Need Help Surprising the kids!

[Osukirk]

We are going on the Merrytime Cruise with our 5 and 7 yo from 12/22-12/26. they don't know yet. I am not taking gifts from Santa and think that we will tell them that Santa will leave the gifts under the tree and we will open them when we return. However, I am not sure how or when to tell them about the trip. I would love to hear ideas of what you did. thanks!

 

[squirk]

One year, we stopped at WDW for a week beforehand. We told the kids it was just a WDW trip, with no mention of the cruise. The day we left the resort, they thought we were just heading home and didn't notice we were driving to Port Canaveral.

We stopped at our usual Cocoa Beach breakfast place, and the kids still didn't get it. We finally spilled the beans about an hour before we headed to the port.

 

[PoopDeckPappy]

We always surprise them with the character phone call the morning of the sailing. Once we flew to Miami the day before and told them that morning we were going to Florida and we'd go to the beach etc. They were excited. The next morning, at the hotel, we got the call on my cell phone and they were going crazy screaming jumping around. Typically we sail out of NY and get "the call" a few hours before we leave. This past October we got rerouted from Bahamas/FL to Canada. So the surprise worked out great. They were just excited just to go, didn't know it got rerouted. One time we simply drove to the port and my daughter was like "that's a big boat." I said want to go on? She said ok and off we went. She was only about 2.5-3 so didn't really get what was going on as she does now that she's older.
I think waiting until the morning you leave of is the best. They find out, have time to pack favorite stuffed animal, etc., still so excited, no let down that it's not until next week/month/year, and off you go!

 

[o&smom]

A couple of years ago we surprised our kids Christmas morning with what they thought was a trip to WDW. They opened a box with balloons, Christmas Mickey and Minnie and our magic bands. Our oldest 11 at the time had seen the commercials with the "new" magic bands, so I thought that would be the giveaway. It all went right over their heads! Our daughter 4 at the time was playing with the balloons, and our son was handing out everyone's magic bands. "One for you, and one for you..." So much for an exciting video worthy of youtube! We left later that day and spent the next day enjoying Epcot. The following morning as we were all enjoying breakfast in bed the phone rang and it was Mickey and Minnie letting them know we were going on a cruise that day. Another slow, stunned reaction, but there was jumping on the bed! We enjoyed a 7 day New Year's cruise on the Fantasy. Now it was time to return home, or so our kids thought. We told our driver that we were surprising our kids with going back to WDW and to please just act like we were going to the airport. The gig was finally up when the guard at NOFQ welcomed us to WDW. Needless to say, they were very excited and happy to have two more days of fun before returning home!

 

[oklamomof4boys]

About 15 years ago we surprised our boys with a trip to Disneyland. We were in the car and they thought we were on our way to a family reunion. Partway into the drive we put a tape in the tape player that we had made that interrupted the radio they were listening to with a "special news bulletin" announcing that the Davis family was going to Disneyland. My youngest, who was 4, was so confused and for the next 8 hours he kept saying, "I thought we were going to Kansas!"

 

[gatzsd]

We leave Friday and are surprising ours that morning. Our elf on a shelf will be delivering a letter with clues as to where we are going. So if you do the elf thing you could use him

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I have watched several videos of parents surprising kids with Disney Cruises or Walt Disney World vacations. Some of my favorites have included doing a Wheel of Fortune style until someone guesses it with a saying like "We are going on a Disney Cruise!" Others have included scavenger hunts around the house or even the car with clues. There was also one where the parents made a video. I hope this helps.

 

[cheapster316]

I wanted to dress up like a pirate (this will be 2nd Disney cruise) ring the bell and hand them a message in a bottle.
Dh agreed to help but reminded me of all my grand reveals and how they never work out.
So Xmas eve we will wrap the magic bands add Nemo shirts (pre cruise AOA Nemo room) and then some dcl postcards left over from the last cruise with a birnbaum kids guide to Disney for 2017

 

[PurplePencil]

Disney also has a letter, you could give it to them with like a christmas card.
You go onto the slide that Surprise them with a Disney Cruise and click the link

 

[o&smom]

Disney also has a letter, you could give it to them with like a christmas card.
You go onto the slide that Surprise them with a Disney Cruise and click the link

Sorry, confused. Where do you get it?

 

[mevelandry]

We are going on the Merrytime Cruise with our 5 and 7 yo from 12/22-12/26. they don't know yet. I am not taking gifts from Santa and think that we will tell them that Santa will leave the gifts under the tree and we will open them when we return. However, I am not sure how or when to tell them about the trip. I would love to hear ideas of what you did. thanks!

1) Please adopt me.

2) I don't have kids but if I had kids, here's what I would do: You could show them a letter from Santa that says that he'll come to deliver their gifts earlier this year (because of his exceptionally very busy schedule). Then, on December 22 early morning, the "christmas gifts" could be their luggage for the trip... with the DCL tags on (wrapped).

 

[PurplePencil]

Sorry, confused. Where do you get it?

On the Disney Cruise Line Homepage, there are arrows on the side of the screen, click them until you reach
Give a Holiday Gift They'll Never Forget
Surprise Them With a Disney Cruise
Then on the bottom, there is
Deliver Your Gift in Disney Style
When you click read more, there is a link to the message card

 

[FigmentSpark]

Someone on here (or maybe another site) talked about hiring a princess look-a-like to come to their home and give them an invitation to visit them at their castle. You could do a variant on that, much like your pirate idea. If you could get someone else to dress up, you could all be home for the 'visit'. The pirate could present them with a letter announcing that your family has been pressed into the pirate league and they are to report for their duty at the Disney ship. Outline some required activities, like test the Aquaduck and search the ship for treasure, etc.

 

[Foxey T]

We are going on the Merrytime Cruise with our 5 and 7 yo from 12/22-12/26. they don't know yet. I am not taking gifts from Santa and think that we will tell them that Santa will leave the gifts under the tree and we will open them when we return. However, I am not sure how or when to tell them about the trip. I would love to hear ideas of what you did. thanks!

I am having the exact same problem! Can't decide what to do. Have you come up with anything?

 

[FigmentSpark]

Not sure if it helps, but I found a cute background/frame that you could use to make an invitation to a Christmas cruise. It's halfway down the following site:

http://hdwallpaperbackgrounds.net/christmas-frames-wallpapers/

It looks like this, but you'll want to get it from their site for a good copy:

 

[Cackyschmackers]

On the Disney Cruise Line Homepage, there are arrows on the side of the screen, click them until you reach
Give a Holiday Gift They'll Never Forget
Surprise Them With a Disney Cruise
Then on the bottom, there is
Deliver Your Gift in Disney Style
When you click read more, there is a link to the message card

Seriously! We've given THREE cruises to our kids as Christmas gifts, and I've never seen this link! Thank you!! I also could not find it at all when I looked on the website so thank you also for pasting here!! Going to use it this Christmas since we've done a lot of creative surprises so we'll work this in , too!

 

[PurplePencil]

Seriously! We've given THREE cruises to our kids as Christmas gifts, and I've never seen this link! Thank you!! I also could not find it at all when I looked on the website so thank you also for pasting here!! Going to use it this Christmas since we've done a lot of creative surprises so we'll work this in , too!

np glad to be of help. Hope everybody enjoys their cruises!

 

[WDWLODGE]

I am considering surprising our kids as we pull up to Port Canaveral. I have seen youtube videos of this and their reactions are great. We have 2 nights at Disney's Hilton Head & 2 nights at Disney's Vero Beach before the cruise, so I am thinking we could just tell them we are headed to Cocoa Beach next.

 

[Osukirk]

Not sure if it helps, but I found a cute background/frame that you could use to make an invitation to a Christmas cruise. It's halfway down the following site:

http://hdwallpaperbackgrounds.net/christmas-frames-wallpapers/

It looks like this, but you'll want to get it from their site for a good copy:
View attachment 209870

that is so cute!

 

[Osukirk]

I am having the exact same problem! Can't decide what to do. Have you come up with anything?

we finally did it this weekend! I did a scavenger hunt - nothing elaborate and the second-to-final clue sent them to a room where i had a minnie mouse Mrs. Claus holding the final clue with a large fold-out countdown calendar that I made. I'm not too crafty so I just used bulletin board materails from an education store If I can figure out how to post pics, I will. Goodluck with your reveal!