Help me plan a surprise!

[mswalters]

We leave two weeks from tomorrow!! I don't know how, but we have managed to keep this trip a secret from our 8yo dd for months! So now I need help with the reveal! She has no clue!! I have a few ideas, but cannot make up my mind.
So one is to not tell her until we wake her to leave for the airport. I was thinking of having a series of letters with hints. One when we get to the airport, and then a couple more before our first stop. We will have to tell her then because as soon as she sees the flight to LAX, she will know.
Another idea is to have her elf that visits before Christmas spill the beans. If I do this though, I will probably have to do it the day before as we have a 6am flight.
Any other ideas? This will probably be the only time we will ever get away with this so I want it to be great!!

 

[Avery's mom]

Pulling off a surprise like this is such fun! Comparing the trips where we surprised our DD to the ones that she knew about in advance - surprising her was so much more fun for me

For our upcoming DL trip, we are planning on getting up early on Sunday (normally a house cleaning day...) and putting on our Christmas Mickey ears to wake her up with! If you saw your parents wake you up with those on - I think you'd know what was going on

Since you're going during the holiday season, you could do something similar - the hats can be purchased at the Disney Store:

http://www.disneystore.com/mickey-mouse-ear-hat-holiday/mp/1319367/1000292/

Since you have to get up early for your flight - that could work for you too! No matter what you choose, be sure to have your camcorder set up to capture her reaction!

Good luck!

 

[Corpsebride]

Hmmmm, if I can throw my .02c in. Here is what I would do.
I would tuck dd into bed, then (if you have one) take out her fav. Disney Princess dress, and tell her she should wear this tomorrow. If she asks why? Tell her its because all Princesses wear their gowns at DISNEYLAND! She will freak out, stay up all night and not sleep a wink, then will pass out on the plane, and wake up in time for a great day at Disneyland! Anyhoo, what ever you decide, what a great treat ! I hope you all have a wonderful time!

 

[mommyto3boys]

We are going for Christmas, so we are surprising our kids with a giant gift. Inside will be a balloon bouquet with a letter rolled up and tied to it that says, "SURPRISE....Your going to Disney." (I had it made by one of the DISigners on here).

If she asks why a present tell her its for being the best daughter parents could have :

I am sure anyway you decide to tell her she will be overjoyed.

~Danielle

 

[Zena Wright]

We leave two weeks from tomorrow!! I don't know how, but we have managed to keep this trip a secret from our 8yo dd for months! So now I need help with the reveal! She has no clue!! I have a few ideas, but cannot make up my mind.
So one is to not tell her until we wake her to leave for the airport. I was thinking of having a series of letters with hints. One when we get to the airport, and then a couple more before our first stop. We will have to tell her then because as soon as she sees the flight to LAX, she will know.
Another idea is to have her elf that visits before Christmas spill the beans. If I do this though, I will probably have to do it the day before as we have a 6am flight.
Any other ideas? This will probably be the only time we will ever get away with this so I want it to be great!!

Here is what I would do:

First make some tickets like the ones in Polar Express or Willy Wonka (hopefully you've seen these movies,lol) just make them look pretty & sparkly and have it say something like "Admit one beautiful Princess to Disneyland" get this ready sometime before hand and have it ready that morning. Have your husband load the car with all the luggage, you can make hot chocolate & put them in those to go coffee cups and put them in the car maybe with a doughnut or some type of pastry for the ride.

Wake her up and tell her to get ready. She will most likely ask why just tell her you have somewhere to go and make sure you have her clothes already laid out to prevent her from dragging her feet. When she is ready and everything is set in place. You walk her outside where your husband is waiting by the car. When you get to the car have your husband ask her is she has her ticket or have him say "Ticket Please" if she's anything like my daughter who's 7yrs old, she will say "What ticket" then have your husband tell her sorry you can't board without a ticket, then she will look very confused that's when you say "oh here it is and give her the ticket" at that point she should read it and then either jump for joy or ask you if you are serious then you can open the car door and show her the luggage & treats for the trip.

If I were you I would record the whole thing, you should get a great reaction. What ever you choose to do, I hope you have a wonderful trip and I hope your daughter gets a Magical surprise.

 

[RedRosie]

We are leaving 2 weeks from tomorrow too! And with our 8 yo DD and 11 yo DS. We are planning to surprise them too but haven't worked out all the details yet. So excited!!!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

We surprised our kids for our last trip. I made a giant box our of foam core and inside had shirts, a princess dress, gifts, etc along with about 6 huge balloons. I took pics of the box the night before, and the next morning after it was emptied (we left at 4:30 or so) but not of it filled. Lol.

Here's the link, its right at the top
http://ouradventuresasafoursome.blogspot.com/

Have fun everyone with your surprises!