Anyone else keeping THE secret? Updated list p. 4

[rentayenta]

I feel like I'm going to pop! The last time DH and I pulled off a surprise trip to Disneyland was in 2005. Kids were much younger then and way easier to fool. We were in Vegas and the morning of Dec 19, Santa left a letter saying that instead of going back home to Utah we were going to Disneyland. I did the tree from VP- the whole shebang! It was magical.

Fast forward 6 years later....I have NO clue how to surprise them. We may be in Vegas for soccer again over Thanksgiving which will be a no brainer because we'll head towards CA instead of Utah and eventually one of them will catch on if I can keep quiet for 5+ months.


Anyone else keeping THE secret? Any good ideas for the surprise?

 

[mama2dutchies]

I am and we leave tomorrow!!!!
BUt mine are a lot younger I can barely contain myself.

it's not uncommon for us to take weekend trips and tell them they will see when we get there..

BTW I have it set up to have a character call to come in when we are driving

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

I am, and we leave on Friday, but we're doing three days in Oceanside/San Diego before, so I'll have to contain my excitement. When we leave Camp Pendleton, we're telling them we're headed home. I imagine they'll go back to sleep since it will be semi-early. When they wake up, we'll be at the Disneyland Hotel. Sooooo ready!!

 

[skiingfast]

You should suggest you are going to somewhere not very fun. Like an Art Gallery. No need to say it's the Dinsey Gallery on Main Street. That way you stop some of the where, when, how long questions. You can answer truthfully without revieling the big surpprise.

 

[michelle1177]

We are! My daughter is 4 and 1/2 and asked me the other day when she can go to Disneyland. It took everything in me to keep quiet. I have 68 more days to keep this secret and I highly doubt that I'm going to be able to keep the secret that long!

 

[syudelson]

We are too! We leave in a week -- the kids are 3, 7, 9 -- they've been to WDW a couple times, but this is the first at DL for all of us. We are going to wake them up (early--plane leaves at 7 am) and ask them if they want to go to Disneyland!

 

[rentayenta]

I am and we leave tomorrow!!!!
BUt mine are a lot younger I can barely contain myself.

it's not uncommon for us to take weekend trips and tell them they will see when we get there..

BTW I have it set up to have a character call to come in when we are driving

The character call is a great idea. It's so hard not to spill. Maybe if DH was more excited and 100% sold on the trip I wouldn't ffel the need to spill.

I am, and we leave on Friday, but we're doing three days in Oceanside/San Diego before, so I'll have to contain my excitement. When we leave Camp Pendleton, we're telling them we're headed home. I imagine they'll go back to sleep since it will be semi-early. When they wake up, we'll be at the Disneyland Hotel. Sooooo ready!!

OMG- that will be so fun! Great idea. Tell them a little about the trip but not spill the Disneyland part.

You should suggest you are going to somewhere not very fun. Like an Art Gallery. No need to say it's the Dinsey Gallery on Main Street. That way you stop some of the where, when, how long questions. You can answer truthfully without revieling the big surpprise.

Hahaha! Love that. Then I'm not lying necessarily.

We are! My daughter is 4 and 1/2 and asked me the other day when she can go to Disneyland. It took everything in me to keep quiet. I have 68 more days to keep this secret and I highly doubt that I'm going to be able to keep the secret that long!

It's so difficult especially when they are asking.

We are too! We leave in a week -- the kids are 3, 7, 9 -- they've been to WDW a couple times, but this is the first at DL for all of us. We are going to wake them up (early--plane leaves at 7 am) and ask them if they want to go to Disneyland!

So fun! Super cute idea. You will love Disneyland. It's so magical.





In the last hour my BFF, who lives 15 min from Disneyland, and asked us to come out for Thanksgiving.DH told me the kids new soccer clubs do not travel out of state so...........

I ran the Thanksgiving idea by him; drive straight through on the Wed before, stay with my friend Wed-Sun, do Disneyland staying at the GCV Sun-Wed and then drive home half way Wed with a night in Vegas and arrive home Thursday. I'd like to comepletely fool them but DD14 always packs her own bags and I'd never get away with trying to hide packing.

I'm thinking I would just tell the kids we are going to Vegas for Thanksgiving anyway and then drive on past telling them they are seeing their "aunt" and then going to Disneyland. They'd pack the same for Vegas as they would for So Cal; I'll just have to hide their pins and lanyards.

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

Can I join the surprise thread?!? It is killing me keeping this secret, and I still have 4 months to go! This will be our third trip to DL during Halloween, and we go then because DD b-day is 10-29, and mine is 11-1. We went in 2007, and 2009. This will be the first time we are surprising her, and I wanted to do it for her 10th b-day since it is her first double digit b-day. We have been talking about what she wants to do for her friends b-day party, and she brought up wanting to ride in a limo for the first time. So, as of today, the plan is to be at her b-day party (at the end), and have a limo pick us up from there to go for a "drive". She will think it is just another part of her b-day, and because we have a road on the river that ends up at the airport, she will think we are driving there because of the view along the river. We will end up at the airport "to watch the planes", but istead we will get out of the limo at the departures area. Then she will have to try and guess where we are headed! We are going for 7 nights, so the hardest part will be trying to pack for that many days without her knowing, but she is 9, so I can do it without her knowing I think. It is sooo hard keeping this secret, but I keep watching the "Disney Surprise" Youtube videos to remind that it will be so worth it to keep the secret until then. Thank goodness I have this board to talk with or my DH might go nuts! As it is, we have to have late night talks about the plans so she won't here us! Good luck to everyone else who is trying to pull off a surprise! Disneyland is so much more magical when you see it through the eyes of your child!

Traci

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

We are keeping the surprise and it is SO HARD!!!

We are going to Brunswick, GA and stopping for one night. We are telling the kids we are going for Daddy's work and want to be together for Thanksgiving so that is our 1st step. We have not decided how to do the "Big Reveal"

This video totally makes me laugh-I so feel like Kristen Wiig's character sometimes with this surprise, LOL!!!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/16388/saturday-night-live-surprise-party

 

[rentayenta]

Can I join the surprise thread?!? It is killing me keeping this secret, and I still have 4 months to go! This will be our third trip to DL during Halloween, and we go then because DD b-day is 10-29, and mine is 11-1. We went in 2007, and 2009. This will be the first time we are surprising her, and I wanted to do it for her 10th b-day since it is her first double digit b-day. We have been talking about what she wants to do for her friends b-day party, and she brought up wanting to ride in a limo for the first time. So, as of today, the plan is to be at her b-day party (at the end), and have a limo pick us up from there to go for a "drive". She will think it is just another part of her b-day, and because we have a road on the river that ends up at the airport, she will think we are driving there because of the view along the river. We will end up at the airport "to watch the planes", but istead we will get out of the limo at the departures area. Then she will have to try and guess where we are headed! We are going for 7 nights, so the hardest part will be trying to pack for that many days without her knowing, but she is 9, so I can do it without her knowing I think. It is sooo hard keeping this secret, but I keep watching the "Disney Surprise" Youtube videos to remind that it will be so worth it to keep the secret until then. Thank goodness I have this board to talk with or my DH might go nuts! As it is, we have to have late night talks about the plans so she won't here us! Good luck to everyone else who is trying to pull off a surprise! Disneyland is so much more magical when you see it through the eyes of your child!

Traci

Hi Traci. That sounds like so much fun. I'm sure your DD will love the limo ride that ends at the airport!!! I know I would. I haven't seen any of the surprise videos; I'll have to check them out. I remember my kids were so excited during the last surprise but they are just so much older now and know my ways. It will be nothing short of miraculous if I can keep my mouth shut about the trip.

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

I know how you feel Rentayenta! I don't know if I could pull this off if she was any older. She already caught us talking secretly, but we told her it was about her birthday present, which wasn't a lie technically! I will be so proud of myself if I actually do pull this off, but it seems so far away! You really need to watch the Youtube videos, not only for inspiration, but there are some very creative ideas on how to do it that you could use! Keep us posted please!

Traci

 

[stubby]

I am about to burst already. Not keeping the first trip(July) a secret but our trip for Christmas. Even from DH....lol. I mentioned it to him and he was not sold on the trip-wants to go somewhere else in OCT instead....so I am planning it in secret. Gonna get to DL this Christmas or ELSE.

 

[HappyHaunt]

That is so neat, I wish I could do that! My son is my little Disney buddy so we start talking about it months before it's time to go (constantly! LOL). I really like the Character call idea, that would be fun.

 

[mama2dutchies]

I'll let you know how it works out..

We're leaving here at 5am.. and it takes about 7 hours to drive there.. I figure with stopping for breakie we should still be fairly close when the call comes..

as a bonus it's all my DD#2 4th bday tomorrow

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I don't know if we'll make it there this summer, but if we do it will be a surprise for our kids. Not quite sure how we'll pull it off since they're all home for summer & packing without them knowing will be hard.

We did take them last year right before Thanksgiving & pulled off a great surprise. We picked them up from school (minimum day) and just started driving. After being in the car awhile they started to ask questions, so I told them we had to go pick up a Christmas present - which was technically the truth As it started getting dark & we still hadn't stopped anywhere, we told them maybe we should stop for dinner. That bought us some time & eventually I said that maybe we should stop for the night since it was getting so late. They were so excited by the idea they really stopped asking questions. Probably helps that we have a DVD player in the van! It wasn't until we pulled on Disneyland Drive (how they didn't see the exit signs I still don't know, except they were really into the movie they were watching) that my 5 yr old saw a Disneyland bus & figured it out.

We've surprised them twice before. The year before that we spent a week in Vegas & surprised them with a stop in Disneyland on the way home. The drive is so long home from Vegas they didn't ask any questions. However my oldest knew something was up because I had an extra suitcase I wouldn't let them unpack in Vegas (full of their Disney clothes)! I do remember pulling into the hotel and my oldest asking if we were only stopping for Daddy for rest. Poor thing, does she really think we'd be that mean?

The time before that we flew & kept it secret for MONTHS! We drove to the airport and my husband kept telling them the car was just going there (they were little then). We were approaching SNA when the flight attendant (not knowing they didn't know) pointed out the Matterhorn to the girls.

 

[rentayenta]

We are keeping the surprise and it is SO HARD!!!

We are going to Brunswick, GA and stopping for one night. We are telling the kids we are going for Daddy's work and want to be together for Thanksgiving so that is our 1st step. We have not decided how to do the "Big Reveal"

This video totally makes me laugh-I so feel like Kristen Wiig's character sometimes with this surprise, LOL!!!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/16388/saturday-night-live-surprise-party

Love it! Keep us posted on how you're going to do it.

I know how you feel Rentayenta! I don't know if I could pull this off if she was any older. She already caught us talking secretly, but we told her it was about her birthday present, which wasn't a lie technically! I will be so proud of myself if I actually do pull this off, but it seems so far away! You really need to watch the Youtube videos, not only for inspiration, but there are some very creative ideas on how to do it that you could use! Keep us posted please!

Traci

Call me Jenny. I'm going to hit up YouTube after the kids go to sleep. If they see me, I'm busted!

I am about to burst already. Not keeping the first trip(July) a secret but our trip for Christmas. Even from DH....lol. I mentioned it to him and he was not sold on the trip-wants to go somewhere else in OCT instead....so I am planning it in secret. Gonna get to DL this Christmas or ELSE.

I love that your DH doesn't even know. My DH is never sold on the trip until we are pulling in to the resort area.

That is so neat, I wish I could do that! My son is my little Disney buddy so we start talking about it months before it's time to go (constantly! LOL). I really like the Character call idea, that would be fun.

My middle DD is my Disney buddy too and that's why this is so hard. We were trying to pull off a June trip but just couldn't work it out and she was/is so upset. She has a WDW countdown on her iTouch and tells me the wait time for Soarin' almost daily.

I'll let you know how it works out..

We're leaving here at 5am.. and it takes about 7 hours to drive there.. I figure with stopping for breakie we should still be fairly close when the call comes..

as a bonus it's all my DD#2 4th bday tomorrow

Very cool! Can't wait to hear all about it.

I don't know if we'll make it there this summer, but if we do it will be a surprise for our kids. Not quite sure how we'll pull it off since they're all home for summer & packing without them knowing will be hard.

We did take them last year right before Thanksgiving & pulled off a great surprise. We picked them up from school (minimum day) and just started driving. After being in the car awhile they started to ask questions, so I told them we had to go pick up a Christmas present - which was technically the truth As it started getting dark & we still hadn't stopped anywhere, we told them maybe we should stop for dinner. That bought us some time & eventually I said that maybe we should stop for the night since it was getting so late. They were so excited by the idea they really stopped asking questions. Probably helps that we have a DVD player in the van! It wasn't until we pulled on Disneyland Drive (how they didn't see the exit signs I still don't know, except they were really into the movie they were watching) that my 5 yr old saw a Disneyland bus & figured it out.

We've surprised them twice before. The year before that we spent a week in Vegas & surprised them with a stop in Disneyland on the way home. The drive is so long home from Vegas they didn't ask any questions. However my oldest knew something was up because I had an extra suitcase I wouldn't let them unpack in Vegas (full of their Disney clothes)! I do remember pulling into the hotel and my oldest asking if we were only stopping for Daddy for rest. Poor thing, does she really think we'd be that mean?

The time before that we flew & kept it secret for MONTHS! We drove to the airport and my husband kept telling them the car was just going there (they were little then). We were approaching SNA when the flight attendant (not knowing they didn't know) pointed out the Matterhorn to the girls.

That's amazing you could pull it off so many time. I'm impressed! Any good ideas for my reveal? The best I can come up with is that we decided to do Thanksgiving in Vegas even though they aren't playing in the Turkey Shoot (soccer). Trying to pack without their knowledge is not an option. I've got the fussiest, primpiest 14 y/o on the planet.

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

Call me Jenny. I'm going to hit up YouTube after the kids go to sleep. If they see me, I'm busted!


I can't wait for you to watch some of the YouTube videos! Some of them even make me cry! But you have to make sure they are really asleep. The other night I was watching them on my laptop in bed, and one of the videos the kids were screaming and my DH shot out of bed terrified thinking it was me or DD hurt I apologized and told him I would try to keep the noise down next time. When I am feeling weak about keeping the secret, watching them helps remind me of how worth it, it will be.

Happy Watching!

Traci

 

[rentayenta]

That's funny! The girls and DH are gone tonight- it's just DS and myself so once he hits the hay, I'm all over it. I can't wait. My geek factor is at an all time high.

 

[RedRosie]

I love the youtube videos! Some surprises are so elaborate. And I love the one where the little boy is very disappointed and says he wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese. I am doing the big surprise in September. We went to DL in Nov last year so kids do not expect to go again this year. We will pick them up from school and start driving (nearly 7 hours!). I wonder how far we can go before they start wondering what in the world we are doing. I too do all the planning once they are in bed. But they saw a video of Star Tours and DS(9) was mesmerized. I said "too bad it wasn't open when we went there. Guess we missed our chance." I am awful!

 

[OregonMickeyLover]

I saw that video too Rosie, and I felt so bad for the parents. I think I heard one of them say "well we're not going to let you spoil our trip", and the girl was so excited. If our DD was disappointed I think I would cry, but she is old enough now to know that DL is no comparison to Chuck E Cheese
And as for you being "awful", you aren't necessarily telling a lie! It is too bad that it wasn't open when you were there last, but you are chuckling inside I'm sure Oh, such fun!

Traci