How to surprise the kiddos?

[Disney Dad ADL]

My wife and I talked about that a lot. We ended up keeping it a surprise, because with my dad's cancer treatment, we weren't sure the trip was going to happen (and as I mentioned, our attempt last year was cancelled, which caused quite a bit of heartbreak). My dad had a series of tests about 2 months ago, and we got all the results back about 2 weeks ago, that showed he is in the clear, and now we're close enough to the trip that we figured.. lets try the surprise thing.

Congratulations on the good news! I'm sure the surprise will be great no matter what you decide to do. Even if the kids make a fuss for some reason, they will get over it and have a great time.

 

[MarkLT1]

Congratulations on the good news! I'm sure the surprise will be great no matter what you decide to do. Even if the kids make a fuss for some reason, they will get over it and have a great time.

Thanks! We are absolutely thrilled. 2019 was a very rough year for our family (for a number of reasons, including my dad's health) and we feel incredibly fortunate for how 2020 has started. And this cruise will definitely be the cherry on top!

 

[lilmc]

We also weren’t sure our upcoming cruise was going to happen, so they didn’t know for the first 9 months after it was booked, but once we were sure, we surprised them on Christmas Day, so just about 3 months out. I asked them afterwards if they would have preferred more or less notice and they thought that a good amount of time for them.

 

[klug_bug2010]

We are also planning on surprising our kids with a DCL cruise in November. We will have to fly out the day before at 5AM, which means we'll be up and getting ready to leave the house around 2AM. We'd like to surprise them the day of the cruise, but there's no way we can pull off a 2AM wake up call without sparking suspicion. Good luck with your surprise! It will be worth it when you KNOW your kids will have a blast!

 

[Ariel 2021]

Personally I’m on board with the last minute surprise but have a very hard time with telling them lies like “I’m picking you up early to go to the dentist” and then further lying about where you’re driving to in the car. I feel like these things can cause future anxieties for the kids. I would probably just sign them out of school early as a surprise and say we’re going to a surprise in FL (not WDW)!!!

 

[MamaJessie]

Also no way am I packing for them. You know I would grab the outgrown shorts, pinchy sandals, itchy shirt, those aren’t the pajamas I wanted!, ugh, no way!

Hahaha oh man that would be my 10yo, didn't even think of that

 

[NJTwinsdad]

That doesn't sound good . Is there any particular reason they gave for being upset?

They had plans to hang with their friends! In the end, they really enjoyed the trip.

 

[MarkLT1]

They had plans to hang with their friends! In the end, they really enjoyed the trip.

Ahhh... that makes sense... especially being over a break time for school.

So what you're telling me, is I should premptively ground them for the week, so that they don't make plans with friends..

* Of course I am joking about this, lest anyone think I am that mean of a dad..

 

[monkeydawn]

Ahhh... that makes sense... especially being over a break time for school.

So what you're telling me, is I should premptively ground them for the week, so that they don't make plans with friends..

* Of course I am joking about this, lest anyone think I am that mean of a dad..

Thank you for making me LOL for reelz

 

[brentm77]

Re: controversy, I've seen a bunch of posts online, saying that these kinds of surprises for kids can easily backfire/the kids don't react well to them/it is for the parents not the kids, etc.. In this case, our kids like surprises, and we're replacing a trip to the dentist with flying to Florida, and a trip to the beach with a cruise, on which we'll see lots of beaches.. so I don think that'll be too traumatic for them . The only disappointment I could see would be from my oldest.. once he sees we're going to WDW, he'll be thinking of Galaxy's Edge.. though a cruise to him would be much more exciting.

For the bags, I was thinking of telling them that Disney is moving us to a new room, so we have to pack everything up. And my wife/mom could take the kids to get a snack around by the pool or something while I load the bags up into the van.

I think you need to know your own kids. We once told my niece we were going to a small town in our state, but drove to Disneyland instead. When we got there, and told her we were at Disneyland, she cried and said she wanted to go to the original location she was expecting. I think it was too much for her to handle at about six years old.

However, we surprised our own children with a trip to Disneyland by picking them up from school with the car loaded and ready to go. They were thrilled! It was so much fun. Nearly ten years latter, they still talk about it and ask if we will surprise them again instead of telling them about trips ahead of time. Since they are teenagers, I would rather have them pack and prepare for the trip instead of trying to do it for them. But it was great when they were young! I highly recommend it for the right kids.

Added: Also, I agree with others. I would consider just making the surprise when you pick them up. I think it might lose some of its "bang" if it is given out in parts and after other fun plans are formulated by them. If it were me, I would consider having the car loaded up, pick them up, pull over somewhere safe, and hand them a picture of the ship or something. They will cheer for joy and ask when, that's when you say, "we are headed to the airport right now!" I think that one time moment of surprise, with the excitement of traveling right then, would be amazing. Your plans are fun too, but I think it will create a bit of a mixed bag, especially if they are getting geared up for Disney World.

 

[travelmomof3]

Personally, I'd probably spring the surprise when you land in Orlando. My kids, while loving the cruise, would be disappointed to not be going to the parks at all on the trip, especially if I told them we plan to go on 'Sunday.' Another option is just to tell them that you're doing a 'no-parks' visit, but you have something fun planned!

I was thinking the same. I think the idea of dentist appt turned Florida trip will generate a lot of excitement. I'd prob not hold off too long on sharing the actual plans. I know my kids love surprises but also love the build up before a trip

 

[FredtheDuck]

My kid is still younger (4), and we tried the surprise thing last year. We got lucky because she loves flying and hotels in general, so we just told her we were going to a hotel with a pool (our pool had closed for the season a week or two before). She was so excited just to be at the hotel (we stayed in Canaveral).
The morning of the cruise, we were so excited for our character call from Mickey. It comes in and she’s... completely nonplussed. When we explained to her after that it meant we were going on a Disney cruise THAT DAY, her response was “Oh... why?”
We didn’t really have expectations for how she would react and we found it hilarious, but I imagine if we had your heart set on shrieks of joy and lots of jumping up and down, we’d have been disappointed. Instead, we have a hilarious story that started off an awesome cruise that our daughter LOVED.
All of that to say, keep your expectations low and have fun with it.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

We’re going to surprise my kids in November with a 3 day. It’s two days after my son’s birthday and I’m not sure if we should surprise him on his birthday and be like here’s your present - we’re going on a cruise in 2 days! Or if we should get him up that day like normal for school and tell him instead we’re driving to the port.

On one hand the day of surprise will be a lot more fun. But on the other hand I doubt we’re going to buy him much if any birthday presents since the cruise will essentially be his present. I don’t want him to be too disappointed with his birthday. But he’s only 7 so maybe he won’t notice if he’s only got a couple things. Especially if my parents spoil him like usual.

 

[MarkLT1]

Thanks again for all the thoughts everyone. For the initial surprise, I think we'll go with the "We're going to visit Grandma and Pop-pop in Florida, but no WDW this year," as we don't want to build that expectation at all. We've surprised our kids with things in the past, and they really seem to enjoy/embrace it. Also, having gone on a DCL cruise before, they know what it is, and it being something that they ask about often (weekly.. daily in some cases) I think there will probably be some excitement.

As of right now, I think the "we're going to the beach" and then pulling up to the cruise ship, will give me the perfect Dad-Joke opportunity to say "Oh.. by the way, it'll take us a few days to the beach." So long as my dad-joke telling dad (Pop-pop) doesn't upstage me with something even more corny. We still may decide to tell them when we get to Orlando.. we'll see how they react to diverting from the dentist to the airport.