It's a secret! How do we tell the kids!

[ChristyJ]

I think I'm as excited to tell them as I am to go on the trip!!

 

[mommy2mrb]

Make them an invitation and "mail" it to them from Mickey Mouse or other favorite character to come visit them at the park.

 

[deanio101]

well, if the airport aint that far away, blind fold them then ride there. and when you get out the car unblind them. and say.. GUESS WHERE WE GOING!
FLORIDA!!!!!!!!

 

[iwannabeminnie]

We are taking our nieces next year for MNSSHP. We are going to tell them that we are going to Indianapolis and that we are going to a Halloween Party (note I did NOT say we were going to a Halloween Party IN Indianapolis). We will be spending the night in a hotel in Indy and taking an early flight out. The hotel shuttle will take us to the airport. My husband will put all our bags on the bus while we tidy up the "overnight" bags and load them in the trunk of the car. We are going to tell them the shuttle is taking us to the mall so we don't have to worry about parking. When we stop at the airport to let the "other" passengers off I will tell the girls we might as well get off here too and they should each grab a suitcase (that I will have their names on). I have almost a whole YEAR to wait! Think I can keep a secret that long?

 

[tjmw2727]

I surprised my dd's with a mom & me trip in early October. The teachers were in on it as were the ice coaches and everyone else, it was great.

I didn't want the "i am going to disney world" going on in school and I wanted them to be able to really focus on the first months of school. We did plan it over a long weekend and teacher ed so as not to miss much.

I said I had an appointment with a client in boston and was unsure of the place so I asked dh if he could drive me and be back in time to get the girls to school. Of course the answer was yes and this wasn't out of the ordinary so they went along fine. My youngest was a bit concerned when we went into the parking garage at Logan and was not buying my dh's "turn around" excuse but by then it didn't matter. We got out of the car and got the suitcases (which they had not noticed) and my dh said, does anyone want to go to disney world. My youngest said yes and started to jump up and down, my 10yo said this is either the best surprise in the entire world or the worst meanest joke and of course it turned out to be the first!!

During the entire trip they kept saying, so that's why you were doing such and such, and saying how great it was to be there when it was unexpected.

I would do it again in a second and will if I can.

TJ

 

[gail228]

I know this will not work for you, but I wanted to tell my story.

My brother, his wife and my 2 nieces, who were 8 and 11 at the time, decided to go in June of 2001. My boyfriend and I go every year, so we worked out our trip to be at the same time, but we never told the kids we would be going too. We drove down separately and used our cell phones to coordinate a meeting time. My boyfriend and I headed to the Magic Kingdom and staked out a hiding place near the central hub. They arrived about 30 minutes later. My brother distracted the kids by making them spread out their map on the ground and decide where to go first. We just walked right up and I pointed to the map and said, "I want to do Pirates first..." They looked up and were so surprised that their favorite aunt and "uncle" were there.

It is one of my favorite "priceless" moments I share with them. The rest of the trip was a blast, as they consider me a Disney expert and great tour guide. They loved never having to plan where to go and what to do next, since I used all my secrets and tips (many from this forum) to make their trip special. We did Cindy's breakfast, Garden Grill Ice Cream Social, Family Magic Tour and Breathless that trip too!

 

[AnnaS]

We surprised our kids also - I think it was in 98 - the year Animal Kingdom opened up. It was hard keeping it from them. They knew they had to pack (two older ones) - we told them we were going to Lancaster, PA for a few days (we do a yearly week-end to PA). The night before we put Animal Kingdom luggage tags on everyone's luggage and told them in the morning. They did not believe us. They were convinced only when we got to the airport - they were shocked and excited.

 

[2tinksmom]

We surprised our DD's with a trip last Christmas. W gave them Pal Mickey's and when they opened them Christmas Day there was a note inside that said we were leaving in a couple of days. A friend who was there over Thanksgiving had picked up the Pal Mickey's for us. Keeping the secret that long was not easy. You can always tune into Disney Radio on the way to the airport and tell them how much you miss being there and then say the heck with it let's just go right now!

 

[flyingenie]

wow- you all amaze me! How much I would have liked to be surprised as a kid going to Disney!! But then again, I was always (and still am) a meticulous planner and not the most spontaneous person- I might even have been sad at the sudden notice because I wouldn't be able to read all the guidebooks and plan an itinerary!

 

[Peter_noPan]

In August we did the same thing. Well it was supposed to be to WDW but because of the hurricane we changed the trip to DL at the last minutes - but anyway.

We just woke them up early to get to the airport and didn't tell them anything.

Our 8 yo DD asked be why we were all wearing Disney clothes. (I don't understand this because we alway do)

Then she saw the toothbrushs getting packed.

They ever saw the luggage, but knew something was up.

We wanted to just drive to the airport, but they really knew it.

I asked them "where should we go?"

They said Disneyworld. I told them there is a hurricane so how about Disneyland?

They never knew what hit them.

One of the great memories of their childhoods I hope.

 

[blestmom]

We leave in 17 days, and I still haven't told the kids (15, 13, 11, 8, 6), although I'm about ready to burst! The only bummer is that DS #2 thinks he's playing in a basketball tournament he is going to have to miss. I feel bad about that. Hopefully the excitement of the trip will help offset the disappointment.

 

[llij]

We break the news to the kids one week from tomorrow! I am ready to burst! I've got a scavenger hunt all set and a puzzle at the end. I'll let you all know how it turns out!

 

[Terry S]

This is what we did: My brother was driving us to the airport, but I told the kids we were driving him to the airport for a business trip. It was really fun once we got to the airport and told the kids to get out of the car to say goodbye to thier Uncle. He hugged them goodbye and got back in the car and drove away. They stood there with their mouths open and asked why he left. We then told them it was us not him that were going someplace and told them we were going to WDW. They had such a wondderful trip and still talk about it over a year later even though we have been back to WDW 3 times since.

 

[disneyagain]

It's still a secret and it's killing me!!!!

We now have a plan in place....

Last week a girldhood friends mom passed away and another girlhood friend, who now lives in Syracuse, came down for the funeral. We grew up across the street from each other, were in each others weddings, but with our kids getting older and involved in many activities, we just don't see each other much any more. My kids know her mostly by name and stories, but they've met her and her kids a couple of times.


Since we fly out of Syracuse, we told the kids we were going to go up to Syracuse and have dinner some night with her and her family....It will probably have to be a week night, since everyone's kids are so busy on the weekends. So we may have to pull them out of school an hour early the day we go. (GOT THAT TAKEN CARE OF).

Now, when to actually tell them....We have a santa hat with mickey mouse ears that my DH and I got back in 1989 from DL. I'm going to put that in my purse. We'll stop at a rest area on the way up to Syracuse, I'll then tell my DD, she'll wear the hat out and tell DS. (He's a need to know 1st kind of kid, this will kill him that little sister knows 1st! hee hee hee!)

My DD and I have this thing going that we need a vacation, lets go to WDW, how about Wednesday? Well Wednesday rolls around and she forgot and I say well it's too late now, how about next Wednesday? Since we leave on a Wednesday, this should be good....

Now lets hope mom and dad can keep their mouths shut!