Ideas on how to surprise kids

[haley's mom]

So we are taking 1st trip to DL in October. My step-son11 does not live with us so we had to ask permission to take him on vacation. Our family has done WDW every year since 2004. So SS11 and DD7 think we are going to WDW. We are flying from Pittsburgh so I am looking for a way to surprise kids before leaving for the airport.

I thought about buying DL t-shirts and saying we forgot to pack something. The kids would then know. Disneystore.com does not have correct sizes.

Looking for any cool ideas

 

[sahbushka]

What about using the Indiana Jones codes and creating a coded message...give them that and the decoder key and have them figure it out! Have fun no matter what you decide...Or you could make a cd with all music from disneyland!

Enjoy!

 

[Dopey's MIL]

How soon before the trip do you want them to know? You could have someone visiting the park send them a postcard from Mickey Mouse or their favorite character.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

What about using the Indiana Jones codes and creating a coded message...give them that and the decoder key and have them figure it out! Have fun no matter what you decide...Or you could make a cd with all music from disneyland!

Enjoy!

Hey...that's what we did! But Indy is DS's favorite attraction, so it was fitting.

For a while, there was a video that you could personalize for free with somebody's name. We used that as part of our revelation, too. I'll see if I can find the link...

 

[FlameGirl]

If it were me, I might be inclined to not say anything at all...see if the older kid picks up on the fact that you're boarding a flight to California instead of Florida. If not, how funny would that be?

We've surprised my daughter (now 10) with two trips to DL in the past...both times, her reaction left something to be desired. Now we just tell her when we start planning a trip.

I hope you get the reaction you were hoping for.

 

[Ross3half]

We've surprised my daughter (now 10) with two trips to DL in the past...both times, her reaction left something to be desired. Now we just tell her when we start planning a trip.

I hope you get the reaction you were hoping for.

Yes, I agree! We've been several times and traveled quite a bit and the one time we tried to surprise the kids with a spur of the moment trip to DL, we got a terrible reaction. DD4 started crying because our little traveler had suddenly and mysteriously developed a fear of flying that day, and DD6 just quizzed us with a lot of questions making sure we had everything taken care of, like the dog being fed, her school work, making sure it was okay with her teacher, telling Grandma and Grandpa where we'd be, etc. Not quite the "fun" reaction we'd hoped for. Once we got there, all was good, but the surprise was sure a let down for us after planning it all so sneaky! I think for them part of the fun is planning the trip with us as we countdown the days to the big trip. All kids are different though and maybe ours were just too young for the surprise element. Good luck coming up with a fun plan!

 

[Amommy21]

Every video I have seen from my friends that suprised their kids on the day they were leaving the kids weren't even phased, too shocked, tired, etc. to even be excited. I prefer to let DS know a bit ahead so the excitement can build and he can be part of the planning.

This past week when we decided to go back for one more more day while DH was working I had everything packed and ready to go and first thing in the morning said, "How about we go to Disneyland today? " I expected him to jump and shout hurray! Instead he said, "Whatever and walked outside to play" I had to chase him down and apparently he didn't really believe, though I was teasing and when I explained, "We have annual passes ya know and we might as well take advantage of them let's get our things together and get going" he still only walked away muttering something about having his toys set up outside? BY the time I really convinced him the suprise was totally wore off and though he ended up getting excited on the drive to DL it wasn't anything worth remembering.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I've surprised my dd twice, and both times I told her when I woke her up before the crack of dawn, neither time did she believe me until we were actually in the car. Then she got excited. Now she tells me all the time that she wants to be surprised again, but doesn't want me to tell her until we get there... so that is the plan for October... Although at 6 years old I think she'll figure it out, grandma lives in Phoenix though--which is about the same length of flight, so she might think we are going there...

 

[DizNee Luver]

Last year we did a scavenger hunt the day before we were leaving for our trip. You could have something with DL on it as the end "treasure". It was truly fun to watch the kids reaction when they realized we were going the next morning!!!

Good luck & have planning!!

 

[MG3G]

We are surprising our guys next month.
I hated at first that they couldn't help us plan because that is a huge part of the excitment. We have been as a family once before so reliving those memories is fun! We finally figured out how to get around that by telling our boys that we want to go but can't afford it and we need to start saving money. They think it will take us about a year, but are great kids and are frantically saving!!! (That money will be their spending money, they talk about DLR several times a day now.) We told the boys that we were going away without them (as if) and they were mad at us for spending money so we told them that we won a trip to somewhere else. (They are young enough 6, 7, baby - that we didn't need a huge cover story.) I hate to lie but I needed something to cover up getting a house-sitter etc. My boys think they are going to their grandparents who live near us. They even think we are leaving the breast fed baby My parents are going to "forget" to pick the kids up from the airport - so we will "see" if we can get tickets to bring them on our trip. We probably won't tell them about DLR until after we arrive at the hotel. The even funnier thing is the even did GAD and had NO idea it was "for" something they just thought it was fun to help out!

But I know my kids and I am sure they will take the surprise well!

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I'm still thinking about how to surprise DS5 and DS6 next year for our 2 week trip down to DL. I've told them we are going in Aug/11, they have no clue that we are going in Feb/11. All I have to tell the school is that we are heading to the Gulf Islands for 2 weeks and that's good enough for the school. I'm really annoying them right now, as I've got a solo trip planned to DL for April/11 and have been telling them that I get to go before they do. I'm still trying to figure it out how to let them know the day of. I've got stashed away a couple of nice stuffed Mickeys, and maybe they will figure it out when we head to the border not the ferry terminal. I'm thinking to have some gift bags made up with things Disney related and give them once we get to the border. My older DS is a worrier, and think it will be easier for him if we don't tell him till the last minute.

 

[LavenderPeach]

The stories of kids having a less-than-enthusiastic response to the "big surprise" reminds me of this youtube video that someone posted on here awhile back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MIBxhh_R_w

 

[deejdigsdis]

I was looking for ideas for how to surprise my 3 boys with their first DL trip last fall. I combined a few of the ideas posted and came up with a treasure hunt. I just couldn't pull off the "Surprise ! We're going right now!" kind of thing. I remember in all my years of going to DL as a kid, my parents surprised us once. Actually it was a surprise for them as well. We were on our way home from camping on the Oregon Coast and my dad decided right then to just keep on driving to Disneyland. As fun as it was, I always preferred the trips that we had months to look forward to. The planning... the counting down the days...more my thing. So, that's why I told my kids in advance -- about 6 weeks before we left. Their excitement built up over the weeks and we talked about it every day.

They woke up to this sign. They thought we were just celebrating "Talk Like A Pirate Day."

After school we had our treasure hunt. I put the clues on these pirate ornaments and sent them all around the neighborhood.

The last clue led them to a treasure map, which led them to a beachy area.

They dug and dug until they found 3 little treasure chests that I had buried.

There were puzzle pieces in each chest. They put the puzzle together and saw this:

My oldest (9 at the time) read it out loud. He read slower and slower as he was thinking he might have figured it out. A priceless moment when they caught on! It was great fun. (It was the hitchhiking ghosts that clued them in...too bad the hitchhiking ghosts weren't there when we went.) Anyway, there was also an envelope "from Mickey" and a "See Ya Real Soon" message with strips of Mickey Mouse wrapping paper. They made a countdown chain with the wrapping paper strips.

So that's what we did. I know it doesn't quite fit with your plan, OP, but maybe it will spark an idea for someone else. Have fun!

 

[clairabell29]

I'm doing a suprise trip with my DS4 on Sat. I'm going back and forth between 3 ideas the first one is:

After his basketball game we drive to the airport and tell him we're picking up his grandma (who arrives in 1.5 weeks) When we get there I tell him "We're about a week early to pick up grandma. Would you like to go to Disneyland with just mommy instead?" At that point I take out our matching mickey ears.

The second option is:
I decorate the car with Hidden Mickeys and leave a note in his car seat that says "I can't wat to see you tonight! Love Mickey!" And have his Ears right next to it. That way when he gets out of his basketball game and gets to the car he finds Mickey has invited him to Disneyland! This way he won't nap on the way to the airport and will definately sleep on the plane!

The third one is:
We drive to the airport and tell him mommy and he have to fly to pick up grandma, so that way he doesn't know we're going to Disneyland until after he starts seeing the signs near the hotel.

I am however leaning towards the first one. Hope these ideas help!

 

[FlameGirl]

The stories of kids having a less-than-enthusiastic response to the "big surprise" reminds me of this youtube video that someone posted on here awhile back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MIBxhh_R_w

That's pretty funny, and kind of sad.

For anyone planning to surprise their kids with a trip to Disney, I'd highly suggest not lying to them (as innocent as it may seem) about where you're headed, for this exact reason. The kids in the video were tired from driving all night and lots of times, kids don't process things like we'd hope them to when they're tired or taken off guard.

I do feel bad for the parents but I had to laugh...this is precisely why we won't surprise my daughter with a trip from now on. While she didn't cry or get upset, it took a while (days) for her to even seem remotely excited.

I LOVE the scavenger hunt ideas posted...I think that's probably a much safer method of revealing the big surprise than a bait-and-switch story.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

deejdigsdis - that is so cute and fun, love what you did!

 

[LavenderPeach]

That's pretty funny, and kind of sad.

For anyone planning to surprise their kids with a trip to Disney, I'd highly suggest not lying to them (as innocent as it may seem) about where you're headed, for this exact reason. The kids in the video were tired from driving all night and lots of times, kids don't process things like we'd hope them to when they're tired or taken off guard.

I do feel bad for the parents but I had to laugh...this is precisely why we won't surprise my daughter with a trip from now on. While she didn't cry or get upset, it took a while (days) for her to even seem remotely excited.

I LOVE the scavenger hunt ideas posted...I think that's probably a much safer method of revealing the big surprise than a bait-and-switch story.

I had to laugh too but i felt bad for the mom who obviously went to a lot of trouble to plan her big surprise.

I know my DS would be upset if we told him one thing and then did something else but he isn't your typical kid and changes can sometimes throw him off. He likes to stick to the plan, whatever that may be, and if you try to change it then there might be trouble. I think it just depends on each kid's personality. I'm sure some kids would love to be surprised in that way while others....not so much.

I also really like the treasure hunt idea. That's a great way to make it a surprise but still be able to include the kids in the planning.

 

[lostatdisney]

I saw on the Disney Store website that they have tshirts that say, "I'm Going to Disneyland." That would be a very cute way to tell your kids!

 

[Boo Bear]

I like the idea of a scavenger hunt! I think it would be neat to have the kids work on a scavenger hunt that begins in the family room or whichever room has a tv and dvd player. Then while they're outside looking for the next clue have someone start the free Disneyland information DVD (of course you need to request to have one sent to you, which is free and you can order it on the disneyland website) and maybe some Disney items like a shirt and plush, or a lanyard with a few starter Disneyland pins. Kids love collecting things and so the pins would be cool with maybe a plush of their favorite character and a shirt or hat. The gifts could be sitting on the couch and the last clue leads them into the family room to watch the DVD to learn about how magical Disneyland is and how there are differences between WDW and Disneyland.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Not very creative, I realize but they will only be 4 and 7 at the time of our next trip.

I think we are just going to wake them up at 5 one morning and say "hey, want to go to DL today?" So simple, but I think it will really be a shock. The car will be all packed and ready to go.