l@@king for deas for telling kids about surprise wdw trip

[shari2shop]

Hi,

We will be leaving next week to drive to WDW. I plan to have everything packed and ready to go when the kids wake up. It is about an 18 hour drive, so we plan to drive about 12 - 13 hours the first day. The kids do not know that we are going to WDW. I want to get them up, go pick up my Mom and tell the kids that we are just taking a day trip. I don't think they will suspect anything since we do little trips all the time. Now, as we are driving along I want to somehow surprise the kids with the fact that we are actually heading to WDW. Then we will call my sister and nephew and see 'if' they can join us (they will be flying in the next day).

So, does anyone have any type of activity, game or idea that my DS (7) and DD (5) can do to discovery that our destination is WDW??


Thanks
:thewave:
Shari

 

[PatricenPete]

Pretend you took a wrong turn.....then say something like, "Well, since we are this far, why not just go to Disney?"

I bet the kids will be cheering in the background!!!!

My mother did that to us once on a trip to Florida. She told us that we were going to Virginia - we "missed" the Virginia exit off 95 (I was about 8, so of course I believed her!) and she said, "Well, we may as well just head to Disney...."

 

[mm lover in Ia]

you could make a puzzle that would reveal it that they put together in the car.

 

[smfritz03]

I would love to hear some ideas on this! We are planning on surprizing the 3 kids w/ a trip in August (our first) and we leave on Monday--so we thought we would tell them the friday or saturday right before we left---but really want a magical way of telling them! SO any suggestions will be great! Is there really such a thing as pixie dust that you can buy??? (im sorry if thats a silly question--but im new to this)

 

[jenr812]

We are surprising the kids too, but haven't decided on exactly how to do it. As far as pixie dust, you could just buy some clear or white colored glitter from michael's. That might work

 

[lovesdumbo]

I would love to hear some ideas on this! We are planning on surprizing the 3 kids w/ a trip in August (our first) and we leave on Monday--so we thought we would tell them the friday or saturday right before we left---but really want a magical way of telling them! SO any suggestions will be great! Is there really such a thing as pixie dust that you can buy??? (im sorry if thats a silly question--but im new to this)

Here's an idea I got on DIS-order a cake from the supermarket-they have great Disney ones and instead of Happy Birthday have them write "We're going to Disney World".

 

[la79al]

we are going the end of june and have not told the kids yet. i have been including them in the countdown to vacation and they are very excited about that. then everyday i give them a little clue about where we are going. for example i told them it takes more than one hour to get there by car and for another clue i gave them little handheld fans. we are probably not telling them until the morning that we actually leave and since we are flying, they will have enough time to get really excited but not enough time to think its never going to come.

 

[bubba73]

Since you are driving, why not stop at the AAA Disney Welcome Store in Ocala? You can use that as your surprise. Once the kids see that giant Mickey out front, they will freak.

 

[MKCP5]

Just remember if it is your 1st trip, the kids have NO IDEA what is in store for them. So they will think--great, but have nothing to compare it too. We drove down the entire eastern seaboard w/ DS - 8 and DD -6 for our first trip, couldn't wait to spring the surprise on them after 6 months of planning and then they were like--oh great that will be fun, can I have a soda? HUGE letdown. I almost cried!! But once we were there DS looked at me and said --oh momma I had no idea it would be so wonderful! So surprise is great, but anticipation is great too. Just a thought!

 

[slk537]

I think a game is a great idea - maybe a version of Disney Bingo??

We surprised DS in May 2004 with a surprise trip to WDW. He had just been there in December and it was not his first trip, so although he was 2 1/2 at the time, he knew what to expect. We told him all week that if he was good, we had a HUGE surprise for him. Then on Friday night, we drove up to the twin cities (1 hour) and told him his surprise was staying in a hotel and using the swimming pool. He was thrilled. Then the next morning, we woke him up at 4:00 am and told him we decided that we were still going to stay in a hotel and go swimming, but instead of Minneapolis/St Paul, we were going to get in an airplane and do it at Disney World. Of course, he was only half awake, but once he woke up he didn't stop talking until we were 45 minutes out of Orlando...he finally fell asleep!

Since then, he's known about the other trips but I dream about surprising him for his birthday someday. We drive up to the cities a lot so he'd never know.

Good luck! If your children have any idea what's in store for him, you have a huge Magical Moment to look forward to when they figure it out.

 

[belle_of_the_ball]

we did this when we found out my aunt was pregnant w/ my cousin

everybody got a card that had a word or to on it. Then we re-ordered ourselves so we ended up w/ "you are getting a new baby cousin from aunt elizabeth on Jan. 14 2002"


you could do the same (if your not in the car) only have "we are going to Disney" just have your DH participate. Make sure to take pictures and then call your sis and be like "hey guys! Aunt_____ and ________ are going to follow us down to disney!"

1 <3 surprises

 

[belle_of_the_ball]

oooo ooo oooo new idea!! new idea!!!

ok i cant even think about why or how i forgot this but...my parent surprised us this year! On easter they had printed out papers w/ pics of all the attractions and our hotel. and put them in our baskets.
-for those who want to surprise at the airport: go to your kids "he look what i found at the gift shop w/ your name on it"(write name on the paper before giving it to them) and give it (the paper) to them
-for the 'at home' surprisers-slide the paper under their door during the night. When they get out of bed and find it be prepared for lots of ?s
-to the person who posted this entire thread-ok so pack the papers on the top thing in your trunk. Have the driver pull over (while the kids are sleeping) and get out the papers.when both are awake say---we stopped by this place and they recomened here for our vacation (hand them papers) now im gonna go call (your sisters name here) and see if she and (nephew's name here) want to come.

ta da i can already see the mouths dropping!

 

[anditoo72]

I love the cake idea!!!! I would love to hear more responses also, we are taking my neice and she won't know until the night before we go (she is sleeping over our house) My kids know we are going sometime, but not when so they will be suprised too, just not as suprised as her.

 

[smfritz03]

A friend gave me the idea to have a "treasure hunt" and there treasure is to be fanny bags filled w/ a camera, fan, etc and a mouse trap--of course they will ask why the mouse trap--and on the back-have another clue--then that will lead them to the Disney brochures,etc. Im not sure yet what to do--but Im very excited about surprizing them--all they talk about is Disney and jump around when a Disney commercial comes on!

 

[lsrollins]

Last time we went to WDW with DD and DS we were visiting family in Tampa area so we drove down to MK very early in morning. We told the kids for several days before that we were going to a flower show a few hours away. DD and DS were 10 & 7 and not happy about being dragged to a flower show. We played it up so good that DS still didn't have a clue when we pulled into the parking lot. He thought we were just cruel but boy the look on his face when we finally broke it to him was well worth it. I'll never forget that look of excitement!