How to tell the kids??

[momfor4]

We are taking our kids the week before Thanksgving to WDW!! We want to totally surprise them and this is also a big early Christmas present for them. Has anyone ever had it be an "early" Christmas for the kids and how did that go over?? We felt like we could manage it if we didn't spend much I mean barely anything on Christmas gifts later! Any suggestions on how to tell them about the trip? Was thinking of loading them in car and giving them a gift wrapped in Christmas paper and saying "Merry Christams early" and have them open gift with Disney tickets in there!! Kids are 10, 8, 6 yrs.

Any idea or suggestions would be great! I can hardly stand it b/c they dont know and we are sooo excited about going!!

 

[goofygal71]

Here ya go...

Tell them that your best friend from high school is getting married and that you are going to the wedding. Drive all the way to Florida, then get off the WDW exit. They'll pee their pants!

 

[abe_bb]

I like your suggestion... always fun to get everyone ready then when they go "well where we going?" spring it on them

We aren't telling our 8 year old about our post-christmas trip (jan 11th) until Christmas morning - "Santa" is going to put the tickets in a box under the tree.

(kill two birds with one stone, we can buy things for the trip (some new luggage, clothes, stroller, etc) and put it as christmas gifts

 

[mrs_jamesmarsden]

Wow, I would be astounded if my parents surprised me with a Disney trip. It would be just too fun! But your kids sound like a perfect age for this!

You should make a Disney scavenger hunt and use Disney movie quotes to help them find their tickets. If you need help, I'm pretty good with rhyming. But it's a creative and exciting way for you to put your energy into telling the kids and fun for your children to find their surprise!

 

[Vandercapellen]

I would pack in secret. Have the car packed and if you have a fake tree, put it up after they go to bed. Wake them up extra early.(Like they do to us on Christmas morning) then when they come down they will see the tree and the presents. Put tickets and other disney things under the tree. I think they would "Freak out" as my ds would say!!

What ever you do, good luck and have a great trip. Let us know how you suprise the little ones!!

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

We aren't telling my niece till christmas day, for our june 2009 trip! So we are doing something kind of like abe_bb. But a bag of stuff. Have fun on your Trip

 

[X and G's mom]

We just surprised my kids. We are going December 19 and coming back on Christmas. I told them they are getting 1 present from me, and Santa will still come, but he won't be bringing as much as he usually does, since mom can't afford a big bill from Santa At this point, they seem fine with the fact that they aren't going to get as much under the tree.

I have 2 sets of friends who have done the Disney trip as Christmas gifts also. The kids were fine with it. They were just more excited to be going to Disney.

 

[tzeitel]

I know the dilemma - yeah they say be good with WDW instead of Christmas presents. But then Christmas comes along and they "forget" about the trip . Maybe a good gift would be a small photo album (or scrapbook) for each kid - featuring photos of them with characters and on the rides etc. That will just bring it all back for them

 

[goofygrl4]

We are taking our kids the week before Thanksgving to WDW!! We want to totally surprise them and this is also a big early Christmas present for them. Has anyone ever had it be an "early" Christmas for the kids and how did that go over?? We felt like we could manage it if we didn't spend much I mean barely anything on Christmas gifts later! Any suggestions on how to tell them about the trip? Was thinking of loading them in car and giving them a gift wrapped in Christmas paper and saying "Merry Christams early" and have them open gift with Disney tickets in there!! Kids are 10, 8, 6 yrs.

Any idea or suggestions would be great! I can hardly stand it b/c they dont know and we are sooo excited about going!!

My parents took myself and my two older sibblings to Disney as a suprise one year for christams. They took us to this resturant that we always went to eat at during our 3 hour drvie to the air port ( they said we were going to eat there for fun and stay over night, we were young we didn't think anything of it!) When we got to the resturant, they gave us cards to open, and Inside were DISNEY DOLLARS and a picture of the Contemporary resort and we were just like OK whats this about, and they were both just grining ear to ear and we figured it out, we were going to DISNEY! They packed our suitcases and we were really on our way to the airport that next morning. We went to the usual hotel that was stayed at the night before we flew out and I don't think anyone got a wink of sleep. It was the best suprise ever, My parents took each of us shopping when we got there to get ONE small thing for each other ( the three kids anyway) to have something to open on Christams morning it was so much fun. I was young and all worried that santa wouldn't find me but My dad "called" him and told him to just leave the presents at our house and we'd open them when we got back. Needless to say he was talking to one of his employees just so I would believe him!~ My parents were just as excited as we were!

 

[The Sunrise Student]

We did a surprise trip to Disney for Christmas for my three teenage sons. What we did was a treasure hunt. We wrapped a fake present that contained the first clue and ran my sons around the house until they got to the last clue that told them pack their bags we're going to Florida... We had never gone before and this was the first time I could actually afford a vacation that wasn't traveling to stay with friends and family.

THEY LOVED IT... Doesn't matter if it's an early gift, keep it a surprise, I had to let them know cause mine are teenagers.... BUT making an excuse for travel like a friends wedding is perfect!!!!

Have a wonderful trip....

 

[bluejasmine]

Oh how exciting! Wish I could take my kids for Christmas! We are surpising them with a trip next Sept booked a bounce back with free dining while on our honeymoon last month..We are already trying to plan out how to suprise my teenage son and pre teen daughter. Thinking maybe secretly pack, then pick them up early out of school and just hit the road and tell them while driving although I like the thought of doing it in a restaurant..

 

[KAPTink]

We are doing the same with our kids, 12/17-12/23. We'll still be home for actual Christmas. We're dying to tell them! So far, we've told them we're thinking of going next summer...so we've been able to talk about where to eat and stay, without any problems. We have an advent box, with doors for each day of Dec. I'm planning to leave some type of hint or clue in each of the doors until the day before we leave. So far, my first is "Your lucky numbers are 12 17 08. For this date it will be hard to wait." I have some other references to characters and movies, and some of their smaller gifts are built into clues...a Mickey watch for "It's time to go" DH and I are still working on other rhyming clues, but it's fun planning ahead.

 

[suferchick]

My friends parents gave them only suitcases, sun screen and beach stuff for thier 1st disney cruise and then they pulled out the tickets and my buddy said he screamed like a girl (not really but that would have been funny if he did)

BTW this was x-mas morning!

 

[melissac]

I took there sheets to school to be excused for family vacation and asked that they not be told and the day that we left I woke them up and at 4:30 flight left at 6:00 and asked if they would like to see Mickey today. They thought they were dream but after a few times the fly out of bed and were shaking with joy. When we went in Dec. 2006 it was for Christmas present and told them and it went over fine. I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of stuff for $40 and a couple of of little bigger things and they were happy with that and they still got a lot of things to open. They were DS 5 and DD10. I think sometimes they just want to open stuff

 

[WeGoDisney04]

On youtube you can watch videos of parents surprising their children with trips to Disney World.
They're great and I cry everytime I see them!!!!!

 

[rt2dz]

I would pack in secret. Have the car packed and if you have a fake tree, put it up after they go to bed. Wake them up extra early.(Like they do to us on Christmas morning) then when they come down they will see the tree and the presents. Put tickets and other disney things under the tree. I think they would "Freak out" as my ds would say!!

What ever you do, good luck and have a great trip. Let us know how you suprise the little ones!!

I LOVE this idea!!

 

[DramaGirl]

We went in December about 7 years ago, and my parents surprised my brother and I (I was 7, he was 5). I had just learned how to make those countdown chains that look like this:

to count down the days until Christmas, so my mom made one for the "special day" and we hung them both on the Christmas tree.
My brother and I were very curious, but we had absolutely no idea what it could be. The day we went, my parents woke us up at about 4 am, and we got in the car, still not knowing what we were doing (my brother thought we were looking at Christmas lights and DID NOT WANT TO- very cute.) Eventually we figured out we were going to the airport, but couldn't guess where. We finally figured it out when, in security, when I gave my boarding pass to the guy, he said, "going to Orlando, eh? I wonder where?" It was all I could do not to start screaming. It was a great surprise and sticks with me still.

 

[daisy123]

I recently got surprised with a trip to Disneyland Paris a few weeks ago for my Birthday. My parents designed a voucher on the competer that said:

'This voucher entitles 'me' and guest to 3 nights at Disneyland Paris with 2 full days entry to the Disney Parks'

I'm still completely shocked and can't believe I'm going to Disneyland in January. I'm 21 and usually have to pay for my own holidays so I really can't believe it My parents wrapped up the piece of paper with the voucher on and padded it out with pieces of plain paper. I just read it and started crying. I still cry now thinking about it cause it was such a shock. I'm sure your kids will love it however you decide to tell them.

 

[LJD2143]

We are taking our kids the week before Thanksgving to WDW!! We want to totally surprise them and this is also a big early Christmas present for them. Has anyone ever had it be an "early" Christmas for the kids and how did that go over?? We felt like we could manage it if we didn't spend much I mean barely anything on Christmas gifts later! Any suggestions on how to tell them about the trip? Was thinking of loading them in car and giving them a gift wrapped in Christmas paper and saying "Merry Christams early" and have them open gift with Disney tickets in there!! Kids are 10, 8, 6 yrs.

Any idea or suggestions would be great! I can hardly stand it b/c they dont know and we are sooo excited about going!!

Similar to you, we are going the week after Thanksgiving and surprising our 3 boys (ages 10, 7 & 7)!

We'll be waking them up at 5:00am on the day of departure with very loud Disney music blasting right outside their bedroom doors - the same way we woke them up to leave for WDW last year. (But last year it was no surprise!) The minute they hear that music and realize what song it is, they are going to FREAK! We've gone the past 2 years, but have been telling them that we can't afford it this year. Without exaggerating, I would say they bring up the subject of "going to Disney" almost EVERY DAY!

Midway thru our trip, we plan on surprising them yet again when we hop the bus to Port Canaveral for a 3 day trip on the Wonder! We're still trying to work out the details as to how and why we all get on the bus. One thought is to tell them that we just want to "Check out" the port because we are contemplating a Disney Cruise sometime in the future?

All that said - it has been absolute torture for me not to tell them! For our past 2 trips we counted down the days from over 200 days out! I think for me, as well as them too, the anticipation and planning is half the fun! I hope we can successfully pull off the surprise and it's all worth it in the end!

 

[Sibahan]

I like your suggestion... always fun to get everyone ready then when they go "well where we going?" spring it on them

We aren't telling our 8 year old about our post-christmas trip (jan 11th) until Christmas morning - "Santa" is going to put the tickets in a box under the tree.

(kill two birds with one stone, we can buy things for the trip (some new luggage, clothes, stroller, etc) and put it as christmas gifts

I just read that you can have Mickey call on Chirstmas morning if you book a 2009 trip to suprize you kids....try that! Search for it, let me know if you cant find it, i will find it for you!