How do you keep it a secret?!?!

[Kimberly9701]

I am surprising my son with a Very Merrytime cruise on the Fantasy 11/26/16.
I'm planning on him receiving an early present from Santa on last day of our cruise, containing our magic bands for the surprise WDW portion 12/3-12/7

It's driving me crazy!!!!!

I'm planning like crazy right now so I can set this trip aside and concentrate on our other scheduled summer trips elsewhere, as well as just to be able to relax a bit. There are so many questions I want to ask him re planning..but I'm trying to just plan what I think he will like.

Every single time he sees a DCL or WDW commercial he asks if we can go..I keep saying 'maybe someday'.lol

Have you kept this a secret from your kids before? How did you deal with it?

Any other 'surprises' you suggest I add to our trip?

I'm debating doing either an in room experience or an in room gift...and hopefully will be able to get a pirate cruise out of GF (was all booked up our last trip)

I've never booked a vacation this far in advance before!

 

[maranara]

I'm having the same issue! We're not going until the end of January and I don't think I can keep it a secret much longer! She saw an ad for Disney yesterday at Costco and asked again...I'm so excited and I hate not sharing it with her!

 

[jvattes]

We don't.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Let the children dream and plan with you. It teaches them skills they can use forever.

And gives them their first obsession!

 

[Kimberly9701]

Let the children dream and plan with you. It teaches them skills they can use forever.

And gives them their first obsession!

His first obsession is Star Wars..hit that milestone.lol

 

[Dreamport]

No kids here so I've no advice on the 'keeping secrets' front. You could always use the commercials to ask him about things you're planning. When he asks if you can go, instead of "someday" ask "Well, what would you even want to do? Meet Mickey or (attraction here)?" This may not work if he's a perceptive kid, but good luck!

 

[MomofKatie]

I surprised DD with a mom/daughter trip when she was 9. It was the best thing ever! The shock and excitement on her face was amazing- then my stoic, non emotional kid burst into tears and told me it was the happiest day of her life. Priceless!

As for keeping the secret, I just kept telling myself, "it will be worth it when she finds out". It helped to let my parents and DH in on it, so there was someone to plan with. DD is a really non-nosey kid, so she never suspected or questioned anything.

If you can manage to keep the secret, it will be an amazing thing when all is revealed. Make sure to record the reactions!!

 

[mdoc]

I've never surprised my kids. They love the planning and the anticipation. But I absolutely think that if I had surprised them they would have been thrilled. Of course, that was never a possibility because i would have exploded if I tried to keep it secret.

 

[valerie160]

It's been soooo hard! I've literally wanted to tell them everyday. My two girls are obsessed with disney and ask about going almost daily. Even my son, who much like his dad pretends he doesn't really care for disney but secretly loves it, has asked me a few times when we could go back. We have had this trip planned since around December so it's been a hard 6 months!! The thing that is making it easier for me in planning has been that I'm going on a girls trip in August and I'm using that as an excuse to get the kids to tell me where they would go and what they would eat or which rides they'd be going on if they were coming with me. We have 26 days until I can tell them and I am SO EXCITED!

 

[Jfsag123]

We have a surprise trip coming up at the beginning of June that I've been keeping secret since last summer. It has been sooooo hard, but I think the reaction when we reveal it will be worth it. They think we're going next year and know that Mom is obsessed with talking Disney, so I've still been able to ask them questions and get their input on planning. Best of both worlds.

 

[serenitynow]

We've done the surprise trip in the past. We told them we were planning on a Disney vacation the following year and allowed them in on the planning. Then said one day, "Surprise, it's time to go to Disney World". They freaked out. Sort of the best of both worlds, let them in one the Disney talk and excitement but yet still retains a surprise effect.

 

[Pesky]

I have kind of the same issue. We surprised our kids with DLR and I swore never again -- it was hard without their input! But naturally DD LOVED the surprise and wants all vacations to be a surprise. Sigh. So I've just asked them broad things like "well, one day we might be able to go - would you prefer this or this?" or "when we go one day, would you want to try this ride/meet characters again". So broad and in the "one day" context. You can do the same in terms of "on the next trip". It's still a bit of guesswork but it can work.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I surprised DD with a mom/daughter trip when she was 9. It was the best thing ever! The shock and excitement on her face was amazing- then my stoic, non emotional kid burst into tears and told me it was the happiest day of her life. Priceless!

As for keeping the secret, I just kept telling myself, "it will be worth it when she finds out". It helped to let my parents and DH in on it, so there was someone to plan with. DD is a really non-nosey kid, so she never suspected or questioned anything.

If you can manage to keep the secret, it will be an amazing thing when all is revealed. Make sure to record the reactions!!

Ok this helped me sooooo much!!! I also think it will be worth it! I just have to make sure I don't blow it!!!

 

[Kimberly9701]

It's been soooo hard! I've literally wanted to tell them everyday. My two girls are obsessed with disney and ask about going almost daily. Even my son, who much like his dad pretends he doesn't really care for disney but secretly loves it, has asked me a few times when we could go back. We have had this trip planned since around December so it's been a hard 6 months!! The thing that is making it easier for me in planning has been that I'm going on a girls trip in August and I'm using that as an excuse to get the kids to tell me where they would go and what they would eat or which rides they'd be going on if they were coming with me. We have 26 days until I can tell them and I am SO EXCITED!

Awesome!! Have fun!!! How exciting!

 

[qemom]

we are planning a surprise trip next month and I'm DYING to tell my kids. but I've always wanted to surprise them with a trip so I'm staying strong. I just keep thinking about when we pick them up early from school that day and telling them we're leaving right now for WDW. The look on their faces will make it worth it!

 

[MomofKatie]

Ok this helped me sooooo much!!! I also think it will be worth it! I just have to make sure I don't blow it!!!

Glad to help!

As for specifics- I did the following:

- told her teacher ahead of time, since I was going to come get her out of class and she would miss a day of school.
- I purchased a few fun surprises for her (Disney PJs, a new stuffed animal, etc)- made sure I kept them hidden away so she wouldn't see them.
- on the day of the surprise, I packed her suitcase and hid it under a blanket in the trunk. Then, I came to get her at school and explained that I had an eye doctor appointment kind of far away and I wouldn't be home by the time she got home, so she had to come along.
- we got in the car, and I got her involved in talking and other activities so she wouldn't notice how long we had been gone. After 2 hours in the car, I stopped for gas and gave her a Disney Mothers Day card (it was MD weekend). It said she was going to get good news. She wasn't suspicious yet.
- an hour later, I stopped again (at a pre-determined time) and her phone rang. Back then, there was a Disney pre recorded call service you could order where a Disney character would call your child and wish them happy birthday, merry Christmas, or other things. Mickey told her that he heard she was going on a trip. She got confused then and asked me what was going on.
-right then, I played "When You Wish Upon A Star" on the car stereo and pulled out a new Mickey plush. There was a note around its neck that said, "Surprise! You're on your way to WDW!".
- cue the screaming, crying, and huge hugs and kisses. Awesome!! We both cried in the Wendy's parking lot like fools, then it was back in the car for 5 hours. I gave her our itinerary to look over along with a kids' planning book.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Glad to help!

As for specifics- I did the following:

- told her teacher ahead of time, since I was going to come get her out of class and she would miss a day of school.
- I purchased a few fun surprises for her (Disney PJs, a new stuffed animal, etc)- made sure I kept them hidden away so she wouldn't see them.
- on the day of the surprise, I packed her suitcase and hid it under a blanket in the trunk. Then, I came to get her at school and explained that I had an eye doctor appointment kind of far away and I wouldn't be home by the time she got home, so she had to come along.
- we got in the car, and I got her involved in talking and other activities so she wouldn't notice how long we had been gone. After 2 hours in the car, I stopped for gas and gave her a Disney Mothers Day card (it was MD weekend). It said she was going to get good news. She wasn't suspicious yet.
- an hour later, I stopped again (at a pre-determined time) and her phone rang. Back then, there was a Disney pre recorded call service you could order where a Disney character would call your child and wish them happy birthday, merry Christmas, or other things. Mickey told her that he heard she was going on a trip. She got confused then and asked me what was going on.
-right then, I played "When You Wish Upon A Star" on the car stereo and pulled out a new Mickey plush. There was a note around its neck that said, "Surprise! You're on your way to WDW!".
- cue the screaming, crying, and huge hugs and kisses. Awesome!! We both cried in the Wendy's parking lot like fools, then it was back in the car for 5 hours. I gave her our itinerary to look over along with a kids' planning book.

Oh my gosh that is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a fantastic memory you created there!!!

They still do the call for DCL...I am planning on that at some point

 

[Meech Loves Mickey]

We just had a surprise trip for our boys earlier this month! I will agree it is hard not having their input when planning, BUT seeing their faces when you reveal the surprise is priceless!

DH and I found it hardest not to talk about it in front of them, so we came up with a code word for the trip.

 

[AshleeH]

We kept our Disneyland trip and our DCL Alaska trip a secret for over a year. We stumbled a few times, nearly saying something to each other in front of the kids, but it was worth it in the end. The best was keeping the DCL trip a secret until we got to the docks - we nearly blew it because we took a wrong turn and drove right by the ship, but we redirected their attention and it was so worth it to step out of the building and be right next to the Wonder and tell them that's how we were getting to Alaska. We did surprise them with WDW once and waited until we saw the sign over the road and showed them where we were. Surprise trips are fun if you can do it. I told them there wouldn't be any more surprises - how can we top Alaska? But I'm sure we'll surprise our daughter at some point in the future since she's still little.

 

[princessjadesmom]

I'm planning a surprise WDW trip for my daughter's 16th birthday. I do what Pesky does. I ask her what she would like to do "someday". I know she's always wanted to go to House of Blues for the Gospel Brunch and that she'd like to go to the Christmas Party and to Coral Reef, so I've planned those things. I also know that she loves Princess Tiana and The Princess and the Frog. She'd like to go to New Orleans, so I chose Port Orleans French Quarter Resort. POFQ will give her the feel of being in New Orleans and she can have all the beignets she wants. She has always wanted to wear a tiara, so I'm going to buy her one to wear at WDW on her birthday. She knows that I have something planned for her birthday, but she has no idea what. It's going to kill me to keep my mouth shut until November though! I can't wait to tell her!!! I'm going to give her a wrapped box containing the tiara and a Princess Tiana Magicband as an early birthday gift 2 weeks before her birthday. I know she'll want some heads up before the trip so she can do some planning and packing.