Keeping the trip a secret . . .

[MinnieCandi]

Our two DD's have no idea about our upcoming November trip! We have been planning the suprise since February! Its been really hard! We are planning on having them get up for school like normal, and telling them right before we leave for the airport! I'm so excited to tell them, we got them disney journals, pens, travel games, etc. and put them all in a Disney bag to help with the suprise ! Only 50 more days!!!

 

[Daydreamer64]

Our boys asked to be surprised again! They know they are going to WDW some time before spring break during "a" school holiday - However, they do not know it's Dec. 30 - Jan. 7, 2008.

They are going to be blown away because they have never flown and have asked for years- it costs too much for us but this time we are not having many TS meals ( 4 people at $25.00 each plus tip = lots of $- enough to get tickets! ) and DH just sold a car so we bought the airline tickets

- the funny part is that we live 15 min.s from Atl/Hartsfield airport and it's not unusual to rent cars from the airport for us so........ they will think we are going to pick up the rental car! I can't wait until I can see their faces when they realise they are flying! We have to be up at
2:30am to be at the airport by 4am we are flying at a VERY busy time and need 3 hours to get through security and so on- ATL is a BIG airport and they are always over run-

I can't wait- it hard to keep quiet!

 

[redkelley]

We have kept the secret since June and we are driving! As you can see, we leave Friday night. We should arrive at Disney as the sun comes up on Saturday. The girls think that we are going to Alabama to visit their aunt & uncle who live on the Gulf Coast, so they are expecting a LONG car ride (driving from NC).

The kids have been told we are going to Disney NEXT year and we have been making plans. Their aunt and uncle have called several times to tell them they can't wait to see them and to describe all the plans they have made for them.

This is DD11 2nd trip to Disney (1st in 7 YEARS) and DD8 1st trip (I know, we are bad parents.)

I CANNOT WAIT to see the expression on their faces when they realize where we are. I have not regretted for a single moment keeping this secret!

Joi

 

[pilferk]

Nice. We love it there.

Thanks to all for the responses. It sounds like surprise is the way to go. I'm not sure how far many of you drive to Orlando with the surprise still bottled up, but the 24 hour ride from New Enlgand would be more of a stress adventure.

I think they will probably guess when we get to the airplane, as we don't fly as a family very often - the last time was to DW a few years back.

I suspect we're pretty close to you. We're in NW Connecticut...so it's a 24 hour drive for me too.

We'll tell them when setting out, though, not when we arrive.

 

[Sora777]

DBF and I are keeping our Oct trip a secret from everyone around us. We are tired of hearing "You are going to Disney AGAIN!?!?!?!?!" so we decided to sneak there. We are leaving on a saturday and coming back late monday night!

 

[YayDisney!]

We have planned our first surprise trip. I hope we do not blow it. I can keep a secret just as well as the next guy unless it is a realy good one...like Disney! We are leaving on Dec. 5, the date of Pirates #3 release on DVD. We have made up a "Golden Ticket" similar to the one from Willie Wonka. It states that you have one an all expense trip for three,(the size of our family) and then we have added some cute restrictions in small print at the bottom.

We are planning to tell our DD(8) that she and her mother are taking me to the airport after school for a business trip. We will let her open her new movie with the certificate hidden inside and then on the back it tells her that we are actually on our way to the aiport to begin our trip and that it is actually a trip that her mother and I have planned.

 

[telaed]

Surprising your kids is definitely the way to go. My sisters and I surprised my niece for her 8th birthday and it was so much fun. We have visited the parks a year before and it was all she could talk about after the trip. So I planned a girls vacation to celebrate her birthday. Instead of telling her, we got her excited by doing little things. I created a package that included beautiful pictures of Disney sites and an "official" letter of invitation from Cinderella inviting her to a birthday lunch at the castle. I put these things into an envelope and addressed them to my niece and she received it in the mail (didn't actually mail it) about a week before the trip. She was dying to go. She carried the pictures and the letter around with her all that week. The night before the trip, we presented her with a plane ticket and a $200 gift card and told her that we were leaving the following day. It was priceless. It is to date my favorite Disney trip. So definitely, if you are going to surprise your kids make the wait worth it!

 

[deej696]

You can always try what my dad did to me when I was a kid. He told me we were going on vacation, to which I'm sure my response was "All right! Disney!" Instead of lying and saying no, he told me we were going to Reedy Creek. I remember it worked, because I didnt ask any more questions about what we were doing in Reedy Creek, or where this "city" was....

Needless to say I was suprised when we got off the Turnpike onto I-4 West!

 

[magical4us4]

OP, I love this idea. We kept the secret from our kids until the last night....their grandfather gave it away!!!! He asked them if they were excited for their trip in the morning. My kids had no idea what he was talking about.

Well, I then had to explain to them what was going on. My daughter was hysterical with happiness, which was priceless, and my son was jumping for joy.

Either way, it was a surprise for the two of them.

So if you wait to tell them or not....it will be a wonderful surprise regardless.

Happy Planning!

 

[jojo14]

After reading the DIS boards I had so wished I had kept this last trip a secret from my 7 year old, even though the planning and counting down was fun. I booked bounceback for next Sept and am going to my best to keep it a secret. I think I can even get her to the airport, although I'm worried about going through customs, cause they always ask if she's excited to see Mickey etc. She really paid no attention to them announcing our flights, so I'm thinking I can carry it quite far. IF I manage to keep my mouth shut!!! Reading all your tips help!

 

[DisneyYahoo]

We have been keeping the secret as well. We leave on Thurs afternoon to the airport and I don't plan to tell them until they get home from school that day. I have a scavenger hunt ready to be set up around the house. I'll have them do a search that will lead them to a note telling them where we are on our way too. I imagine they will be very confused as I have told them we were planning a trip for 2009. I've been able to get lots of input from them over the last 6 months that way.

I do have to say that I have had to almost keep the secret from myself as I have a tendency to want to talk about the trip over and over. I am so afraid I will spill the beans...so I have just incorporated my disney research into my daily schedule and so now it feels like no biggie...I can sleep at night. Now come Thurs when we are off to the airport all bets are off. I will be bouncing off the walls just like the kids.

 

[duffy]

We're going in early Feb., and our 12-year old thinks we're not going until next September. I plan to tell her only a few weeks before we go, because she'll miss school, and I want her to do her school work ahead. I plan to buy her some Disney-related stuff for Christmas, such as pins, etc. I'm sure she'll think it's silly, "buying them so early!" But she'll be trading them only 6 weeks after she gets them!