DH blows the surprise

[Pesky]

DH has been teasing me about my being able to keep the DLR trip a secret because, quite honestly, I am TERRIBLE about keeping such fun and good news to myself. But I told DH that I would have no trouble this time because I wanted to really have a fun surprise for the kids and also, if we told them, they'd be too excited to sleep before we arrived.

Cue lunch yesterday with DH talking with DD who had been watching youtube videos again of princess meet and greets and various rides (her reaction to storybook canal boats was hilarious -- "where are the people? It's just the buildings?! You just go in a circle? Is that it? I like the duck."). She was talking about how much she wants to see HM and we should go soon, like today. DH tells her "well, not this year or this Christmas but we'll go next Christmas. How about that?"

I stare at him. He stares at me and I see the dismay creep across his face. "or later. Maybe when you're 7," he adds lamely.

Yeah. Good news is I easily persuaded DD we would have to see when because it depended on DS not being scared and we would have to work with him to not be scared so I don't think that date is firm in her mind. It was realy just funny that it was DH who couldn't keep his mouth shut.

 

[DharmaLou]

Just wanted to say hi to a fellow CO Nastie

 

[ValpoCory]

We always include our kids in the planning stages. Instead of a one week vacation, they get a 16-month vacation, just like us. The planning, anticipation, and discussion is half the magic and fun, IMO.

 

[DisneytheKid]

That would so be me. I love doing the surprise thing but often find myself accidentally blowing it!

 

[larina]

I agree with ValproGuy.We surprised my now 9 year old last May and she was really disappointed not to have been part of the planning stages.

 

[cgh]

I can say its been fun planning with my 3 yo. When the tickets came, I told him DIsney tickets were coming and he was super excited. Got some video of him opening that package. I said "what's in the package?" and he was all smiles and bouncy and saying "disney tickets". I got to ask him who he wanted to eat with and chose our character meals based on that. Now, I show him all the rides as we figure out game plan. Oh, and its also been fun to look at it on the calendar. I pages through it and said this month we do X, this month we do Y then in August we go to Disney. It helped him learn the months.

The kids will have a grand time regardless of when they find out.

 

[pixiewings71]

We surprised our kids twice, they LOVED it!!!! They didn't care that they didn't get to help plan at all, different strokes for different folks. Heck I surprised DD16 with Club 33 reservations last month, she LOVED it!

 

[WA Kay]

I agree with the others. Kids should be in on the planning too. They deserve to be part of the ongoing excitement and love helping you make travel decisions.

Have a great trip.

 

[DisneyMommy403]

I'm so bad at surprises...

When DH and I decided we were talking the kids this year, it was back in April. I measured them, and they both were 37". My DH told them when they're 40" we'll go to Disneyland. I booked the trip in May, and kept it between Me and the Hubs. The girls ask to be measured every 2 weeks, and now they're 40" and think that every time I say "Let's go! Get in the car!" that we're going on an airplane to Disneyland. So, I had to tell them "Mommy is taking you to Disneyland SOME DAY... but not today." So they have all the anticipationand whatnot... and, I still plan on a "surprise" by sending them on a scavenger hunt the night before, for the big reveal that we're leaving the next day. At least I'm surprising them somehow! haha

 

[Pesky]

Just wanted to say hi to a fellow CO Nastie

ha! I figured that was you when you responded to the brave post a while ago. Bet you are looking forward to going soon!

 

[Pesky]

I agree with the others. Kids should be in on the planning too. They deserve to be part of the ongoing excitement and love helping you make travel decisions.

Have a great trip.

They will be for the next one. For WDW, we'll let them know sooner. For this one, it'll be the surprise scavenger hunt. DD doesn't know but she's already kind of in on the planning as I'm vetting rides through her as to what she will be into and not. DS I'll start the same prepping next year.

 

[bdoyledimou]

If the trip, by my math isn't for 15 months (not this christmas, but next) and your DD is only 5 -- surprise not ruined -- she will forget about it unless you have gone further than that.

 

[mouseymommy]

We did a family trip in March that was kind of a surprise. We told the kids we were going in the summer, but took them in March instead. When they got in the car to go to "breakfast" they had a Mickey gift bag with a toy and a shirt and a snack. They had the fun of planning, and the fun of a surprise. When we went in June, it was for our DS5 birthday and my Mom and I told him we were going to the outlet malls. When we got there, we told him we should just got to Dl instead. He agreed, and then about 10 minutes later he asked, "Are we really going DL?!" He thought we were joking! They are planning the rest of our trips this year. We bought AP's this year, and are calling it our "Year Of Disney". We are having a great time with all this planning and trip taking!

 

[ValpoCory]

If the trip, by my math isn't for 15 months (not this christmas, but next) and your DD is only 5 -- surprise not ruined -- she will forget about it unless you have gone further than that.

16 months, 19 days

 

[TheZue]

Just stick with the vague "someday" or a "long time from now" line. She'll be surprised when you actually get there

 

[GMU MOM]

We're surprising our kids with a Christmas trip this year. The plan is for them to wake up Christmas morning, open their gifts where they will find the surprise and then head straight to the airport. Since we are going to WDW in November and they are involved in planning that trip, I think they will really enjoy the surprise on Christmas.
I've started thinking of ideas how to present it to them.

 

[bdoyledimou]

16 months, 19 days

Then don't sweat it! Once school starts this will be a distant dream!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Haha, this would be my DH!!!! Thankfully he did manage to keep the secret and we were able to surprise my girls with a disney cruise. My girls were 9 when we did this so they didn't care about not planning. On their birthday we bought them things that they would need for the cruise like swimsuits, sunglasses, fancy dress, shorts, flip flops, beach towel, etc. If they didn't figure it out by that I had a jar full of sand with scrabble tiles hidden in the sand at they had to spell out the words Disney Cruise. It took them awhile to figure out the tiles but once one of them figured it out, she was spelling it out like crazy and her sister was so confused. Then they cried they were so excited! We have another cruise booked for next summer around their birthday again and we are trying to figure out if we want to surprise them again!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

We always include our kids in the planning stages. Instead of a one week vacation, they get a 16-month vacation, just like us. The planning, anticipation, and discussion is half the magic and fun, IMO.

We have done both surprises and included them in the planning. We've surprised them a couple of weeks out from a trip, or at the airport in Austin on our way to Disney World ("what do you mean we aren't going to a family reunion?" ). I totally agree that including an older child in the planning can be fun. Especially if they've been a few times. Including younger kids usually isn't productive (ie Me: "What would you like to do?" My 5 year old: "I want to ride Dumbo") and they really don't have a sense of time on that far of a scale especially. 16 months is the same as 16 years or 16 days,

 

[3monkeys4me]

We surprised our kids with their first trip and they loved it so much! We were checking into our hotel before they figured out where we were (and dd1 was 6 1/2 and could read really well!) Afterward Ds, then 4 1/2, told me he wanted all of our vacations to be surprises.

This trip we told them about 5 months prior and they are driving me nuts. The last month or so has been horrible. I know that they are excited but I am soooo tired of being asked how many days, and talking about every item they want to pack. we decided to tell them since we will only have 3 1/2 days this trip since we are spending a week in San Diego and have to be back for a family wedding. I am happy they are excited though.

We plan on telling them about our WDW trip about 6 weeks prior.