How to tell DD?

[newmouse82]

So as of today our trip is officially booked for September. Now we just have to figure out how to tell DD. DH wants to see her reaction when we get there, another words not tell her. I want to tell her 2 or 3 days before by having Mickey phone her. She is 5, what do you guys think.

 

[princessnicchia]

I surprised my two children with a Disneyland trip several years ago. My youngest was three and the oldest was five at the time. Frankly, both of them were SO surprised that it wasn't fun...it was like they just couldn't comprehend it at all. We live in Alaska and I swear we were all the way to California and they were still asking me..."where are we going again?" NOt the reaction I was hoping for.

This year, they know we are going so they can help in the planning and excitement, but they think we are leaving in the middle of March and we are leaving in 9 days! So I think they will be able to process a little better than the full surprise.

Anyhow, I would give her a few days to let it sink in, based on my experience.

 

[pinkprincess30]

We were thinking about surprising our 3 sons too. But I keep hearing that it actually is better to allow them to mentally prepare for it, if that makes any sense?
Also, we figured that on an 8 day vacation, if we surprise them then 8 days later the Magic is over But by telling them ahead of time, you get to enjoy a little more magic...counting it down, planning with them, dreaming with them, telling their friends & their teachers, and all that fun stuff. Letting the excitement build! Just one girl's opinion

 

[brocklesnar69]

I personally like the idea of not telling her, and then just showing up to Disney and being like "Suprise!" On the other hand, telling her 2-3 days before hand allows her to build up anticipation. Then when you get there, her anticipation will be peaked. (Don't tell her more than a month out, in my opinion, because you don't want to risk having her anticipation peak at the wrong time)

 

[D*sneyace]

When we went on a family trip to Disneyland about 3 years ago, it was my little sister's first ever trip. (There is a 13 year gap between us) We decided not to tell her and just said we were visiting an old family friend. She bought it and it avoided the problem of "are we there yet?" Seeing her reaction driving through the gates was priceless.

 

[NewbieMouse]

I have done both of these, with children at a similar age. The first time I followed your plan: I told my daughters (who were 5 and 6) on Tuesday via the character call, we were going on Saturday. The second time (six months later), I waited to tell them until we got to Anaheim. We pulled into the Burger King on Ball Rd. for a late lunch and I told them Disneyland was down the street and we were going tomorrow (we had been on a road trip from SFO and Vegas, so they really didn't know where we were).

The second time was - for us, BY FAR - the better way to go. When we told them a few days before, they were kind of excited when I told them, but they quickly kind of internalized that it was happening. The character call (for that age) also doesn't necessarily go as smooth as you might imagine. With that high pitched, silly-kinda voice my kids were like, "What did he say? Huh?" and I had to spell it out for them anyway. The next few days they went about their business, and the effect kind of wore off, and by then time we got there, it was like a god-given right that they be at Disneyland. The second time, they were totally pumped the whole time because we were already there, so the excitement never let up. It was awesome.

I know it is very hard to not tell them. I found it super tough. But after the first time, my husband & I agreed that there is no way we would do it that way again if given a choice, and that I would always wait until immediately before we get there. What's a few more days if you're talking about just a few days before anyhow?

 

[jory29]

No doubt in my mind, the months and days of anticipation can be great, even for a 5 year old. Youtube vids of rides, maps, pictures of the hotel, anything you can let her know in advance, is, IMO very good for her to get a mental picture before she goes. Plus, it's SOOOOO much fun sharing in that with your children at that age before a trip.

If I could vote for let her know a long while in advance, I would choose that! I voted for the phone call since there are no other options.

Remember to show her the Hojo Mattercam (live feed) too, if you do let her know in advance. Very cool!

 

[BELLEDOZER]

Take it from someone who recently surprised her DS6 and DS7 with a trip to DL. We drove down to the mouse (4 days taking our time), and told them 10 mins before we reached the border. They didn't believe us (thanks to evil mom who had a great cover story...a little too good), and it took them until we reached the border crossing into the good ole USA before they clued in that yes we were really heading to DL. Safe to say that my DH and I were killing ourselves laughing, and it took the kids until we had stopped for the night in Tacoma to really realize that we were indeed heading to DL. So based on my experience, let her know 2 to 3 days in advance to let her get used to the idea of going to DL, and let the anticipation build for it. For the first couple of days into the trip they kept asking us if we were really going to DL. The kids had a great time at the mouse, and we had alot of fun driving down. Would I do this again? Yes, but would tell them a couple of days before we left, and not as we were driving to the border.

 

[paape04]

We had the "character" call for our boys (ages 9 & 6) on Christmas Eve to tell them about our trip coming up in March. They were completely confused as the phone call was more of Minnie, Goofy and Mickey talking all about Disneyland and since we have never been there, my kids did not comprehend what exactly they were saying.

If i had to do it over again, we would have figured out another way to tell them, or just waited until we were at the airport and getting ready to leave.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

A little OT but I read a post once of a family going to WDW and did not want to tell the kids where they were going. They would going to fly down so they had to tell the kids something so they told them there were going to see their grandmother. When they got to the airport, video camera recording, they told them they were going to WDW instead. The kids burst into tears, very upset that they were NOT going to visit their grandmother. The poster said the entire trip the kids would make an occasional reference was made as to why they had not gone to Grandmothers. It was NOT a magical trip!

 

[TheColtonsMom]

We took our 6 year old to DL for the first time at Christmas and he knew about it in advance so we could do you tube and watch movies, make mickey mouse pancakes, do a countdown calendar etc. This was the perfect way to go as we all got excited together. My 2nd choice is the character call as long as your DD knows the characters.

Our character call came on Christmas Eve (we left at 5am Christmas Day) and was a Wonderful experience. Our son was jumoing with joy that Mickey, Minnie & Goofy were excited he was coming to visit. We did it on speaker phone and I was almost crying due to our son's reaction. Even though it is a pre-recorded message they all take turns talking and your kid really doesn't get a word in edgewise during the "conversation" my son did not even notice. He was of course excited to see them when we got there but could not believe they were so excited he was coming!

 

[marcemc]

We surprised our boys on our last trip, we didn't tell them & it wasn't until they saw the signs that they realized it. That was fun BUT we like it better when they participate in making plans & start talking about rides & shows & places to eat.

 

[jennifur25]

We surprised the boys last year with a trip for their birthday. I had made up tshirts that said "Celebrating our birthday at Disneyland" and wrapped them up and put that they were from Mickey Mouse. Also, a fairy godmailer had sent the boys postcards from Mickey letting them know that it was their turn to come to Disneyland in 4 days. It went well except that one of the boys was too distracted with wanting to open up a stinking yo-yo someone had given them for it to really sink in LOL

We are going again in 10 days and the boys don't know. I was thinking of just having everything packed up and pull a "guess where we're going today?" but they've been talking about Disneyland and how Mickey Mouse sends you a card when it is your turn to go, so now i'm not sure.

I'm intrigued by the character calls. How does that work and how much does it cost?

 

[TheColtonsMom]

We surprised the boys last year with a trip for their birthday. I had made up tshirts that said "Celebrating our birthday at Disneyland" and wrapped them up and put that they were from Mickey Mouse. Also, a fairy godmailer had sent the boys postcards from Mickey letting them know that it was their turn to come to Disneyland in 4 days. It went well except that one of the boys was too distracted with wanting to open up a stinking yo-yo someone had given them for it to really sink in LOL

We are going again in 10 days and the boys don't know. I was thinking of just having everything packed up and pull a "guess where we're going today?" but they've been talking about Disneyland and how Mickey Mouse sends you a card when it is your turn to go, so now i'm not sure.

I'm intrigued by the character calls. How does that work and how much does it cost?

Our character call was included in our package so I have no idea what it would cost as an individual item. Give WD Travel a call I'm sure they could help.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I think it depends on the kids and what they can handle. My daughter needs to have more time to process things, and enjoys a long build up and mentally preparing herself. She doesn't do that well with changes and surprises. I think she would be like "wait...what?" and would be feeling so out of sorts by a surprise that it would be hard for her to relax and enjoy it.

I also think the whole "SURPRISE" thing is more for the parents than for the kids. You just want that huge payoff of telling them right when you get there, but this isn't always the best way for many kids.

I did see a really cute youtube video of a little boy who was told he was going to the Grand Canyon, but they went to Disneyland instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5w_vyx1IsI

 

[skiingfast]

Let her watch some Disney videos and let her figure out where you are when she sees the castle.

 

[chrissiecutie]

We are surprising DS in 3 days at his birthday party!!!

I have a t-shirt that I ordered from Disney that says "I'm Going to the Disneyland Resort" and since it's DS's bday, I also ordered a birthday Mickey that plays Happy Bday. I will then put the goodies in a HUGE box and fill it FULL of helium balloons. When he opens his "present" from Mommy and Daddy, the balloons will pop out and he'll find the t-shirt and Mickey stuffed animal.

We are leaving a week after his bday party, so this will give him time to enjoy the surprise.

SO EXCITED!!!!

 

[newmouse82]

Thanks everyone, I still don't know what we'll do. The reason we want to keep it somewhat of a surprise is that if we tell her too early she obsesses and that would make for a long 7 months. We are planning a trip to WDW with my family in 2 years and have been for a while, she knows about that trip so I have been using it as a guise for showing her videos etc. Since this is my first trip and I have wanted to go since I was a kid I am fairly obsessed already and I don't think DH could handle having another Disney obsessed female in the house.

 

[jlindley9]

I didn't vote, but I'll share my experience.

Just last weekend, we surprised DD5 with a trip. I thought it was setup perfectly. We'd pick her up from kindergarten at 11:30 and give her the news and then drive straight to Anaheim (about 7 hours).

First of all, I don't think it sunk in right away, so she didn't get as excited as we expected.

Second, once we were stuck in LA traffic after having been in the car for 5 hours, she was not a happy camper. She's not used to long car rides and she started crying saying that she wanted to go on Dumbo.

So, in hindsight, I think it would have been better to tell her before hand to give her more time to process and prepare for the long trip. Had we flown this trip, I think she would have handled it better since she wouldn't have been stuck anywhere for more than on the plane for an hour.

We still had a great time though!

 

[clairabell29]

I suprised my DS, who was 4 at the time. It was a trip just for him and I so, I told him about a week in advance that we were going to spend a day together, just him and I. We drove to the airport, telling him that daddy and his brother were going to watch airplanes take off and land while we went to the zoo. Well, when I told him that he and I were actually going to Disneyland, his first reaction was, "Do we have to?" LOL! It took about a minute to sink in, but then he was jumping around saying thank you, thank you and was really excited. At the end of the trip, he did ask daddy if he and his brother had fun watching the airplanes the whole time we were gone! LOL

For a first trip, I would want to include her, at least a few days before hand, so she can build up the excitement and help "plan" a few things. Count downs are really fun for that age group. First trips can be a little overwhelming too, so it would be nice for her to get into the Disney mode, as it were.