How to tell the kids they are

[wdwfan_1]

Going to Disney World!

We will be leaving for WDW Oct. 22. This is the longest we've planned a vacation in advance.

Now how and when should we break the news to the kids? ( DD's 6 and 8)

How have you done it?

I want to wake them up on the 22nd and surprise them.

Thanks for your advice/ stories in advance.

 

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Hi wdwfan 1,
Our first trip to WDW , our kids were 9 and 13. It was a surprise trip and believe me I had a hard time keeping it to myself but it was well worth it to surprise them. The night before we were to fly out, I sent them on a treasure hunt throughout the house. At each clue I left Disney hints like a small disney photoalbum, a huge disney sucker and the last clue took them to the tv to play the vcr that had the disney planning video. When they asked when we are going and I said in the morning, needless to say there was screaming and crying and it was magical. no one harldy slept that night. We had a great trip

Good luck and have a good trip

 

[hezreck]

We didn't tell our DD we were going until 4 day before. The trip was for her 7th birthday. I amd a Disney themed dinner to surprise her. I printed out a menu with, Mickey Meatloaf, Minnie Moushed Potatoes with Fairy Godmother gravy, Goofy Green Beans, and Princess Pies. Then I set the table with her Disney plate and our Disney glasses from Burger King and set a Mickey and Minnie plush as the centerpiece. I have a picture of the whole table and meal, but I don't know how to post it.

I shaped the meatloaf into Mickey heads. My DD thought this was just me being funny until I told her why they were shaped like that. she was so surprised.

 

[wdwfan_1]

Looks like a couple of votes for trying to keep this trip a secret. Thanks.

 

[califred]

I'd keep it a secret but I'd probably tell them at least a couple of days in advance so they can get used to the idea before you go and you also don't have to listen to them say "ARe we going yet" for the next 6 months.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I'd keep it a secret but I'd probably tell them at least a couple of days in advance so they can get used to the idea before you go and you also don't have to listen to them say "ARe we going yet" for the next 6 months.

I agree. I told my dd last year about 9 months in advance and she asked me every single day if we were going yet. I'm keeping this year's trip a surprise, but I'll probably tell her a couple of days in advance.

 

[teanbean]

We just returned from Disneyworld a week ago. On the flight to Orlando there was a family of six sitting next to us. The four kids had no idea they were going until that morning. Their parents had told them they were going to the airport to pick up their godparents. The boy was 14; 10; 5; 2. The entire flight the eldest told everybody about how excited he was. The middle girls were thrilled that they were going to visit with Cinderella. I had tears in my eyes just listening to them. They were soooooo excited. I have always wanted to do this with my kids but I'm not good at keeping a Disney secret. So if you can keep it a secret then do!!!!

 

[matthewsmom1]

I did this in January!!! My son thought we were going to WDW in May, but I secretly booked a January trip b/c it was SOOO much cheaper! The morning of I woke him up. I had on my Mickey Mouse t-shirt & put his Mickey Mouse t-shirt on him. He was SOOOO dense...not realizing that we had t-shirts on in FREEZING cold weather!! He was kind of grumpy & said that he didn't want to go to school that day (it was 4am afterall, but he didn't realize that). So I said, "Ok, let's go to WDW instead". We're leaving today. I have never seen my son speechless. He was sitting there open-mouthed and said, "Really!?!?!!!" It was absolutely magical. Today is his 6th bday and he will be opening a present to pack his bags....we are leaving for WDW in 13 days!

 

[Pinnochio]

I have always wanted my parents to do that matthewsmom1. Is there any better news to wake up to??? I think I would know it now scince im much older but that would be awesome.

 

[friend of Tigger]

We were just there in March. We planned the trip in October but did not tell DS12 and DD9. The day we left we woke them up at 4:30 in the morning and had them get dressed. We had a limo pick us up to go to the airport, and when he rang the door bell, we had the kids answer and he told them he was taking them to the airport so they could go to WDW. They were speechless. Then the excitment took over in the limo. The flight was great because we had gotten each one the WDW plannung giude for kids, so they planned out all they wanted to do. The time just flew by. We didnt tell them how long we were staying or which resort untill we got there. We just kept having a new suprise all day. I was the best thing we ever did. My kids are still talking about the suprise four weeks later.

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

I'd try telling them about 2 weeks in advance. 1) Because the excitement of going there is half the fun! How many of us can remember how excited we were and the anticipation leading up to a trip even more than the trip itself? When we went when I was about 5 years old I remember the week before hand better than the trip itself and am SO glad I had the chance to get excited about it!!! 2) If your kids have something "planned" like a concert, recital, a group outing/party scheduled during the trip, they will be so excited about that, that there is a chance that the sudden change of plans might not set well. Obviously this is not true for all kids but I've seen that happen before and actually felt bad for teh parents. They drop the HUGE treat into their child's lap and the kid goes, "What am I supposed to do about sallie Mae's B-day party!?!?" *breaks into tears* And the parents are standing in shock. Hopefully that wouldn't happen but it's another plus to surprising them a bit farther in advance. If you wait any longer than that make sure to find out what yoru kids have planned for while you are gone that way if there is naything that they wouldn't want to miss you can gradually talk them "out" of whatever they have planned. Have a great trip!

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

We surprised our kids in Oct with a trip to DL. They are 2 and 4, so its not to hard to pull one over on them, lol. We picked dd up from school at 4 (afternoon preschool) and told her we were driving to a hotel (my kids LOVE hotels). Drove six hours with them thinking the whole time we were just going to a hotel. Arrived very late and they were sleeping. We hadn't been able to get a room at the DL Hotel onsite where we usually stay, since we had just made the reservations and planned the trip that morning. But it worked out well for the surprise that way because they didn't recognize anything. They woke up the next morning and we got breakfast and said lets take a walk and see if theres anything fun to do around here (shoulda seen the looks other parents gave us when we were saying this). Walked towards the gates and dd, 4 started seeing the DL logo on trash cans lining the path. But still didn't get it and just said they have Disney trash here, lol. Then we walked up to the gate and she just went crazy, hugging us and jumping up and down. Her eyes were soo big. It was definitely magical. I plan on surprising them again with an early morning wake up when they are older. They know about this WDW trip because I am too excited to keep this one (our first to WDW) to myself!

 

[PartyofSix]

We are leaving in the morning and the girls don't have a clue. We are going to wake them up and tell them to get dressed put them in the van and the first child to ask where we are going we'll announce WDW to all of them. They don't have a clue that my niece who is also 5 and my mother (granny) is coming too. They will be so siked. I made them bag with flashlights, playdo, coloring books crayons, snacks and a new doll for all of them. Not to mention there is a t.v in the van with disney movies so it'll be a short 4 hr ride to disney bliss for them. Our 13 yo knows but has been great and she's so excited but not driving me nuts but just siked to go! So 4 5yos and a 13 yo we are gonna have a blast. I've booked them a fun ps everyday for the three days we'll be in the parks. A spring break they won't forget i hope.

 

[Hockeychic]

The first time we went to disney we told the kids a few months out...we tried to keep it a secret but I am terrible at the...the only problem is when we told them my DD burst into sad tears...what I didn't realize was her goldfish had died and she was more upset about that then excited about going to Disney . However the next day she had forgotten about the fish and was bouncing off the wall. We did a chain with paper and each day we ripped one off in a countdown.

This trip we started planning about 280 days out and I am the one still bouncing off the wall but the kids just say....tell me when we are at least under 100 days.....lol

Oh well......

 

[mikimaus6009]

You really need to find the right balance for your family. Surprises are great fun and they cut down on the nagging. The other benefit is that, just in case something happens and the trip is canceled, they wont be disappointed. I also agree with the fun of planning, the question is whether your particular children will want to plan.

Since we only live 3 hours away from WDW, I just wake up my son at 4:30am and pop him in the van. I always want him to sleep during the trip but he's so excited that he can't sleep. Either way...have fun!

 

[clkelley]

The younger they are, the easier it is to surprise them.

I surprised my 17yo High School graduate last May, and boy was that hard. I had to coordinate with his boss at work, his girlfriend, his baseball coaches, his buddies, etc., etc., but we did manage to pull it off.

It almost was ruined though. About 3 weeks before the trip, his wallet went missing with his Scuba Diving Card along with it. (DiveQuest was part of the trip for him). We got his license replaced and I was nagging him to contact his Scuba school to replace his Diving Card, but couldn't tell him why. He didn't see any rush cause he wasn't going diving any time soon. Fortunately, his entire wallet showed up a few days later, but gosh that was nerve wracking.

However, the look on his face at his graduation dinner was priceless!!!! He kept saying, but what about work, what about ball, what about..... and we told him "Handled". He was absolutely floored. After his graduation dinner, he went over to a friends house for a party, and was telling them about his trip, and of course they all knew!! He was just flabergasted that we pulled it off!!

Carol

 

[TSWJan78]

My Aunt and Uncle told my cousin’s they were having an at home vacation. They had talked about a day at the beach, maybe a day in Boston and a night at a local hotel. When the kids woke up that morning they had put numerous things in a hat to pull "what would be done for that day" The fist DS (8) pulled a piece of paper that said Epcot.. My uncle said "what. how did that get in there... Pull another... so the next DS (6) pulled MGM.. My uncle again said that is odd.. and had his wife pull... She got Animal Kingdom so he took the last paper that said magic Kingdom... He looked at the kids and said.. well I guess we are going to Disney.. go pack... The ids were in awe... and started laughing at him.. to which he responded that the flight left at 4:00 so they had 2 hours and better get moving. There were tears and tons of disbelief but it was a great way to surprise them!!

 

[quiltymom]

Just because my kids (DD4, DS6) wouldn't have given me a moment's rest, we waited until they got to the airport, then let them guess. DS figured it out from the Orlando, FL gate notice. In some ways I wished we would've told them before so they could get more excited about it, but they would not have gotten any sleep the night before! They knew that we were going to the airport in the morning, and couldn't go to sleep!

The funny part was that they assumed we were going to DL this summer again when we visit my family in So Cal. Now I wonder if they still think that we're going there? Too bad, but the budget won't allow two Disney trips within 3 months of each other! (Maybe I can sneak off to DL with my mom and sis??? There's a thought...)

 

[jjsmom]

My coworker surprised her 7 yr old DGD this way. She told Tiffany that she was coming for the weekend and they would all go to the mall and the local aquarium. Grandmother left her big suitcase in the car so Tiff wouldn't suspect anything. Tiff's mother had been secretly packing, by just pulling clean clothes out of the laundry instead of putting them away, and then hiding suitcases in a closed-off room. Anyway, they woke Tiff at 7:00 am and said "guess where we're going today?" She responded "The Aquarium!". "nope, we're going to visit Mickey Mouse. You have 15 mins to dress and brush your teeth; the plane leaves at 11!" She jumped out of bed, and was ready in 5.
Cute story, huh?
Leading up to their trip, I kept telling my co-worker that there was no way they could pull it off. This kid is only 7 but extremely intelligent and perceptive. They did it though!

 

[rt2dz]

We went as a family for the first time last Sept. DS#1 was 3.5 and had actually been asking to go for quite some time--I was on bedrest with my second pregnacy and we used to snuggle up and watch tv (travel channel did a whole bunch on Disney during that time period).

What we did was pick him up from preschool (3pm) with a packed car. He was confused seeing the luggage carrier up top, but we just told him we had a lot of things to carry with us while we went on an errand. He was confused, but let it go. In the car we had a portable dvd player and nothing but Disney movies. We then put in the planning dvd. He was soooooo excited!!! The drive, which thanks to hurricane Ivan damage, took forever, but luckily we did most of it at night while he slept.

We're going this May and thanks to my sister & father, he knows. The wait is something terrible for him. Every day is can we go next week? We're leaving his last day of school and now he never wants to go to school. i would rather surprise him again. But it has been fun for him helping to pick meals.