OK, so how do we tell the kids?

[mrsmarilyn]

We've pulled this trip together in the last 4 days, and we leave this saturday. Now...how should we break it to the kids? We're going to try to keep them in the dark as long as possible, I think I can even con them as far as the airport. But then do I hand them a card? just tell them?

They are 7 (almost 8), btw.

 

[pigget74]

I would hold out for as long as possible---maybe you could ask the attendent if the pilot could let your kids know where you are going? Just tell they will have to wait--no questions allowed--lol

 

[MrandMissVacation]

I've always wanted to do this (but it takes some timing/planning)

Kids wake up..
You are up..(already w/ the car packed but they don't know it)

and you say (have video camera ready)

"what do you feel like doing today?"

...wait for obvious answers..

You say "naw, I think well head over to DISNEY WORLD, let's go"

We've tried to keep our upcoming trip (in May) a secret, but I knew I couldn't do it w/ such an observant 9 y/o. However it's a cruise and at the end of the cruise I will surprise them with a few days visiting WDW. I'm trying to figure out a way for it to be announced to them in a special way.

Have fun

 

[missypriss19]

The first year I took my son (over spring break) I did not tell him. He was told that he had to go to bed early that night due to some errands tha we had to run in the am. I had packed our clothes the day before while he was still at school. That morning I woke him after I was completely ready and while he was getting ready I handed him a Disney character gift bag. Told him it was a spring break gift. It was full of small disney toys that he could play on the plane. At the bottom of the bag was a card that I had made from Mickey asking him to come to his house and play. It took him a few moments but his eyes flew open and he became frantic and stated that we had to start packing. I then showed him the packed bags and Dad drove us to the airport. It was a great moment that I will never forget.

 

[KelnRon]

Here's what we are doing:

We leave next month & will drive through the night. We plan on leaving Thursday after the two older kids get home from school. So for their lunch that day I think I will pack it for them & have "clues" in there & a note decorated Disney style.

Guess what? When you get home we are leaving for Disney World!!! Your bags are packed & we will waiting for you when you get home. ETC.

Our local store has Disney food ... Disney apples, fruit snacks etc.

How fun will it be for them to have to sit through the rest of the day knowing they are leaving for Disney in a few short hours!! Pure torture!

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

Here's what we are doing:

We leave next month & will drive through the night. We plan on leaving Thursday after the two older kids get home from school. So for their lunch that day I think I will pack it for them & have "clues" in there & a note decorated Disney style.

Guess what? When you get home we are leaving for Disney World!!! Your bags are packed & we will waiting for you when you get home. ETC.

Our local store has Disney food ... Disney apples, fruit snacks etc.

How fun will it be for them to have to sit through the rest of the day knowing they are leaving for Disney in a few short hours!! Pure torture!

I absolutely love this idea because it gives them time to brag to their friends (which with school aged kids is half the fun lol). And its the same day you leave so they arent going nuts waiting a week lol. Not to mention being totally surprised lol

 

[rbork]

I just booked a last minute trip as well and was going to keep them in the dark as long as possible but decided have the fun was the anticipation.
So....we tell 'em at dinner last night and DS12 first words were, "Oh, I have alot of homework and I'll have to make up certain things..."

WHAT IS WRONG W/ MY CHILDREN!

This is not normal.

 

[3boymthr]

I just booked a last minute trip as well and was going to keep them in the dark as long as possible but decided have the fun was the anticipation.
So....we tell 'em at dinner last night and DS12 first words were, "Oh, I have alot of homework and I'll have to make up certain things..."

WHAT IS WRONG W/ MY CHILDREN!

This is not normal.

Have you seen the youtube video of the kids who are surprised halfway to disney and they're like but we don't want to go to disney we want to go see dave?

Your kids are not that unusual.

That's why we decided to not surprise the kids... My kids are very set on what they are going to do and if we change plans they get upset.

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

LOL thats hilarious... my kids are still so little that they really dont have plans - they will drop anything for the mouse

 

[rbork]

agreed!
I will drop everything for the Mouse!!!!
darn kid's

 

[Lesley Mahler]

I like the idea of the pilot telling them, announcing it over the intercom so the whole plane hears!!! Let us know how you decide to do it!!!!!!!!!

 

[mrsmarilyn]

I like the idea of the pilot telling them, announcing it over the intercom so the whole plane hears!!! Let us know how you decide to do it!!!!!!!!!

Cute, but i don't think I can keep them in the dark that long--we don't travel enough. Just going to the airport will be suspicious, although I am working on a good cover story.

They are only 7 and a half, and are dying to go to Disney again, so i am not worried about them taking it badly. I just want to hold out the suspense as long as I can. And forGET anticipation--they would make us entirely insane between now and Saturday. My kids do way better not knowing things until the day of.

 

[Lesley Mahler]

Ok, let's think of a way to keep them in the dark until you get on the plane. Do you have relatives that live far away? What do you or your husband do for a living? Even if neither of you have traveled before doesn't mean that it will never happen!! Tell them Dad has to go on a business trip, something new at the office or something and you are making a mini-vacation out of it to start the new year!!(and talk about the business trip, making plans on when Dad will be working and when Dad will be spending time with you guys) Just a thought. I am just one for BIG surprises in a BIG way and I really like the idea of the pilot thing, but that's just me being me!! Feel free to ignore me. Lots of people do!!! LOL

 

[mrsmarilyn]

Good ideas if dad was a traditional businessman, but he's a mailman. Not likely he has to go anywhere. And relatives are all in driving distance.

I'm thinking of telling them we need to ship something oversized (we have a home business) that is too big for UPS so we need to take it to the airport to send it. they *might* buy that, they are pretty trusting. Or that someone is coming in to the airport and we have to go pick them up.

 

[ehstrojette]

What about just telling them that you are all going to the airport cause either a friend is coming in to visit you that you haven't seen in a long time or you can just tell them that you guys are just going to watch the planes take off.. just something to do

 

[Trixie15]

Why not just tell them that you are going to take your first airplane trip and leave off the part about where you're actually going? My kids are the same age as yours and they would never even think to ask. You could always tell them that you are going to Florida to see an old family friend (hey, Mickey is a family friend, right?)

Last May, we surprised the kids with a trip. We drove 2 days in the car, all while only telling them we were going to see a friend in Florida. Then, we actually drove past the gates to the Magic Kingdom, lol, and while we passed we pointed out the really cool McDonald's across the street from MK so they would look that way instead.

Then, we stayed the night at the Embassy Suites in Lake Buena Vista, and at breakfast the next morning, we got the camera ready and told them we were going to Disney World and they didn't even believe us. My middle dd started crying because she thought we were teasing her. It was very anticlimactic. But we still enjoyed the surprise and they had a great time.

This time, though, we told them right away and we're having a lot of fun talking about it and making plans together.

Good luck!

 

[Figment1964]

We haven't done a surprise Disney trip but we did one to Hawaii once. One of our boys saw us packing late one night and saw swimsuits. He went and told the other boys what he'd seen. We never said where we were going and they decided themselves that we must be heading to the Oregon Coast (a 90 minute MAX drive from home). We let them draw their own conclusions. They weren't even thrown off when my dad came to take us to the airport. We just said that we were going on an airplane and not one of them realized how silly that would be if we truly were just going to the coast.

We checked in at the Hawaiian Airlines counter, sat at the HA gate and all the while not one of them noticed...it was very funny. It wasn't until we were on the plane and the flight attendant mentioned our flying time to Maui that they even started to get suspicious. They'd asked about how long the flight was going to be and didn't even bat an eye when I told them 5 hours!

They couldn't believe that we were going to Hawaii and we ended up having a great time!

That being said, I would never want to have a trip like that, I enjoy the anticipation too much and would feel like I had missed out on the waiting.

 

[haoxia]

I was going to hold off from my 6-yr DD this time, but couldn't do it. I initially told her that we will go to DW, and she asked if I meant the DW in Author, and how could we go to a person in a show. I thought the mixup was pretty funny.

 

[lnh'smom]

We woke our kids up really early and took them out to the couch and asked them if they wanted to go to church or if they would like to go to Disney World. My DD4 said, I just want to go back to bed!