How should we tell our 4 yr old dd?

[Dimazoma]

We leaving for WDW on Feb 4th and we have not told our dd yet. We are trying to decide if we should tell her now or wait til the morning we leave. I bought some disney princess themed stuff (umbrella, keychain, bag) and we were going to write in a card to tell her she was going and sign it from all of the Disney princesses. What do you think? Any personal experiences? Any great ideas? Tell her now, and count down the days on a calendar or wait til we are in the hotel the night before our flight and tell her?? All opinions needed!!!!

 

[gris gris]

Well you're smart!! We told our 3 year old that we're going at the end of November 06. BIG MISTAKE!!! She wakes up in the morning asking if today is when we're going to Disney World. Last weekend we were in the city and drove by an old church with a huge steeple. She started yelling "mommy I think I see Cinderella's castle"!!! UGH!

I think if I were older being surprised the night/day of the trip would be awesome!! Like when my DH surprised me with a weekend trip to Montreal. But as a kid, the countdown thing sounds like fun, maybe a week before the trip.

Have fun!

 

[Tinky]

We waited once to tell our kids until we were at the airport. We loaded them in the car and told them we were going on a adventure, it was still dark outside so that made it even better. We had packed everything while they were at school so they were clueless. The expressions on their faces were priceless and it eliminated a lot of .... "HOW MANY MORE DAYS UNTIL DISNEYWORLD"

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, either way she will be sooo excited.

 

[3littleHalls]

Our kids love knowing before. It adds to their excitement. We make a paper chain that we tear one off every night to count down to Disney. They decorated the links and I wrote a number down for each day. Our kids don't ask how many more days...they can see how short the chain is getting. We are staying Feb 4-10th. So...we have 16 days left till we go! Have a magical trip!

 

[pezpam]

I've done both the surprise and the countdown and both have been fun. When DD knew ahead of time, she was all excited for weeks. For the trip where I surprised her, I didn't say anything until we were on the plane. I've heard of people who didn't say anything until the kids realized they were pulling up at a WDW hotel, but I couldn't quite pull that off. S'all good.

 

[thelionqueen]

I would definitely tell her! Think about how much fun the planning and anticipation are for adults. I think telling them beforehand let's them anticipate and enjoy the magic much longer.

I love surprises, but when DH surprised me with a trip to Vegas, although I was very excited, the 1st thing out of my mouth was...I didn't even get to look forward to it.

Just my .02.

 

[Dimazoma]

bump...

 

[Priorityonecb]

I'd surprise....BUT...with enough time for her to get really excited before you left! For my people, half the excitement is in the planning and talking and getting ready for the trip. Maybe a week ahead of time? That way she can get all excited, and she won't drive you crazy with "Is it today??"...although I absolutely *love it when my kids are that excited about something...I don't mind the endless questions. It just gives me an extra opportunity to talk about the trip!