I'm glad I found this info. The suggestions have been very helpful.
I have been trying to find a way to tell my daughters, age 7 and 4.
My husband and I have planned this trip for over a year, and we will be going to WDW for the last 2 weeks in Sept. This will be our vacation for the year and we will also celebrate my youngest daughter's birthday which will be in Oct. She will be turning 5.
Since that time I have been collecting Disney items along the way.
Last year I even had t-shirts made with our names and family vacation 2005 personalized.
At work a few months ago we have a travel package tour show and on the following Monday when I returned to work I saw that many of the travel companies had left behind a lot of their promotional flyers and other information. I looked around to see if there was any info on Disney, and lo and behold there was. I was able to get several booklets with photos of Mickey, a few plastic carrying gift bags. I even found a giant travel poster. I think I will use the booklet with the photos of Mickey and cut and paste my children's photos next to his. For the giant poster, I'm going to printout Happy Birthday, and have the girls unroll it together.
My girls have been watching the wonderful world of Disney on tv and they have been very excited about the commercials that show the 50th anniversary celebration. They keep asking can we go? I tell them I will have to think about it. And ask them questions about what they would want to do if they go, and what they would want to see. Their answers help me in planning my trip.
We have a family countdown calender, and right now it is couting down to my birthday in July. In my family it helps to count down to all major ( and not to major, but memorablr events).
I have decided that after my birthday the countdown will begin to our trip. I have made up a calender to post on the refrigerator, and I am plannig to purchase disney dollars and give them one a day starting at day 45 to 30 (undecided at this point) .
I have also purchased several itmes form the disneydirect -sale and will pack these in the suitcase and give them out once we have arrived. I will tell them that we have already been shopping for the disney items, and they will need to use their dollars they have to purchase any additional items.
P.S.--I have also been able to find many diney items at out local ((cents only stores--they have the spring-bobble head earsin blue, black, purple, and hot pink, character memo pads(Mickey, Disney Princess, Winne the Pooh) and pencil boxes.
Just counting the days until we go
