Anyone ever surprise your children

[mickyzzzzz05]

We have done it both ways and they both have their strong points. It is great to see the surprise and joy on their face when they get an unexpected trip to WDW. It was also wonderful to sit and discuss as a family what we all wanted to do when we got to WDW.

One time our 3 children were at a friend's house while I finished packing and my husband and I picked them up in our van and said - "Instead of going home how about we just drive to Disney World?" So we did - 26 hours later we were there. We talked about what we were going to do the whole trip down.

Another time it just wasn't working into our plans to visit WDW when we visited our parents in Florida but after we started the trip, my husband said, lets try to get a hotel close to WDW and just go for 2 days. I had a AAA tour book with us and made the reservation. When we pulled off into the hotel that night instead of continuing on to Sarasota our 3 teenagers were so thrilled. It was a short trip but one of our best ones because it was unexpected.

Now my children are all in thier 20's and they still talk about the trips to WDW, surprise and the planned. I think both have their advantages.

 

[WINTER]

We pretty much do a trip to Disney every year; granted not the 'week long' disney trip but we hit a park or two and then either Sarasota or Daytona. This year we were originally going somewhere totally different, not that the kids were really looking forward to it. DH and myself decided to do what we like bestand go south, but have not told the kids yet. We leave in 4 days!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

We can never keep our mouths shut! We attempted to surprise my daughter last year for her September bday trip to Disneyland but then spilled the beans in July. Partly due to the fact that I found out she had to make up her work before the trip since she was missing three days of school. Also, my mother has Alzheimers (didn't know it then) and she kept talking about our "trip" and then I would have cut her off and change the subject. Now I know that if by chance she remembers anything she won't remember to keep it a secret! This year we were going to surprise our kids with two nights at the Contemporary (they have always wanted to stay there) for our October WDW trip but DH just took a paycut so we moved to All Star Sports. Thank goodness they don't know to be disappointed but DH and I sure are!

 

[threeboysmom]

The joy is in the hunt, not the kill.

My brother "surprises" his kids with trips to Disney. He's also sometimes disappointed by their reactions- equal parts joy and confusion/disorientation.

I would never do that to my daughter. For anyone considering this, I would urge an honest self-assessment. Isn't the planning and dreaming and anticipation AT LEAST as much fun as the event itself? If that is so for us, why wouldn't it be so for our kids as well? JMHO.

This doesn't matter in my family. I'm the only one who ever does any of the planning in all of the 20+ trips we've taken. My kids have never made any kind of input towards our planning. It's been all me (and I like it that way!). I guess I'm a *bad* mom. LOL!

A surprise trip will work out the best for us, I think. At least my kids will get a GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP the night before - and that's very important to me. Usually my 13 DS gets about 2 hours sleep the night before due to excitement (like his mom!).

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

we are this October
I can't wait!

 

[Raevyn_Wolfe]

I've never exactly planned a surprise for my son. His first trip to Disney he was too young to really help plan. This time although he will be 4, he is still a little too young to exactly grasp what I am talking about. He knows we're going, but I don't think he quite gets it yet.

However I am planning this upcoming trip to be a surprise for my grandparents.
And it pretty much HAS to be a surprise.

My grandparents have always been very generous and helped my parents constantly, whenever my parents needed money they would get it from them.
And while my childhood included yearly visits to Disneyland, it's not until growing up and talking with my grandmother about taking my son to Disneyworld in 2003 that she dropped that she had never, ever been and always wanted to go to a Disney park.
This made me think how sad that was since now as an adult I realize that in a way my grandparents helped pay for my family's ability to go year after year and were never invited to join us.

While I know I am not my parents, I still feel like they REALLY REALLY deserve to go, especially since they have both voiced an interest at one point or another.

So as a surprise I am flying them to Orlando on pretenses that my family is going to meet them there (we live in Florida) and we are then going to travel together to our final destination, hopefully they won't figure out that Orlando IS there final destination.
I've already let them know when we're going, what they need to bring, what the weather where we are going will be like, etc. but I really CAN'T tell them what's going on.
The way my grandfather is, he will try and pay for everything, or flat out refuse saying that me and my husband can't afford the trip, etc. It's the way he is, so if he only thinks we are flying him somehwhere it should go ok.
And I am paying for everything, right down to the meals, I think it's their turn to be treated to something special for all they did for my family, their turn to not have to worry about money.

So as far as doing my "honest self assessment". . .I'm pretty sure a surprise is the only way to do it.
And I'm sure even though they are not my kids, that the surprise will be AWESOME.
I know my grandparents and won't be surprised to get a little rebelling from my grandfather and then acceptance and then appreciation, and from my grandmother just plain tears and shocked joy. It's going to be priceless.

 

[judykay53]

We are going the last week in September and plan on waking up our DS9 and DS7 about 3 in the morning and put them in the van and take off. Hopefully a few hours later they will wake up and wonder where they are! They will be missing some school and we don't want them to go around "talking" about it before. Also if something comes up like a hurricane or something happens with my father who is not in good health then they will never know what was planned. Now we just hve to keep quiet!

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

We surprised our kids just last month. Two days prior we had my dd's 5th birthday party, which was all Disney themed. Mickey Cake, Mickey and Minnie balloons, Lion King plates, Toy Story goodie bags, Tinker Bell napkins, etc. We did a scavenger hunt, where each of the four kids searched for 6 different things. At each clue, they got a new one and an envelope with puzzle pieces in it. At the end they all say and put together their puzzles (which were 4x6 size) and then we pushed them together for them to read the message (which is posted on these boards somewhere, I can't remember it in my head) which told them we were going.

It was awesome, they were like, we are going to DisneyLAND! Almost like they were saying we are going to the Mall. Then they were like NO WAY, are we really??? We had the best time telling them that EVERYONE know about this the whole 6 months we had it planned, even their teachers, etc. They were freaking out. It went very well.

 

[tinknme]

This sounds perfect! I am sure they will love your surprise You sound like a wonderful grandaughter, please let us know how it goes!

So as a surprise I am flying them to Orlando on pretenses that my family is going to meet them there (we live in Florida) and we are then going to travel together to our final destination, hopefully they won't figure out that Orlando IS there final destination.
I've already let them know when we're going, what they need to bring, what the weather where we are going will be like, etc. but I really CAN'T tell them what's going on.
The way my grandfather is, he will try and pay for everything, or flat out refuse saying that me and my husband can't afford the trip, etc. It's the way he is, so if he only thinks we are flying him somehwhere it should go ok.
And I am paying for everything, right down to the meals, I think it's their turn to be treated to something special for all they did for my family, their turn to not have to worry about money.

So as far as doing my "honest self assessment". . .I'm pretty sure a surprise is the only way to do it.
And I'm sure even though they are not my kids, that the surprise will be AWESOME.
I know my grandparents and won't be surprised to get a little rebelling from my grandfather and then acceptance and then appreciation, and from my grandmother just plain tears and shocked joy. It's going to be priceless.

 

[wdw4pwe]

we thought about surprising our DD12 with a trip with her cousins in August but decided we didn't want to steal the magic of the anticipation and planning for the trip from her ...


although now it is all we hear about ...

 

[minniedisney1]

We surprised our DD Thanksgiving 2004 for her 16th b-day. I told her we were going to visit my best friend from hs that lives in orlando and we would go to US/IOA while we were there. We go to WDW just about every year, and to visit my friend several times a year so it was no big deal.
I bought a backpack with MM on it. I filled it with something from every country in epcot, a WDW Birnbaums for teens book, mickey playing cards, mickey teeshirt, disney trivia cards, disposable cameras, a pic of CSR (where we were staying), a visa debit card for $100 and a birthday card
Once we were in the car and the sun had come up told her we had some bad news, we weren't going to be able to go the US/IOA. Then I gave her the backpack. She was SOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! She cried!! she was so happy!
What made the whole trip was when we were watching the parade and then the fireworks, she started crying and said this was the best present ever and she knew how much we must love her to have planned this especially for her.
I would recommend this to anyone wanting to surprise a child. It is priceless.

 

[TimothyG]

We are going in August and I want to surprise my DD6 and DS4 too. I plan to just wake them up in the AM, at 4:00am (it is an hour to the airport) and tell them Surprise! we are going to Disney!! They will be sooooo excited and even more excited because we will be flying. The only problem is, we will have to kennel the dog the night before and I don't know what to tell them that will be believable without giving the vacation away! I just can't seem to come up with a believable excuse.

A good thing to tell them is that he has to go for his yearly shots at the vet. He just has to stay "overnight" so that the vet can make sure that the shots worked right or another shot had to be given in the AM.

 

[Tinkerchele]

We surprised our kids (DS9 and DD5) with their very first trip to WDW last June on their last day of school (we were leaving for WDW the next morning). I gave them each a little 'present' for their good report cards. I gave them each a Disney tee shirt. My son said, 'thanks', but WHEN are we actually going to GO to Disney World? I said, "Well, how about tomorrow?" They kept saying "seriously??!!" over and over....they were thrilled!!! (Almost as thrilled as I was!)

We're going back this October, but they already know!

 

[donnajon]

We surprised our DD5 and DS8 this past June. DD2 knew - we'd say, "What's our secret?" and she'd say, "Disney" but the other 2 thought we were going to the mountains. A few days before we left, I asked the kids, "What's going to be the best part about the mountains?" and DD2 said, "Mickey" DD5 said, "Mickey Mouse isn't at the mountains!" It was too funny. We didn't tell them until we got there and they figured it out for themselves. We stopped at the Disney outlet and I told the kids we were stopping there because we don't have a Disney store at home anymore. The finally figured it out as we were driving thru the big WALT DISNEY WORLD gate with Mickey and the gang on it. DS8 said, "Are we going to Disney?" "Really?!" three times before he believed us. I told them Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad Mountain! What better mountains to go to!! It was so much fun!

 

[babslittleones]

We have surprised our kids the past two years. The main reason we had to do this is because our youngest who is 6 now had no sense of how time works such as the days of the weeks, weeks, or months. If he had known about the trip he would have asked if we were going on the trip three or four times a day every single day until we left. It was much easier to just surprise them the morning of the trip.

The airport we fly out of is on the way to my grandparents house. So one year we told them we were going to Grandma and Grandpas house and we would drive into the airport instead.

Another year we told them we were going to the zoo but we ended up at the airport. We made sure to prepack the van the night before so they never saw the luggage.

The were both totally surprised about the trip each time. It was so fun surprising them both.

Our youngest has finally figured out how the days, weeks, and months work so we probably won't surprise them with trip this year.

 

[KellyluvsDisney]

We surprised our girls 2 years ago. They were 3 and 6 at the time. They had no idea. It was over Christmas break and my oldest was out of school. Well we actually took her out 2 days early. We secretly packed and loaded the car and told them we were going to the store.

I had gotten them little presents that were clues. Mickey coloring books, minnie socks, and a stuffed mickey doll.

We let them open the presents and then asked them if they could figure out where we were really going.

We video taped there reaction. They were so excited.

It was so hard keeping the secret for so long. I wanted to tell them so many times.

I think that was our best trip ever.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Interesting that this thread comes up now... we have NEVER surprised the kids with any kind of trip but I'm thinking about doing it for the upcoming trip. We just recently went to Disney so they wouldn't ever guess that we'd be going again so soon. My kids don't help plan/etc. for trips yet and in fact the youngest still has no grasp of time past "tomorrow" or "yesterday" so she can really bug you to death if it's months before an upcoming trip! (for instance she is still bugging us about if we're going on the cruise "tomorrow? the next day after tomorrow?" etc- and it's almost a year away!

But besides that I just thought it would be neat to surprise them for once. We have a lot of relatives that live in other states so I was thinking we'd just tell them we're going to visit relatives (ie: the reason for the luggage and going to the airport) but I just haven't decided when to tell them... tell them on the plane? I think it would be neat to just wait until we arrived at MCO and they'd probably figure it out soon as they see the Disney store but DEFINITELY once they see the castmembers before we board Disney Magical Express. LOL But most likely they'll figure it out before then- probably before we even board someone will ask if they are going to DW or my oldest will figure out how to read where we're going (we've only flown with the kids twice- but being the last time was so recent- she may be figuring out how airports work now LOL) Doubt I can keep the surprise for that long...

 

[DISUNC]

You are all good...I can't keep my BIG mouth shut!

However,on our next trip in 2 weeks, there will be some suprises awaiting my nephew once we get there. Lunch w/ a Imagineer, La Noumba and a "Indiana Jones" themed basket of goodies!

 

[8 Ears]

With the deals Southwest has right now we could fly round trip for $400.00. We have all the cash except for food $$, DH will not let me. who says we need to eat other than PB&J? I would love to surprise the kids in 2 weeks! It sounds like a no-go though. I was up all night trying to figure out if I had more $$ stashed away somewhere that I had not told DH about Just not enough..........

 

[VSL]

When I have children I'd love to do something like say, 'Oh, lets go up to the airport and watch some planes take off' (obviously, I'd have to actually do just this some times to make it believable!) and then, when we arrive, get the suitcases out...

However, I would urge caution.
I've heard stories of kids getting so excited and hyped up when they find out that they're not allowed on the plane.
(This only applies if you're flying I guess though!)