How to tell the kids?

[bigcrit]

I can't believe we have been able to keep the secret this long. I am curious to know if you were us how would you tell your kids about a suprise B-day trip to Disney. Here is what we are planning.

12/14 - During the day my wife and I will pack the car up for our trip. We are flying out of Philadelphia and plan on using the long-term parking there so we don't have anyone dropping us off and tipping our hand that something is up. We plan on picking the girls up at their bus stop and telling them.... this is where we are stuck.

I was thinking of telling them we are going to their grandmothers house for their birthday. But I'm not sure we can get to Orlando without ruining the suprise. I was alos thinkingg of taking a ride and telling them to put on their hats for our ride and handing them there mouse ears from our last trip. As you can tell I'm not real creative. Any ideas? What would you do?

 

[mmcguire]

You didn't mention their ages, but since you're picking them up at a bus stop, I'll assume they're old enough to read. How about write up some hints on little slips of paper and have them do a little "scavenger hunt" type thing in the car? Of course, your options of hiding places are limited, but you could hide little hints in the magazine pockets (if you have them), under the floor mats, etc. , each one building up to the final surprise. Maybe put their ears in a bag or something up front with you, and the final clue will lead them to this bag. ?

Good luck whatever you do; I'm sure they will be thrilled regardless. Sound like a wonderful surprise!!

 

[tnkrbell]

I would tell them you are going to Florida for either a "family" or "work" trip make up where you are staying ect.. Telling them if they are good you will do something nice for them. Then wait till you drive through the Disney Gates!! AND see what they say! We did this for my daughter she loved the surprise

 

[MareSINY]

What about decorating the car with all kinds of Disney art and maybe a big, "SURPRISE! WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY!" sign. Or something like, "SURPRISE! MICKEY WANTS YOU TO SHARE YOUR BIRTHDAY WITH HIM!" Have both you and your wife waiting wearing Mickey ears and maybe a Disney themed shirt of some type.

The chances of surprising them to the point of making it TO Disney on the plane is slim to none, so I would plan something for when they get off the school bus.

 

[bigcrit]

What terrific ideas! They are 8 years old.

 

[MrsTink04]

Play a game of 20 questions (or however many questions it takes) on the way to the airport. When one of them says, "DISNEY WORLD?!?!?!?!", hand them their mouse ears. Then cover your ears!!!

 

[boswellnakia]

We're going Dec 14 and we haven't told our DS5 and our DD2. Everone is so creative. We had planned on just waking them up and telling them we were going. I am consider adding something else to it.

 

[HarryLeg]

We're leaving on Dec 2nd for a long weekend to enjoy Disney Christmas and have been keeping it a secret from DS (7). We Plan on picking him up from school and driving to the airport and have been discussing the best way to surprise him. Our first flight is a 30 min. hop to Philly where we catch the flight to Orlando. He is a great reader so he'll see Orlando as our destination at the gate in Philly.

 

[MareSINY]

My last trip it was myself, my sister and my two nieces (2 and 4). We drove to Philly the night before and stayed at a hotel and left the next morning for Orlando. The girls knew where we were going, but I still wanted to make it special, so I purchased all kinds of Mickey stuff (I got a lot of it through DisneyDeals.com, they sell a lot of their old park merchandise there at great prices.) I made them little candy wrappers with Disney characters and made them each 2 t-shirts, one just had the Disney gang on it, but the other had Mickey in a jeep type car and in Disney font I wrote "On my way to Mickey Mouse's House" and on the back I had a picture of Tinker Bell and wrote, "Eat my pixie dust!" and used glitter paint to make it look like it had pixie dust on it. I even made them Disney coloring books, all things to keep them busy on the plane. I placed the whole lot of goodies inside Mickey gift bags and left them on top of the armoire. When we woke them in the morning we pointed and told them to look at what Mickey left them. The 4 year old loved it and wore her tshirt, but the two year old wasn't quite awake enoug to enjoy it fully. LOL It was fun to do,

 

[pixiechick]

A couple of years ago, we surprised our then 6 year old with a trip to WDW at Christmas. The day we left( 3 days before Christmas), we told him we wanted him to open a gift early. In a box, we had placed a Mickey ears Santa cap. Then we added a card that said on the front, "For Christmas, we'd like to take you to dinner..." On the inside, it said, "At Chef Mickey's! Hurry and get dressed. We're going to Disney World!" He was shocked, and it was so much fun to sit at Chef Mickey's that night and talk about our "adventure" that day.

Maybe the same thing with their Mickey ears and a note about a surprise birthday dinner. I think you should tell them on the way to the airport. They're going to know something is up, but will probably be confused or unsure. Take advantage of the moment of shock and the look of complete surprise on their faces!
Have a great trip! Ths is a memory you will all cherish. And don't forget to get their birthday pins when you get to Disney. I wore one proudly on my 40th!

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

The two times I have tried a surprise trip have resulted in either the kids guessing before we get there, or everyone being asleep upon arrival, being too groggy to appreciate it. I give up! But I did want to wish the OP good luck, I know that if it works as a surprise it will be magical!!

 

[goofyernmost]

I guess I understand the surprise aspect of it but I don't understand why it is necessary. I think that I just never was into surprises. I never liked, even as a child, to be caught slack jawed and unaware.

When we took our first trip to WDW, my girls were 6 and 8 years old. We spent many months planning together, looking at Disney promotional stuff, planning what to buy, what to see and in the process made them aware that there was no big money tree out back and that if it was to be fun for all, then they had to be a part of it, budget and all.

Now some of you are saying, he must have ruined his kids childhood and trip but I know, because they have told me, that it was the happiest time of their lives. They were included and felt that their opinion counted (it did). They had time to dream about the fun they were about to have, to share it with their friends and really be submerged in the whole experience. That, of course, is my opinion, for others it is different.

My point is, as soon as you meet them, throw out some easy questions leading them into what is about to happen. The sooner the better. Over half the fun is the excitement of anticipation.

Have a great trip!

 

[coinkc]

I surprised my daughter with a trip for her 8th birthday. I went to the Disney store and got the biggest box I could (with Princesses on it of course). We were actually leaving 2 days before her real birthday so we could be there on her special day. I told her I had just wrapped her present and was so excited for her to open it did she want to open it early. Of course she said yes! I filled the box with tissue and at the very bottom was a card from Mickey and the gang saying "We just can't wait to see you again. Now go get dressed...the plane leaves in an hour! Happy Birthday!"

It was one of the best memories I have seeing her face. (Oh and I should mention that we had a 6:00 AM flight so I woke her up at 4:30 in the morning to do all this!)

 

[Cinderella94]

Play a game of 20 questions (or however many questions it takes) on the way to the airport. When one of them says, "DISNEY WORLD?!?!?!?!", hand them their mouse ears. Then cover your ears!!!

I like that idea!

 

[bigcrit]

Thanks to all of you. I have decided to have an invitation sent to them to a special B-day party. When they get home from school. I will tell them they received some mail. They will open it and it will be from Mickey/Minnie or maybe Cinderella inviting them to their B-day party in WDW. I'm not sure how I am going to word it though. Maybe something like..........

Please join Cinderella......

Mickey and Minnie cordially invite........

Once again I am in a creative slump. Any thoughts?

 

[Cinderella94]

Thanks to all of you. I have decided to have an invitation sent to them to a special B-day party. When they get home from school. I will tell them they received some mail. They will open it and it will be from Mickey/Minnie or maybe Cinderella inviting them to their B-day party in WDW. I'm not sure how I am going to word it though. Maybe something like..........

Please join Cinderella......

Mickey and Minnie cordially invite........

Once again I am in a creative slump. Any thoughts?

Awesome idea! Maybe say something like...

"Please join Mickey, Minnie, and all of their friends to celebrate your 9th birthday party in the one and only Walt Disney World!!!!!!"

Maybe you could leave a few Disney dollars in each invitation?

I dont know how horrible that sounded, but maybe something along those lines? Good luck!

 

[FlowersChild]

O reading that post has got me so very excited and happy. I remember when I was like a little child ( I am still a child but since I am 6'3 I am not little anymore ) my parents said they where taking me for a ride and then I found myself in the DisneyWorld area and getting ready to go to the Magic Kingdom I was so surprised and happy.

Well So they are 8 years old right ? I was like 7 or 8 and I did not figure it out until I was at the park ( my parent's kept the radio down, because at that time there was this guy on the radio that talked about Disney that I liked but it would have given the surprise away sooner ) Maybe you could try that ?

 

[FlowersChild]

I surprised my daughter with a trip for her 8th birthday. I went to the Disney store and got the biggest box I could (with Princesses on it of course). We were actually leaving 2 days before her real birthday so we could be there on her special day. I told her I had just wrapped her present and was so excited for her to open it did she want to open it early. Of course she said yes! I filled the box with tissue and at the very bottom was a card from Mickey and the gang saying "We just can't wait to see you again. Now go get dressed...the plane leaves in an hour! Happy Birthday!"

It was one of the best memories I have seeing her face. (Oh and I should mention that we had a 6:00 AM flight so I woke her up at 4:30 in the morning to do all this!)

I really enjoyed reading this post

(Oh and I should mention that we had a 6:00 AM flight so I woke her up at 4:30 in the morning to do all this!)!)

Shame Shame Shame lol , but I have to admit I like that idea also.

 

[padams]

A couple of years ago, DH and I decided to surprise DSs (then 6 and 8yo) and not tell them we were going on the Disney cruise and then spending a couple of days at WDW after the cruise. On the day of departure, we picked them up from school, didn't say anything about where we were going, and drove to the airport. As we parked in the airport parking lot, I handed them new Disney shirts that had Mickey skiing on them and told them to change out of their school uniform shirts. DSs get very excited. DH and I refuse to say anything about where we are going. DSs quit asking questions and play along with mom and dad's surprise.

When we get to the gate and the sign says Orlando, both boys look terribly disappointed. They both say "We aren't going skiing?" They thought the skiing Mickey shirts meant that we were going skiing, not to WDW (where we had been previously) and the Disney cruise. While they had lots of fun on the cruise and at WDW, they were never quite as excited about the cruise/WDW as they were at the prospect of skiing. Even after a couple of days spent on the ship, younger DS was still saying "So, we're not going skiing?"

I don't think we'll do a surprise trip again (except, of course, if it's a ski trip ).

I hope OP's plan works better than ours did.

 

[Wendy1953]

You are cordially invited to celebrate your Birthday, Princess __________(childs name) at the Happiest Celebration on Earth...we packed your bags, bought your tickets, and your plane awaits you! Hope this is the most Magical Birthday yet!

and, don't forget to get their birthday pin(s)...you can actually get one from each park if you want to!

Have a blast! Make sure you let us all know how it went when you get back!