Help me think of a cute way to tell the kids we are going to DISNEYLAND!

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

We've just booked to go to Disneyland in October and I can't wait to tell the kids about our wonderful holiday. I would love some cute ideas for surprising them, or if you could share your own story about how you surprised your kids.

My kids are 11 and 7.

Thanks for any ideas

 

[Corpsebride]

Oh!!! Fun!!!
Okay, here is my idea.
Make a hangman game, you know where you pick letters.
the answer should be something like:
We are going to DISNEYLAND in October!!
Or something like that or give them clues with riddles or something that
will make them crazy but they will have fun trying to figure out what you are up to.
What a cool Mom you are!
It is soooooo fun at DL during Halloween time .
Fun fun fun!!

 

[Albort]

Tell them were going to Disneyland!!! but then drive to the doctors/dentist/etc and be like, JUST KIDDING!!!!

then next time, be like, okay, time to go to the doctors/dentist/etc and show up at Disneyland. and scream NOT KIDDING!!!

 

[Daisuke]

tell them "we're going to a park..I heard there's a really nice one in Anaheim, CA"..lol

 

[lovintheland]

We had so much surprising our kids for our 2007 trip. We told them we were going to go on a camping/driving holiday in the winter for a change as we usually only camp at Easter. My hubby took them to the park one afternoon while I busily hid clues for a treasure hunt. When they returned from the park I told them we'd get the road map out and decide where we all wanted to go on our driving holiday. So when we all sat at the table with the road map I announced "actually Dad and I have decided already where we are going and you need to put the clues together to work it out". And so the fun began, the treasure hunt took them all over the house and yard. One of the final clues was a matchbox aeroplane with the next clue attached (so at this point they knew we were flying but thought we were going to Darwin) then the next clue lead them to the computer desk where the Passport applications were, by this point they were confused but more excited. Then onto the pool deck where there were leis, by this time they guessed half right (Hawaii, as we had a week there after Disneyland) They were screaming with soooo much excitement and then the final clue took them into their own bedrooms where they were told to stay until we let them out. (This was so they read the final surprise in their own time) There on their beds was their plush Mickeys with a letter attached, informing them of their trip to Disneyland.

We then celebrated with a Luau & American themed dinner bbq.

We all will never forget that night! It was one of the most fun and exciting things I've ever done. The kids still talk about it regularly.

Whatever you decide to do will excite them. boy, I wish someone would surprise me with a trip.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Oh!!! Fun!!!
Okay, here is my idea.
Make a hangman game, you know where you pick letters.
the answer should be something like:
We are going to DISNEYLAND in October!!
Or something like that or give them clues with riddles or something that
will make them crazy but they will have fun trying to figure out what you are up to.
What a cool Mom you are!
It is soooooo fun at DL during Halloween time .
Fun fun fun!!

My kids love playing hangman, I think I will definitely incorporate this somehow

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

We had so much surprising our kids for our 2007 trip. We told them we were going to go on a camping/driving holiday in the winter for a change as we usually only camp at Easter. My hubby took them to the park one afternoon while I busily hid clues for a treasure hunt. When they returned from the park I told them we'd get the road map out and decide where we all wanted to go on our driving holiday. So when we all sat at the table with the road map I announced "actually Dad and I have decided already where we are going and you need to put the clues together to work it out". And so the fun began, the treasure hunt took them all over the house and yard. One of the final clues was a matchbox aeroplane with the next clue attached (so at this point they knew we were flying but thought we were going to Darwin) then the next clue lead them to the computer desk where the Passport applications were, by this point they were confused but more excited. Then onto the pool deck where there were leis, by this time they guessed half right (Hawaii, as we had a week there after Disneyland) They were screaming with soooo much excitement and then the final clue took them into their own bedrooms where they were told to stay until we let them out. (This was so they read the final surprise in their own time) There on their beds was their plush Mickeys with a letter attached, informing them of their trip to Disneyland.

We then celebrated with a Luau & American themed dinner bbq.

We all will never forget that night! It was one of the most fun and exciting things I've ever done. The kids still talk about it regularly.

Whatever you decide to do will excite them. boy, I wish someone would surprise me with a trip.

This is such a cute idea. Are you able to share with me some of the little clue ideas you used prior to the plane one?

 

[lovintheland]

Can't quite remember off the top of my head, I will have a look tomorrow and let you know, DD14 kept all of the clues. But they were all clues associated with the trip without being too obvious. As the youngest two were 7 & 11 also we couldn't do them too hard. It really was a great 30 mins entertainment for us all.

For our trip that we just got home from, the kids already knew we were going but we played a little game to get them in the mood and because the treasure hunt was such a hit 2 yrs ago. We based it on the foxtel show "The Phone", not sure if you're familiar but to start with hubby rang my mobile phone whilst I was conveniently in the loo so one of the kids had to answer the phone. He proceeded to ask them (In his "The Phone" voice if they were interest in a team challenge with their siblings to win a prize for their upcoming trip) My DS11 actually fell for it at first. From the loo I could hear him saying "I'll just ask my mum" hehehe. And so another treasure hunt began. The final prize being a brief case filled (well not filled) containing 200 american $1 bills which they had to share. This was another fun idea and really got them in the mood.

 

[vcunning]

Make sure you don't tell them your going to Uncle Dick's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MIBxhh_R_w

 

[IluvKingLouis]

That is so funny! I feel the parents pain. How upsetting it would be to plan and spend $$ and get that kind of reaction.

 

[Isabel]

Our son and daughter were just a little older than yours, but for our first Disney trip we told them that there was something important we needed to discuss as a family and that we were going to watch a video from the library first. Expecting a typical parent lecture, they grudgingly sat on the couch as we started the video. When "Your Disney Vacation" popped up on the screen we had to stop the tape until they stopped yelling and jumping. I think it was the best surprise we ever did.

 

[vcunning]

That is so funny! I feel the parents pain. How upsetting it would be to plan and spend $$ and get that kind of reaction.

I'm sure everyone was tired at that point and the kids had a blast that week.

But I think the video is hilarious. We all have episodes of some type with our kids that don't work out as planned. I just don't happen to videotape mine and put them on YouTube.

I planned a surprise ski vacation for my wife out West (before kids). I had a fake plan that we needed to be somewhere very early on the day of departure (with the real plan to catch our plane out of Boston). Unfortunately, she had a sad evening at work (nurse at a hospital) and said she really needed to sleep in. I eventually had to spill the beans that we were going on vacation for a week so we could make the plane. Best laid plans . . .

 

[Jrsy Boy]

We're actually working on something like this, as well, for our October trip which will coincide with DS's 13th birthday. His favorite ride is Indiana Jones, so the plan thus far is to have all of the clues written in the Marabic font from the ride and give him the translation card so he has to decode the clues. I'm thinking that a plush Mickey in his Indiana Jones garb must be involved somehow, too.

 

[zeitzeuge]

You could always tell them that you're going somewhere completely different that's not near as fun and exciting, then when you show up at the gates of Disneyland.....then watch their reaction.

 

[pycees312]

play blues clues and have them guess the clues.
oops skipped over the ages of 7 and 11.. so maybe not blues clues but a scavewnger hunt..

 

[hurleysweety]

If you search on you tube, you'll see a variety of ideas. I love doing that every once and awhile, its just fun to see all the kids get excited!

When my sister and I were in high school (16 and 17??), my parents told us they had signed up for some conference in California. Somehow never questioning it beyond when it was and what we should wear (such girls!), we never even thought to look online to see if this actual conference was gong on - it sounded soooo boring to us. Apparently at this conference there was some special program for high school kids and one day we might go to a theme park (Sea World or Knotts, disney was never mentioned). It was over Thanksgiving break and my Dsis and I were missing all these fun activities with our friends. Needless to say, we were NOT excited to go.

On the road trip to California, at our ages, we still never noticed where we were going. Now that I've been back, I learned that it wasn't until we exited on Katella that our parents spilled the beans. My dad pulled over to this 7-11 and pulled something out of the arm rest console, "Oh hey, did we mention we're going to Disneyland?" And it was the disney planning package thing with all our info, tickets, discounts, lanyard vouchers. My sister and I were in shock, wide-eyed, and so happy! We both had to ask though, to make sure, "So no conference? YESSS!" It was the afternoon, so after checking into Portifino, we headed to the park. What an awesome surprise. My parents continued to surprise us with a number of things on trips for the next couple vacations to various places. It became a game to them since we had grown up and little things weren't as exciting anymore or something.

So I agree with the everyone, tell them they have to do something they don't want to, or go somewhere they don't like, then when you get to the airport, or off the exit (driving), just do the simple, "Oh, we didn't tell you?" Waiting until the last possible minute to tell them will make it all the better if they think they're going somewhere "boring" or "lame."

Have fun!!!

 

[pixiewings71]

We've surprised the girls twice. The first time we told them we were going on a drive, well we didn't lie. We took them on a drive, for 6 hours.....we drove them right past DL down Harbor to our hotel, they noticed Mickeys in the hotel (good neighbor hotel) and asked if we were close to DL and if we were close could we go maybe? I told them to ask again when we got to the room. Once there they asked again, I gave them the package info with our tickets, character breakfast vouchers and everything, DD12 was 9 then, she read it out loud and they both got super excited and jumped up and down and all over! LOL

The next time I made a treasure hunt, I put clues around the house (find the rock with the hidden mickeys on it, find what the guitar playing mickey fan left laying around (mickey head shaped guitar picks), find the place where the treasure is, etc etc), there were quite a few clues and they went from one to the other working together to figure it out. When they got to the treasure it was our vacation package info all wrapped up in a pirate bandana. Again, they were so excited!!!!! That was the year we upgraded our park hoppers to APs...that was a surprise too. The day DBF and I upgraded the girls were visiting their Dad (he lives in Long Beach) so they were gone, we went and did the upgrade paperwork, processed our AP's and spent the day pin trading, the next day we were supposed to leave but we told them we needed to take care of something first.....so we checked out of our hotel and took them back to DL, went into the parks and to the Bank, they didn't know what was going on until we got inside and then more jumping and screaming. LOL So all of our surprises were great and the kids loved them.

 

[abckid]

I was too excited to keep it a secret, but your kids will be so excited! Instead of surprising my kids with the trip, I've been giving them little daily surprises to take on the trip. It's basically stuff I already would have bought them, but they are getting it like little presents. I've been doing it every day in June (our trip is 6/24). I bought them gum for the plane, their own Disney gift cards, lanyards and pins for trading, books for the plane, bubbles for waiting in line, gift card to ESPN Zone to play video games, new pj's that they needed anyway but they are all Disney, new water bottles, etc. Basically, I bought everything ahead of time and it was all on sale, so I saved a bunch of money. And hopefully, I will save money on souvenirs while we are at Disney because they already got a bunch of fun stuff. They have their own gift cards to buy their own souvenirs and that's it.

 

[casiland]

When my nieces were 6 and 7, my cousin and I planned a Disney trip without telling them. We got up in the morning and told them we were taking my cousin to the airport and than we would spend the day together in the city doing fun stuff. When we got to the airport we parked and I told them we had to help Angel with her bags so we went into the airport. This was the month after September 11th so the airport had implemented a bunch of new security procedures one of which was swabbing your hands to see if you had touched any explosives recently. The lady doing this asked the girls what they were going to do in CA and they round eyed looked at me and said "We are going to Disneyland?" I had to laugh at the fact that CA meant Disneyland to them. We said yes and they started jumping up and down and screaming. All of the agents just laughed. They are 13 and 15 and still say remember when you suprised us with Disneyland, that was the best.

 

[lattemomof3]

We are planning on not telling them this time. We will try to pack when they are at school the week of the trip, and hide the evidence before they get home. We sometimes surprise them by both picking them up at school (they usually ride the bus) and taking them for an ice cream. The day of the trip, we will be all packed and pick them up at school, and ask if they'd like to go for an ice cream, and nonchalantly ask "or would you rather go to Disneyland?".
On another note, dd's turns 10 next month, for her gift she wants to go to the city for a weekend with mom. I secretly got Jonas Brother's concert tickets for us. I like the JB's, and I'm always teasing dd that I'm going to get a JB's t-shirt. When we get to our hotel, I'm going to put on said t-shirt as we're getting ready to go to dinner. She will notice right away and ask why on earth I have on a JB's shirt, and I'll scream "because we're going to see them, right now!" I'm so excited to surprise her! And also, I have a small crush on Kevin