Advice on pulling off a Surprise Trip?

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Ok, so Dh and I have already made plans to go to DW next June to take Ds for his first trip. We thought we would go for 2 weeks, and have been saving money for the trip.

Then, I start reading the DIS boards, and the idea of the MVMCP is sounding really exciting to me, soooooo....I think I may try to plan a surprise trip for the 3 of us this December, and then go for one week next June instead.

Any ideas on how to keep everything a secret? Has anyone pulled this off before? How did you do it? I am not a good secret-keeper, so I don't know how I will keep my mouth shut because I am already excited!!!

One thing I am considering is getting DH an AP, with the hopes that there will be AP rates in December, and then we can use it again next June, to hopefully save a little money- we'll see.

Thanks, and any thoughts are appreciated!!
Lisa

 

[arkansasdisneyfan]

bump...............

 

[HollyJoy]

If you are going to go twice in one year, definatley get those AP! WORTH IT.

As for the surprise...are you keeping it a surprise from you DH? I could never do that due to he'd have to take time off from work.

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

DH, and I are trying the suprise thing this December too!!


Hopefully I can keep the secret. Good luck to you. Here is another thread w/ some great ideas.


http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=812843

 

[Kellygurlz74]

I'm planning a surprise trip this nov/dec for my family. I'm hoping to try & keep my big mouth shut- it's sooooooooo hard when you get excited!!
I'm going to do a small inexpensive "treasure hunt" & theme it to disney stuff for the 2 of them to find. I can't wait to see their faces!!
This is their Christmas gift this year & my DF's birthday is 12/26, so it's a combined gift for all of us. I'd rather spend the $$ on a fantastic trip then spend alot of money on stuff that will get broken or never used or worn. With this, I'll have a great memory & have a lot of pictures to make a scrapbook of & give to my DF for xmas & tons of pics to make "homemade" gifts for family.

I'm planning to do the MVMCP for them as a surprise!

 

[Disney Fool]

Take it from me, you have to become devious and downright sneaky! Are you packing for the ones to be surprised? You'll need to hide what you're doing. For instance, when they leave their sunglasses lying around, snatch them up and pack them. You get the idea. They'll think they've lost them, but you'll have them packed. Also, the less you talk about your planto others, the less people will know and less likely to "spill the beans". This is a lonely business....but sooo much fun. Your family may begin to wonder why you have that smile on your face all the time. If you need to discuss your plans, talk to us!! That said, it's amazing how willing others will be to help you plan your surprise, such as your husband's boss, or teachers, etc. Just don't get carried away.
Make sure that you always get the mail, in case something arrives from Disney.
One thing that might work is to get your family involved in planning a trip to take place sometime later, get them to tell you what they'd like to do. Then, when and if you slip up and accidentally give details of the actual surprise trip, you can always correct yourself and say that you meant the other date, etc.

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Thanks everyone- I think I may have to do this surprise trip! I will need to talk to the principal at dh's school (he's a teacher) to make sure that he can take off, but I am sure he will be willing to help me in the surprise.

I actually have a checking and savings account that is only in my name that I used to use for a business I had, but I thought I can use that to "hide" money away for the trip, and to buy plane tickets, resort, etc.

Oh, now I really can't wait to get started!! Do any of you have suggestions on what to do first? Is it too early to start planning?

Thanks everyone- you all are a big help, and I consider you my "partners in crime!"

Lisa

 

[disneyagain]

DH and I surprised DS (11) and DD (9) last fall. It was great! I'm a terrible secret keeper...It killed me, but it was so worth it!

We told the kids we were going to Syracuse (about 1 hr away) to meet a friend of mine for dinner. We told them there was a new restaurant at the airport that you could watch the planes take off and land.
They bought it

We left on a Wednesday (picked them up from school about 1 hr early). I had a couple of appointments on Monday and Tuesday, So I used those days to pack. Teachers were in on it, my DS teacher said he could catch up on the work when he got back (they missed 3 days of school) and DD teacher sent some worksheets in a sealed envelope. DD actually carried them out from school that Wednesday.

We loaded the trunk, drove to Syracuse. When we got out of the car in the parking ramp we gave them a small gift bag each that had a MVMCP button from a few years ago, I changed the date to "2004". DD pulled out the pin and said "thanks" and shoved it back in the bag. DS wasn't sure what to say, He finally said "is this what I think it means?" We said "yep, we're going to WDW!" He said "when?" Still didn't get it that we're at the airport.

We said "NOW!", popped the trunk and there was all the luggage! He teared up, DD is still looking a little confused.

We had a great trip...I'm not sure I could ever pull it off again...But, man it was so worth the looks on their faces

 

[pezpam]

I pulled off a surprise last month and it was SO worth stapling my mouth shut so I wouldn't tell. lol. It was a little easier fo rme since it's just me and DD and she knew we were going on a trip to see my grandmother. However, she had NO idea we were also going to WDW for a week until we were on the plane. As soon as she finished her book and said she was bored, I whipped out a folder of Disney activity pages - the ones that have places to write what you did each day at the various parks and such. Her eyes flew wide open and she was just thrilled.

If you can pull it off, go for it!

 

[babybunrab]

I'm so excited! I'm taking DS on a surprise trip in August to CSR/AK. The only problem is that I'm concerened I'll give it up by accident! (He asked the other day why I had a picutre of CSR as a screensaver..."because I love WDW so much!" I said). We're going to grandma and grandpa's first, so packing will be easier to explain (except for the amount of stuff...he may wonder about that).

HollyJoy is right, too, about APs. It was cheaper for me by a lot (I was down in January) to buy an AP instead of the new passes.

Firsttimer--what a cute little person you have!