Anyone else keeping THE secret? Updated list p. 4

[kkmcan]

I haven't read this whole thread but I couldn't help but post one of our surprises trips from a few years back.

We told the kids we were doing a beach trip to San Diego. We bypassed SD completely and they never noticed. As we got closer to DL they started noticing the DL billboards and signs and poiinted it out to me. I was like, oh yeah, we are kind of close to DL. I asked dh if we could exit the freeway and just do a drive by of DL since we were right there. He said sure and the kids were smiling but sad since we were just driving by on the "way" to the beach.

We get off at Katella and turn onto Harbor and are looking at all the lucky people walking to DL. I made a big to-do of looking through my purse and yelled- Hey, I've got our AP's with us! They was cheering and screaming from the backseat. We could do a mini-stop but here were the rules. They were to get 3 rides they wanted to ride and they both had to agree which 3 we were going to do because we needed to get going to the beach soon. Kids are trying to decide which 3- Space Mountain, Big Thunder, Pirates. No I want Splash, Haunted Mansion and Nemo. No, how about Screamin, Space, Indy. HAHAHAHAH

We get closer to the Hojo where we were are to stay and I said I had to go to the bathroom and could we please pull in somewhere. Dh pulls into the Hojo and everyone heads to the bathroom. I say something about heading into the office to make sure its okay and they keep going to the bathroom. I check us in and come out and say, You'll never guess what??? They had an extra room for tonight.... should we stay or keep going to the beach??? The kids are jumping up and down and screaming and my dd is saying that she was onto us the whole time. That she knew we were coming to DL. Yeah right!! Is that why you were making your list of 3 rides???

My kids were definitely older than but we were still able to pull this one off on them! It was too funny and we talk about this surprise all the time.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Oh my gosh, that is the cutest thing ever! That was REALLY GOOD thinking too!

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

What a great story kkmcan! It's good to hear surprise trips being pulled off on older kiddos. My DD is going to be 10, but she is so perceptive. I think our plan will work, so my biggest concern is one of us blowing it beforehand. Especially since DH almost blew it a few days ago. With our luck, we'll get to the night before, or even that morning, and let it slip Although I won't be , I will be and . But then I will remember where we are headed and be Keep the stories coming!

Traci

 

[TiggerFanatic]

This has been a really fun thread to read... I'm also surprising my son with a trip in November, about 3 weeks shy of his 9th birthday. I am so excited; I haven't been in about 15 years and it'll be his first trip. My husband and I were planning a trip for his 5th birthday (for Christmas of 2007) when my husband died suddenly in August of 2007. I haven't been able to do this until now -- just too hard -- but it finally feels like it's time. I'm looking forward to perusing the boards between now and then for ways to make it really special and magical (on a budget!)

 

[kkmcan]

What was even funnier about the surprise I just posted was even though we never told them we were going to DL, we didn't have a surprise set up ahead of time. We just thought they'd figure it out when they saw the signs. But once I got started with the "we could just drive by", I coudn't stop and I was thinking how am I gonna keep this going until we get to our hotel. Making it up as we went along made it even more fun!

 

[DLovinFam]

My 9 year old son thinks we are going to Spokane to visit relatives!

 

[RedRosie]

My tickets arrived in the mail today! Whoo hoo! I ordered them through AAA when the prices went up, but still got the old price. I was a little worried that AAA would cancel, but here they are. Now I need to hide them....

I love kkmcan's surprise. I keep re-doing my plan in my head. 3 months from tomorrow is the big surprise....let's hope we can keep it together until then.

 

[RedRosie]

So hear is the list of people who are planning a surprise trip. Not all of you listed actual dates, but instead a time of year, so that is what I put instead. I only listed people whose date hasn't passed. If you want to be added to the list, just give me the dates of travel and I will add you! This is so much fun!

June

paty: 6/16
syudelson: 6/18
Aliciaash: 6/23


How did the June surprises go? We'd love to hear!!!

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

My 9 year old son thinks we are going to Spokane to visit relatives!

So what are your dates, and I will add you to the list!

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

June

paty: 6/16
syudelson: 6/18
Aliciaash: 6/23


How did the June surprises go? We'd love to hear!!![/QUOTE]

Yes, we can't wait to hear!!!!

 

[DLovinFam]

So what are your dates, and I will add you to the list!

October 6th-9th.

Thanks!

 

[paty]

we are here!!!!!!!

the surprise was great! they had no clue! DH did a video with the best from our trip to WDW last year, we woke up early, had breakfast and sat down to watch tv, then he asked the kids if they wanted to see the video he just finished (he does those type of videos all the time)
They were enjoying it, remembering all we did last year, when it ended, I gave them a gift box (T-shirt and autograph book that said disneyland, not WDW)
They opened the box and didn't say much, they were looking at it like "what is this for?" , then we asked if they wanted to go right now!
the first reaction was "really"?? now? can we go???? how about our bags? we have to pack? I said no, I have everything ready, let's go!!!
then the screaming started!!!!! It was great!!!! they spent the whole day not believing what was going on!

Just when we were leaving to the airport they noticed our dog was not home, I had taken him to a friends house the night before and they never noticed their clothes missing from their closets for about a week, when I packed it!!
My oldest (10yo) was asking lots of questions on how I did it without them noticing it, and my youngster (8yo) was worried if I packed the right things!!!

We are here just waiting for them to wake up to go back to the parks. it's very crowded, more than I expected, but we will make it!!!!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Paty, thank you for giving a report! I teared up at the screaming. SO CUTE!

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

Yay Paty!!! It's so fun to hear about the first surprise of our group! I was laughing when you said they didn't even notice the dog had been gone! My DD is the same age, and so it's good to know that they didn't suspect a thing. Have a wonderful, magical time, and a safe trip!

Traci

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

bump

 

[ddwlms]

We did it!!! Loaded the kids in the suberban at 5:30 AM. They woke long enough to ask where we were going. We told them a road trip, headed to Sacramento. Sac is about 2 hours away, and thankfully they slept all the way there and thru it. Didn't wake up for breakfast till Stockton.

At one point 6 year old DD thought the landscape did not look like a trip to Sac, and then 9 year old DD asked if we could "not take the long way" when we came home. She also asked, as long as we were driving, couldn't we just drive to Anaheim. -Apparently the mileage signs to LA were meaningless to her, but she understands the importance of Anaheim.

DD 9 was first to recognize Harbor Blvd as looking a lot like DL. And then the ToT totally confirmed it. Because the day happened to coincide with her birthday, she assumed that this trip was specifically for her birthday (which I did not correct) so we repeatedly got "Best birthday ever!" (same tone as Repunzal's "Best Day Ever!")

Ya, it was great. -I wonder how long I have to wait for them to forget enough for me to pull it off again.....

 

[Scribble Kitty]

We did it!!! Loaded the kids in the suberban at 5:30 AM. They woke long enough to ask where we were going. We told them a road trip, headed to Sacramento. Sac is about 2 hours away, and thankfully they slept all the way there and thru it. Didn't wake up for breakfast till Stockton.

You're trip must be a really long drive. I'm only 20 mins from Stockton but it still took 5 or 6 hours to drive to Disneyland.

Glad the surprise was a success, but now the real questions is: How are you ever going to top this birthday?

 

[mommy2mygirls]

Add me to the list! We're going 7/20-7/23. We plan to tell our kids (DD5, DD3, DS almost 2) that morning. My mom and her husband are going with us. I do daycare, so the kids are used to people coming over early in the morning. My mom and her husband will show up about the time the daycare kids normally would, so we're going to tell them then. I'm still looking for ideas exactly how to do it. Everything I think of requires reading and they can't do that yet. I figure I'll keep going through youtube videos until I find something that will work.

We did pass buy one of those cheap parking lot carnivals last weekend. We told the kids we couldn't go to that one, but that we know of a really good one in about a month we can go to. My DD5 asked if they have a carousel and I said yes, they have two. One has horses and the other has dolphins and stuff. Then she caught me looking at the DCA website, saw King Triton's Carousel and said "that's what you were telling us about, Mom!" That kid doesn't forget anything, I'm going to have to be REALLY careful what I look at online for the next month.

 

[rentayenta]

ddwlms- love it!


I'm feeling weak today, almost clucked like a chicken! DD and I are at DS's soccer practice and she's reading the 4th Kingdom Keepers book. She's telling me all about it and then asked: are we really not going to Disney until next October? I said we aren't going to WDW until next October. She sighed and stuck her face back in her book.

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

Add me to the list! We're going 7/20-7/23. We plan to tell our kids (DD5, DD3, DS almost 2) that morning. My mom and her husband are going with us. I do daycare, so the kids are used to people coming over early in the morning. My mom and her husband will show up about the time the daycare kids normally would, so we're going to tell them then. I'm still looking for ideas exactly how to do it. Everything I think of requires reading and they can't do that yet. I figure I'll keep going through youtube videos until I find something that will work.

We did pass buy one of those cheap parking lot carnivals last weekend. We told the kids we couldn't go to that one, but that we know of a really good one in about a month we can go to. My DD5 asked if they have a carousel and I said yes, they have two. One has horses and the other has dolphins and stuff. Then she caught me looking at the DCA website, saw King Triton's Carousel and said "that's what you were telling us about, Mom!" That kid doesn't forget anything, I'm going to have to be REALLY careful what I look at online for the next month.

I have added you to our list! As far as an idea, I did see a couple YouTube videos for smaller kiddos that involved putting together a puzzle. You can get Disney puzzles at the Dollar Tree, and your five year old might be able to do that. Just a thought. I am having a hard time keeping it from my 9 yo DD. She catches everything!!! Let us know how it goes, and good luck!

Traci