip twice, I'm pretty sure the oldest knows what month but not the exact day.

 

[MommyOfaPrincess202]

SO after days of running ideas this is what we are doing!

My DD is in Musical Theatre and I have talked to the director about having some of the older members march onto stage singing the Micky Mouse song wearing MM ears, carrying balloons and a banner that says: "Guess What? ___ & ____ are going to Disney World in 3 days!". She wont see it coming and will either scream and jump up and down or be completely shocked! lol


I figured doing it at school might upset the kids that aren't going since they are only 6 & 7 years old. I also know she loves packing so I thought 3 day is a great time frame, that way the waiting wont be bad.

I am so very excited!!!

 

[Mommyof3inVA]

Mickey is going to "mail" my kids (4 and 2) a box to the house the day before we leave. I'm going to fill a box with some disney essentials (mouse ears, autograph book, new shirts, coloring books for the plane, etc) and attach a "from Mickey" mailing label to it, then I'll set it outside our house before I go pick up the kids from the daycare. Guess this won't work for older kids though, since they would know it wasn't really mailed, but for my kids I'm thinking it will work prefectly! I can't wait for them to open it!

What a cute idea!! I love it!!

 

[Pesky]

For the upcoming trip to DLR in Dec., we are waiting until we are there to surprise them. It's going to be layered with a mini treasure hunt for gifts to announce we are going to the ILs' for Christmas, then once we are there, another to let them know we are going to another theme park the next day (MIL's idea) and then finally, the last clue to say they are going to DLR the next day once we are at the hotel. But as you can see, my kids are young.

When we are planning our WDW trip, I will tell them in advance so they can help pick out restaurants to try, places to go, etc. We'll probably box up some supplies (plus countdown chain) in a box for Christmas or randomly at the beginning of the year after Christmas hub-bub has died down.

Given the age spread, I might consider letting your older two in on the secret now so they can help plan and part of it could be they can help plan how and when to surprise your youngest. Being part of planning that might ensure it is kept a surprise for longer and I bet they would get the biggest kick out of surprising your youngest.

 

[Teachin5th]

We are telling our kids Easter weekend. They will do a "practice" Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. The notes will be inside each egg for my son to find and piece together. I just have to make sure we pay attention to where we hide them. We always tend to lose an egg or two when hiding eggs! That would not be good for this hunt!

 

[oopinkisfunoo]

We were set on waiting until the morning of and waking them up before the airport but my mind has changed and we will tell them on Easter.


I am afraid a friend or family member will slip and ruin the surprise, or that when we wake them at 3:00 am to go to an airport they will be cranky, lol.
Also I am having WAY too much fun planning and I want them to be part of that and be able to make countdowns and help me design their custom outfits I will be making.


I have a special "Disney" Easter basket for them filled with Disney goodies that I will have them do an egg hunt to find. I will attach Disney balloons and it will have their special shirts that say "I'm going to Disney World!"