How/When to surprise the kids with trip

[ariel326]

DH is heading to Orlando on Wednesday 1/16 for work. He travels a lot for work so this is no surprise for DS.
On that Friday I will be waking up DS and telling him that we are going to go on an airplane to visit daddy. (This surprise in itself will good- he has been dying to go on an airplane forever- it will be his first time)

Then when we get to Orlando and DH meets us at the airport. And we will tell him when we get to the hotel.
There will be a package there Mickey Ears, Mickey Snacks, A Disney T-shirt and a few other things. Then its off to the parks!

Its a simple surprise, but for a 3 1/2 year old It will be good. He will explode as it is, so luckily for us we don't have to make it huge to make it a surprise.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

DH is heading to Orlando on Wednesday 1/16 for work. He travels a lot for work so this is no surprise for DS.
On that Friday I will be waking up DS and telling him that we are going to go on an airplane to visit daddy. (This surprise in itself will good- he has been dying to go on an airplane forever- it will be his first time)

Then when we get to Orlando and DH meets us at the airport. And we will tell him when we get to the hotel.
There will be a package there Mickey Ears, Mickey Snacks, A Disney T-shirt and a few other things. Then its off to the parks!

Its a simple surprise, but for a 3 1/2 year old It will be good. He will explode as it is, so luckily for us we don't have to make it huge to make it a surprise.

Love it!

 

[WantToGoNow]

She wasn't upset because we weren't going to the museum. She was upset because she thought we weren't really going to WDW and were just saying we were. You would think by the time we boarded the plane that it was for real but not even that convinced her. Then she realized she was missing her Halloween party and didn't get to say goodbye to her friends and teacher. She cried on and off for the first 3 days. Ds told everyone that would listen about the surprise. After we got home she asked that we never surprise her again.

 

[Gracie09]

Our girls know we are going again after they turn five but they don't know exactly when. We did this last time we went. Then the morning we were leaving we woke them up with its Disney day! For them dressed and off we went!

 

[Canooknic]

We surprised our boys last year with a scavenger hunt after breakfast which ended with them in our bedroom closet finding their Buzz suitcases, plush Mickeys and t-shirts that said 'Im going to Disneyworld today'.

This time our flight is early so we'll be leaving the house around 5am so we are planning to wake them up and tell them that DH car isn't working so we need to drive him to the airport (he travels with work occasionally so they won't question it) We'll do the big reveal once we get to the airport and get their Buzz cases out of the car.

I asked them after the last trip if they would like to help plan our next trip or be surprised and they both said they wanted a surprise again.....I can't wait!!!!

 

[Minnesota!]

We have done 2 surprises and have a third coming up in March.

The first one, I got the kids up at the crack of dawn and had them read a letter that "Mickey sent". It told them that they would be visiting that day, yadda yadda. They didn't believe me so I told them to check in the living room - all our luggage was there, etc. They FLIPPED out.

The second one, I did a treasure hunt. A bunch of clues that led to other clues, etc. The last clue led them to the back our of van which was full of our suitcases, etc. They FLIPPED out.

Then we did 2 non-surprise trips. And both said they MUCH prefer being surprised right before going. So, we vowed to keep this next one a surprise, too. We are still figuring out the surprise, but my birthday is the day we leave, so I am thinking we will get them up at the butt crack of dawn again and DH will give me a present or something. When I open it, it will be the tickets, etc. Not real sure.

I know if I tell them the night before, they will not sleep. So it will have to be that morning.

Anyone have ideas???

 

[Minnesota!]

I've seen countless stories on here about folks telling the kids they were going to ________ so they could surprise them with Disney instead. And in many cases it backfired because the kids got excited about ______.

So, while I still like the idea of a surprise, I will never tell my kids we're going to X when we're really going to Y. Don't want them getting so excited about X that Y ends up a disappointment.


OP, good luck with 10-year-old stepson. Tough spot

Even though my kids would NEVER be disappointed in doing Disney over anything else that they might have gotten in their heads, I am very careful to not promise anything that I cannot deliver.

They know we are going to a hotel, and swimming/bowling/mini golfing over their spring break. They have just come to the conclusion themselves that we are staying at the hotel we go to by Mall of America and doing all those things there. I have not said anything to shatter that illusion I actually will probably use that in my surpise - tell them we have to be up early that day to get to MOA when it opens since bowling lanes go quick....our park and fly is literally next to the hotel we stay at at MOA, so they will not know until we get there, really

 

[dsnymomof4]

We have surprised the kids on 3 different occasions - each time a different way. This past trip I told them 5 days before we left - that was too long. I was trying to keep parts of the trip a secret - like the fact we were going to VB first and that we were going to the dessert party again, but they kept bugging me all week to tell them things. If I did it again, I think I would do the day before again - just enough time to pack what they want. I feel bad for my niece (21)- she's really into Disney but my sister not as much, and she said after our most recent surprise trip that she wishes her mom would surprise her with a trip to Disney. In addition, it's fun for me to actually plan the surprise! I love doing the surprise trips and trying to keep the secrets and trying to buy things and pack without them knowing - it's rewarding when you can pull it off!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

My daughter was very involved in the planning of our first trip. The best part was that the episode of Modern Family the week we were leaving was about a Disneyland vacation. That got her even more excited!

This time we are going in January. I plan to wrap a big box of balloons, clothes, maybe a stuffed animal, and our park tickets for her for Christmas. She'll know about the trip for a full month before it's time to leave.

 

[DizkneeDad]

We are taking our 3 year old daughter in March (her 2nd visit. lucky girl). I was really set on surprising her but we ended up telling her because we decided it would be more fun to build up the anticipation and excitement over time. She is still young so either way, when she gets there she is going to be thrilled just the same.

Every day she asks me how many days left. She wants to check the calender and cross of each day. It's been fun, and sometimes annoying. lol

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We surprised the kids in August 2011. They were 11 and 6. We drive and leave around 4 am. I didn't tell them until the morning we left which was a royal PIA because I had to pack and hide everything. Which meant getting my grandmother to watch them the night before and watch them the day before for a few hours. After they went to bed I finished packing and went to bed. I woke them up at 4 am and told them to get ready because we had to go somewhere. My kids ask tons of questions and when I told them we were waiting for Daddy to come get us (I was divorced but still went on this trip with my EXH because he didn't want to take the kids alone. We get along really well) and we would tell them. They started getting worried and I heard my DS whispering to my DD that maybe something bad happened.

Finally EXH got to my house and we gave them a gift bag with Mickey Ears, tshirt and some toys and games for the ride. I told them we were leaving to WDW RIGHT NOW. They were screaming and jumping and yelling.

We are planning August 2015 and I think I'm going to tell them the day before so they can help pack. I will still make it a nice surprise. Maybe a scavenger hunt or a gift bag again. Or a video. I don't know but I'm going to do it the day before instead of getting them scared thinking something bad was happening. lol

Honestly I don't like to tell them ahead of time because you never know. Anything could happen and a trip could be cancelled. Illness, serious home repair, etc. I guess it's my own fear. Also my kids will ask me 100001837948 questions about the trip if I tell them once it's booked. It will drive me crazy.