Has anyone ever done this.

[stemikger]

Well it's official - I just booked my August trip. My wife and I were going back and forth whether we were going to go again this year. We just recently put a lot of money into our house and were watching our pennies. Well we finally said, life is short - let's book Disney.

My daughter who is 10 dosen't think we are going this year and we are not going to tell her until the morning we leave. She thinks we are going to Pennsylvania instead. When she gets to the airport she is going to be so excited. All she talks about is last year's trip. She loved Pop Century.

Has anyone ever surprised their kids in this way. Was it hard to keep the secret until that day. Hopefully I can she is going to freak out.

 

[philaround]

I'm trying to surprise my DW with a quick trip 5/18-5/22 for our 31st anniversary. So far she has no clue what I'm doing. I hope I can keep it going until the town car pulls into our driveway to take us to the airport.

 

[laurabelle]

I tried to keep my dd's 8th birthday trip last summer a surprise...but I just couldn't manage it. First her older sister figured it out, so she and I were secretly planning (she helped me plan PS', ect.) Then I felt bad that the birthday girl was missing out on the planning, so eventually I told her. I thought it was going to be a let down, but she was so sweet! She wrote me a letter that still hangs on our fridge, thanking us for the surprise. She was really humbled and touched that her family would plan a special trip just for her...it made me want all the more to make it special and magical for her, and it really was! So I say go for it, even if the cat gets outta the bag, it was so worth it!

 

[zurgswife]

It was hard but we did it one year...told them the night before...

 

[chrismiss56]

One of the hardest secrets to keep Have surprised my DD's at Christmas - leaving the next day. So I couldn't pack until that day. Was worth every facial expression I got.

Have a magical Disney Day!!

 

[KimR]

We've surprised our girls the last 2 times we've gone. They went ballistic when we told them! I thought the 'surprise' thing had gotten old, so I told them about this years trip last summer and my middle DD was so disappointed because she said she wanted to be surprised again. So I never mentioned another word about it, the 2 youngest lost track of exactly when the trip was supposed to be and now they think it is next year so they are going to be surprised again in 8 days!!!

It works out well for us because middle DD does not handle the anticipation well. This way, she can enjoy Easter without wishing it away waiting for Disney. I'm still trying to decide how I am going to break the news, though.

 

[lynetteSC]

I surprised my dh one time with a Disney cruise ... he had no idea. I added it on to our stay at WDW. The day we arrived in WDW, I let him know! It was the hardest thing I ever tried to keep a secret!
There is a whole thread on the family board about telling your kids ... you may get some ideas there! What a lucky dd you have!

 

[MeredithJ]

We did this last year and our children were 3, 10, and 14. Do you know how hard it is to keep a secret from 3 kids? LOL Anyway, we even went so far as to sit at a different gate at the airport, so they wouldn't know our surprise destination, but my DS14 asked me when our flight was leaving, and I told him the time (oops!), so he went up to one of the monitors and figured out where we were going based on the flight time. Oh well, they were surprised up until the airport..LOL

This year they all know, and DD4 is asking me nearly every day when we are going to Disney World, and we aren't going until August. There are both advantages and disadvantages to keeping a secret. I think with the older kids, it's more fun having them involved in the planning than to surprise them. But the little kids can't take the wait as well, so the surprise is fun.

Have fun!

Meredith

 

[Okiemom]

We surprised ours 2 years ago, and it was great. We don't have much extra money, so this kind of trip was a surprise. I also surprised them by having a limo pick us up at the airport, ( I found a good deal) and they were sooo shock that I would ever spend that kind of money. It was so fun to ride in, have a coke, etc .....