We are taking my two nieces to WDW (ages 14 and 11) for Spring Break. We broke the news to them via their Christmas stockings on Christmas morning (with my brother and sis in law's blessing). Most of their stocking gifts were travel related (rain ponchos, tiny hand sanitizers, new toothbrush, gel pens with little notebook, socks). The last gift was a large envelope with a wrapped Disney gift card taped to it. When they opened the gift card, the youngest one began to suspect something. She looked at me with a glint in her eye. The older one was still clueless. The little one ripped open the envelope to find a copy of our flight information as well as our itinerary for the week (I always create a spreadsheet with ADRs, park hours, fp reservations, etc.). She started hooting and hollering. It took a while for her sister to catch on. Maybe she was just really tired that morning? They were both super excited and have maintained that excitement level since. Christmas day was exactly 99 days until we leave for Florida.
For our kids, 3-4 months is the sweet spot for when to tell them. Enough time that they can still be involved in the planning, but not so long as to make it out of reach. Since Christmas, we have talked about the trip every time I have seen them. They are also visiting Disney web sites regularly to investigate changes since our last visit and suggest things for us to do. We have never "surprised" the kids with a trip the last minute. In our case, that would cause too much stress. For example, the oldest one is in band and they have solo/ensemble competitions right after we return. Even now she is planning practice sessions with others on her team not to include the dates we are gone. And, I see how much they enjoy the planning process and I wouldn't want to take that away from them!
To be fair we had been discussing it for some time beforehand.
