Ideas to surprise my kids! Please!

[pamluvsdisney]

We are leaving in 4 days. The day after school gets out! Excited! My 3 girls still don't know. We have kept this secret for 6 mos intending to tell them at Easter. Then decided to keep the secret until we wake them early Friday morning.

They are ages 15, 12 and 9. We haven't been to WDW for over 2 years but we are very disney people. We go every couple years. We have never surprised them since they like to help plan and anticipate. But we wanted to do it different.

It will be me, my husband and 3 daughters. I can't have them all packed or they would figure out something, especially the 15 yr old. We will wake them early like 6am and try to leave by 7-8am.

They are in 3 separate rooms and will be wanting to sleep in the 1st day that school is out.

Any ideas on how to wake them and tell them at same time?
They will not want to get out of bed for Mickey waffles and Mickey waffles happen at least monthly around here.

They will be soooo excited to be surprised, esp. the younger two. I want it to be special and memorable.

Be creative! Can you help me?
Thanks. THe budget board is great.
Pam

 

[cmac609]

What a wonderful thing to do? We have always said we wanted to "surprise" my 8 and 6 year old boys too. We have a trip scheduled for July and haven't officially told them yet mainly because I am pregnant and have to get the final okay from the doctor 2 days before we leave so I don't want to get their hopes up if we can't go.

So, this will be a surprise for them. If we get the doctor's okay, we are going to tell them the night before to hurry and go to bed because we are seeing Mickey tomorrow. Is that an option for you? Tell them the night or day before to give you some time to pack them all up, etc.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. They are going to love it. Also lucky that they are almost done school. We have until the 20th of June...

 

[tiferetsix]

I would love to do something like this. But I am always SO EXCITED about going to Disney that I have to tell my kids or I would burst (dh tolerates WDW but doesn't see the appeal so I need the kids to get excited with me). The best I've managed was a surprise trip to Great Wolf Lodge. We packed the car up while the kids slept and told them we were going to a giant flea market (strangely they didn't figure something was up at this point - only thing my dh tolerates less than WDW are Flea Markets). Drove for 2 or so hours. Pulled up the driveway "Look kids I wonder what this place is...lets go look" and even when we walked into the foyer they still had no clue that we were staying there. In fact when my husband went to check us in, we told them he was going to see if they had any vacancies and ds was pointing out it was no good as we didn't have our swimsuits etc.

And whilst I'm pretty sure even my kids would figure it out by the time we hit Florida (actually probably by the SC border) it would be fun to see how long before they twigged.

Especially if you are driving and playing disney songs in the car.

Have a great time, however you tell them

 

[dthogue]

Any way you can get them to sleep together the night before - maybe a family campout in the living room, family room, outside? That way you can wake them all at once.

If not wake them each up and tell them you are having a family meeting in the kitchen, dining room, living room etc. Decorate the room with balloons and signs saying they are going to Disney World. Or you could have them at the breakfast table and give each of them a letter from Mickey telling them about the trip - depends how much time you want to take to tell them.

Maybe you can pack some whille they are sleeping, if not have their bags ready and a detailed packing list for each child of what they need to gather.

You could also not tell them til they get in the car - give them the packing list, tell them they are going on a trip, no questions asked, and tell them on the way.

Lots of ideas - sounds like fun -good luck and please make sure to come back and tell us how you told them!!

 

[3mickeymom]

Disney ballooons and then play some Disney music LOUDLY to rouse them from their sleep. You might have to add a few " Hurry, come look!" s to encourage them but I think that should get them excited.

Just make sure you hand the balloons off to a neighbor if you have a motion sensored alarm system. My neighbor's balloon traveled from room to room with their heat flow and set off their alarm while they were out.

 

[carebee21]

I would just tell them the afternoon/evening before. Pack your bags, we're going to Disney! That will give them time to pack, charge all of their electronics, shower at night if they don't want to in the morning, paint their toenails, etc.

I don't think a 15 year old is going to be pleased to be woken at 6am, when they're planning on sleeping in, and only given an hour or two to eat breakfast, get ready and pack their stuff before they need to leave for a vacation.

 

[TnTWalter]

we surprised my kids one night with a ding dong ditch....have one of you ring the doorbell many times while kids are all sleeping at 6 am [to make sure they wake up]....dump the letter / balloons etc. and then run in through garage to be there with the kids... or even do at dinner time...have a neighbor ding dong ditch....

ours was a trick or treat basket with candy and a letter from mickey inviting them back to WDW for the MNSSHP.

they were shocked...

here's a progression of pics...

they thought Mickey missed them and invited them for the longest time.

My oldest read the letter...you can see the change in her face when it sinks in...

 

[bigfish2215]

We surpised our kids 3 years ago. We told the kids that we were going skiing for the week. DD14 and DS10. We left the day after Turkey Day. During Turkey Day dinner the kids talked and talked about how exicted they were to go skiing. My whole family new we were going to Disney. Only the kids didn't know. The kids knew we were leaving bright and early in the morning. So they were prepared that they couldn't sleep in. We woke the up and got them all ready suitcases on the front porch. My DH went to the garage and called them saying meet us out front. And when they got our front we had a limo pull up. Loaded the car and about half way to O'Hare we gave them a bag and each of them a Disney shirt and I taped an invite telling them Mickey was excited to meet them. Oh my goodness the squeals from the car and the smiles was so worth it!
Surprise them the day of. If you do it the night before no one will sleep. Have fun and I wish we were going back soon!

 

[3boymthr]

As PP suggested I would definitely tell them the night before. I know how hard it can be to get three kids out the door. It usually takes my kids an hour just to get dressed an eat. I can't imagine how long it would take to get out the door if they aren't packed, especially if the clothes they wanted to take were dirty or they were out of their shampoo (gasp, horror ) - I'd say lip gloss, but I have boys

Just a suggestion for surprising them, but maybe tell them you want to celebrate the last day of school by watching a movie after supper. Then have a DVD that says basically congrats you're going to WDW. I sure there are some you tube videos out there that you could compile that say this. Things like the commercials advertising the beauty of WDW, the one of the superbowl MVP saying "I'm going to WDW", videos of other kids finding out the news, etc. Then a little bit at the end of you and DH say, get packed we're going to WDW.

 

[Celidh]

I agree with one of the pp, it might be a good idea to tell them the night before to allow them to prepare at least a little bit. It would save a lot of rushing the morning of with showers etc. I don't know what your girls are like for needing to be dressed and have make up on etc. If they are like my kids, they probably have half their clothing dirty on their floor and wouldn't have enough clean clothes to pack. And also, as someone said, having electronic devices charged and ready.

That said, I would love to wake my kids up in the morning and say get up, we are going. My suggestion for getting them all out of bed at the same time when they are in different rooms is a fire alarm/smoke detector. It's a very rude awakening but unless they are really heavy sleepers, they will jump out of their beds pretty quick I would think. Then you have them all up at the same time. I know, it's kind of mean to scare the daylights out of them first thing in the morning. Then you can tell them the surprise.

Good luck and keep us posted as to what you decide and their reaction.

 

[Monknmom]

Would it scare them if you started to play some Disney music a little loud (loud enough for them to hear, but not upset any neighbors) and just be waiting for them to come and have balloons or notes or something?

 

[Kim♥DISNEY]

In 2009 I surprised my 3 sons with a trip. A month before we left, I told my 2 teenagers. I had to do this since it was during the school year and they needed to get all of their school work in order before we left. My 2 teenage sons were surprised, but also glad I told them. My oldest likes to help plan the restaurants. And they could pack all their own clothes.

However, we kept it a secret from my youngest son. We didn't tell him until we got to the airport. His brothers were about to BURST with anticipation in the car. I really couldn't believe that they didn't tell my youngest son ... but they didn't. (And it made my teenagers feel like "grown-ups" since we "let them in" on the secret.)

If you do a search, there have been some threads with great ideas about surprising their children with a trip. They are great threads to read through.

Have a great trip!

 

[pamluvsdisney]

OP here. Thank you so much for all your ideas. Great to hear and see what you have done.

I have taken care of some concerns like laundry, lists of what to pack, etc.

I am going to stick to telling them in the morning. They won't sleep if I tell them tomorrow night. Thought about telling my 15 yr old months ago since she loves to help plan, but I was afraid she would accidently tell the secret somehow.

We surprised her at WDW gate after driving all night when she was 5 yr old. My other 2 daughters have always wanted to be surprised especially after seeing lots of Disney commercials.

Tenative plan is: Tomorrow night my mom will take them out to dinner to celebrate the last day of school. I think I can pack my younger two without them looking in their dressers after then come home. I have a packing list for my 15 yr old on the morning we leave.

I should have everything in the car while they sleep tomorrow night except morning essentials and my 15 yr olds stuff.

I am thinking we will play a Disney CD to wake them. My husband and I will be dressed Disney and touristy complete with Mickey ears and a Goofy hat and trading pin lanyards. Then we will start hollering time to get up, we're leaving, school's out, let's go to Disney World!! Something like that. Showers will be done night before. I will have Mickey banana bread waffles to eat in the car. Just gather what's on the lists and go.

I think it will work Ok. I hope they are surprised. I really think they are clueless.

Still open to ideas. Thanks. I will post when we get home what their reactions were.

1 Day!!!!!!!!!
Pam

 

[Promomx2]

Great idea! Enjoy! If you sorta know what clothes your 15yr will back, maybe make some excuse about having to clean out her closet or drawers (musty smell, etc.) and then you can get her clothes packed also.

 

[scootch]

I love the ding, dong, ditch idea, but I would tell them now. Let them enjoy the last couple of days anticipating the beginning of summer vacation and sharing with their friends.

 

[jjsmom]

Tell them you have to take a road trip (some place boring/not appealing to them; like a business trip). Tell them they have to ride along (so electronics are charged) no one is available to babysit; not even grandparents. They must get up at 6 the next morning, so please get showered the night before. Ha Ha tell them if they're very good and dont complain you just MAY spring for a roadie motel with a pool, so they'll bring their bathing suits.
I know that time is tight. How about treating the girls to a mani/pedi right after school?

Good luck and Please tell us what happened!

 

[Zhoen]

When our oldest was about 7, we told her we were going to stay on an organic farm called "Brusselsprout World" to learn about sustainable practices. We made a countdown calendar with cabbage-shaped tear-aways... the whole drive she was seeing signs for Disney, and asking couldn't we go there instead...So I agree with the PP suggestion of telling them you're going somewhere boring, just as a device to get them to pack the night before.

Morning of, maybe give the address to the oldest one and ask her to pull the directions up in mapquest for you? (If you have a GPS and she questions you, tell her that the place you're going is soooo far out in the middle of nowhere that there's no satellite signal.) When she pulls it up in mapquest, she'll figure it out. Do the same for the middle one... then tell them they're not allowed to tell the 9 y.o. and see how long they can manage before they spill it!

 

[GatorMama]

I think I'd let your oldest one in on the secret the night before. At 15, you really want to be included in the grown up stuff more than the kid stuff. You would still get to surprise her and you woudn't have to stress as much the next day while she packs. Maybe you can tell her have the other two are in bed so that there is less chance of her spilling the beans? I do like the Disney music blaring in the morning. The only way to make that waking better is the smell of bacon... but I think the smell of bacon is the bestest way in the world to wake up.

 

[livvylivvie]

OH This is Exciting!
You are going to have sooo much fun surprising your girls!! I would try and get their reacations on video! Set up your camera so you can see you and your dh, dressed up and thier reaction to it!! or have one of you holding the camera!
That will be a video you will want to see over and over!!
HAVE FUN!!! And let us know how it goes!!

 

[HM]

When we surprised our teenagers with a trip, they weren't very happy about it. They had "plans" of their own on how they were using the time off school. So, just be aware that your oldest may not be as excited as you'd hope. (Hopefully I'm wrong).

We woke our kids up, told them to pack a bag of things to do in the car and we were going on a trip. I had a video of a WDW special to show them once we were on our way, but I put off showing it to them for hours. They didn't know where we were headed until we hit Florida.