Please help with creative ideas to SURPRISE kids w/ WDW vacation!!

[KutztownPA]

We have an upcoming 1st trip to WDW scheduled for April. It's been hard, but we've kept it a secret from our 7 and 4 year old DDs!! My DH and I are in disagreement as to when to spring the surprise on them. I'd like to do it around suppertime the night prior . . . I was thinking making a pizza and adding mushrooms (their favorite) in the shape of Mickey's head and telling them then (videotaping the whole thing, of course). This would allow several hours to get their silliness out of the way before bedtime. My DH would like to wake them up the morning of departure and tell them. I think this would be a bit rushed with getting them dressed, packing toiletries, loading luggage in the car, and rushing to the airport. Any creative suggestions on giving two great kids the surprise of their lives?

 

[ann0511]

I think I would do it the morning of. Get yourselves already...have their clothes laid out. Have everything packed except their toothbrushes. Wake them up...and surprise them. I have 4 children of my own and even when they know about vacation for months its always difficult for them to sleep the night before we leave...good luck...Ann

 

[vicnmickey]

You could do a scavenger hunt with little hints and the end prize being a Mickey Stuffed animal holdng a note saying something about going to visit him. I did this with my kids for our first trip, they loved it. I placed small prizes that they got to open at the end of scavenger hunt, because they were all Disney things for the trip. Have a great trip!!!!!

 

[Deb T.]

vicnmickey - I love the scavenger hunt idea!! What fun!

KutztownPA - As far as telling your girls, why not go ahead and give them the joy of anticipating the trip by telling them now? I know when my kids were younger, they really enjoyed helping to "plan" what we would be doing at Disney World. I would check out Disney travel planner books from the library and we would spend many evenings reading about the ride descriptions and deciding what we would and wouldn't want to do while we were there.

Another dinner idea... meatloaf in the shape of Mickey's head! It's a family favorite in our house! You can also check discount stores for Mickey cake pans to make a fun dessert.

Good luck and be sure to let us all know what you decide to do!

 

[KutztownPA]

Thanks for all the great tips! Actually, we had reservations for June, which my DDs know about. They don't know we moved the reservations up two months and will be going in April instead! So, they get twice the pleasure - they've been able to help plan and have the excitement of anticipation, and will also be surprised! If anyone else has anymore tips on what will probably be the best surprise of their lives, please let me know!

 

[SherGoof]

Half the fun is the anticipation! We told our kids for valentine's day - inside their val. cards we pasted pictures of the castle, mickey, minnie, universal rides, etc. and wrote a note inside, saying how much we couldn't wait to ride ____ with them in August.

Make up a Disney countdown calendar and have the kids mark off each day.

 

[miche61]

Here's what we did for our trip in Jan.

We have DD10, DD8, and DS7. We told them we were going to WDW, but we did not tell them when it would be. They got to help with some of the planning, with out the "how many days" questions. (youngest two have bad sense of time). We bought them new tennies and told them they could wear them the first day we went to WDW. They assumed we would pick them up after school and then go to the airport, which we had done in the past. We always buy new tooth brushes, etc. for our vacation. We put the kids to bed on a Wed., and said see you in the a.m. like normal. After they'd fallen asleep, we went and turned their clocks around in their bedrooms so they couldn't see what time it was. We woke them up at 3:00 AM, just like a normal day, and they were VERY tired! Then we told them they could wear their new shoes because we were leaving as soon as they were dressed to go to see Mickey! They were so excited.

We had even given them the choice to be surprised or to know exactly when were leaving, they chose to be surprised.

It's something they'll remember when they have children.

 

[ktulu]

Don't tell them, just go Let the surprise be landing in Orlando, or passing the WDW sign

darrrrren

 

[magicalprincess3]

Last year in feb. my parents suprised us with a vacation. what they was basically the lied to my sister and i for a whole week before we went.
they said that after school they drop my grandpa off at the airport because he was going to florida. my parent put the luggage( they packed our stuff for us) n the trunk and said it was his. when we got there we got out to wish him a fairwell and he said say hi to mickey for me and i was so confused. i did not know what was going on. but it turned out all right. we saw mickey and it was a great suprise.

so all you have to do is make up lies
hoped i helped

 

[pjlla]

Well.... here is my story.... We decided to surprise our kids with their first trip to WDW in 01/2002. DD was 6 1/2 and DS was almost 4. We told them that we were just going to Boston for the w/e. When we got to the airport parking garage we told them the truth (on video tape). Well.... DD cried that we had "lied" about the w/e in Boston, and DS said that he was afraid to fly. Talk about not exactly the response we were looking for. I think that they were just not properly prepared. DD was disappointed that I hadn't brought along the new Cinderella doll she received for Christmas (but I had brought Bitty Baby and two "lovies" for sleep time). THe week was not a roaring success, and in looking back, I believe it was all due to the fact that they were not properly prepared. They had no idea the overall SCOPE of WDW. When we tried to get them away from one ride, they would fuss and cry. I think it was because they didn't know what else was available. Maybe when we pulled them away from the Indy Speedway after the third ride, they just didn't realize what other fun things there were. They just were too unprepared.

We just returned from our second family trip in 01/2004. They were told exactly 100 days from departure. They had time to earn Disney Dollars to spend, and to help with the planning and to discuss what was their favorite ride from last time and what they wanted to do again, or try for the first time. It was a MUCH BETTER trip! Of course, they were also older, but I really think so much of it had to do with the fact that they were much better prepared.

And it was so much fun to talk EXTENSIVELY and EXHAUSTIVELY about the upcoming trip. And they received surprise gifts and notes from the characters (aka MOM) a few times before we left.

Anyhow, just KNOW YOUR KIDS and do what you think will be best for them. (Obviously I was way off the mark on this.....The best laid plans.....) Hope this helps....................P

 

[pjlla]

WHen I re-read my post, it made my kids sound like total brats! They really aren't. They are just the kind of kids who are used to a schedule and a routine and need prior knowledge of changes to the "routine". DD is still embarrassed to this day about how she acted that morning. She absolutely HATES it when we watch the video of their reaction that morning. Someday we will all be able to laugh about it I hope....................P

 

[EvMc]

I have surprised my daughter 2 times, going on 3 and she once helped surprise her friends that went with us. We have driven each time the 850+ miles to Disney from here! The 1st time I picked her up early from school (her teachers knowing everything and all the bags packed) after about an hour or so from home she got panicky because I didn't tell her where we were going! So I pulled over and showed her the "Making Walt Disney World" video and asked her what her #1 wish would be...she asked about going and I said yes...she cried and cried...tears of joy! She loved being surprised at age 9. I had a hard time keeping it secret so we played the 'what IF we could go game'! Were would we stay IF we could go....etc.

She loved be surprised so much she wanted to surprise her friends with a trip! We had a trip planned with a friend and 2 kids (3 & 11)....the kids had no clue we were going with them. We told them they were going to "Canada" - which we were but of course it is in EPCOT! When they stopped by to say good-bye they asked my daughter to go and after a few minutes I said yes. Then after she pretended to pack she said she couldn't go without me! Of course everything was packed and ready to go! They fell asleep and when we got to the Welcome to Disney sign at daybreak, my daughter woke up - so we pulled over and woke the other two up- they were so very surprised- they LOVED it!

2nd time- I told her I had a weekend meeting in Florida and asked if she wanted to make the long trip with me . Of course, she said yes! When I got to Ocala I found out my 'meeting' was canceled but did learn my parents who 'just happened to be in Fla.' camping wanted to meet with us! They wanted to meet at Disney. So, she was surprised again!

We are going again in 4 weeks to celebrate her b-day and she has no clue... again. Just haven't decided yet how to spring it on her!!!

 

[jcandtjsmommy]

We are going to Disney April 24-May 2 and we are going to tell our boys (ages 7 & 10) on Easter. I got some fancy glitter hollow eggs at Walmart and I am going to number them 1-10 and put a clue in each one. So after they have their baskets full of eggs (regular ones too), we will let them open the special ones, starting with #1 and so on. The last clue will direct them to where I will have a special package waiting for them, filled with 2 new Disney t-shirts, autograph books, Disney dollars, 2 Mickey plush characters and the Vacation Planning DVD. I think they are going to be really surprised. Disney is all my 10yr old has been talking about lately and it is driving me crazy not to tell them! All I need to do now is come up with some clever clues to put in the eggs.
We considered springing it on them at the airport, but I think that surprising them with less than 2 weeks to wait will help build the anticipation and it won't be an unbearably long wait for them.

Pam

 

[MarthaB]

It's so funny, Pam, that you wrote about an Easter egg "scavenger hunt", because I was going to put a post on today about much the same thing! We're leaving 4/17, the Saturday after Easter and I think (I still need to do some convincing in the DH department who still wants to spring it on the DDs!) I'm going to do the Easter egg hunt too. I'm planning to go to the local Disney store and buy a few items and the last clue will lead them to a stuffed Mickey holding a sign saying "I can't wait to see you on Saturday!" Knowing my 7 year old, I think this will be much better than springing it on her at the last minute. This way, she'll be able to say good-bye to her grandparents, teachers, and friends at school. And it's still a surprise. You're right, 6 days isn't an unbearable amount of time to wait (although it may seem that way to us after answering all their questions!)

There are still many surprises up our sleeves . . . DDs don't know where we're staying (AKL) and don't know about all the character meals we have PS for. They are going to absolutely LOVE it!!

The night before we leave we'll probably order out a pizza and I'm going to ask if they'll put mushrooms in the shape of Mickey's head!

Thank you for all the great tips everyone!

 

[jcandtjsmommy]

MarthaB:

I have agonized about whether or not to spring it on them at the last minute. But I have finally decided to give them a little advanced warning! This way they will be able to share the news with their friends and work up some great anticipation! We, too, will have many other surprises for them when we get to Disney...I can hardly wait!

Have a GREAT TRIP!!

Pam

 

[MarthaB]

Thanks, Pam. You have a great trip too!

 

[bigsis1970]

Hi thought I would share on how I did the surprise for my 2 kiddos. Their birthdays are about 6 weeks apart and we were living with my parents at the time and so I said cause Gram doesn't want to host 2 parties lets have your bithdays together - well everyone knew it was because I was going to surprise them with a trip in Dec ( for 2 weeks!! ) so we set the party for the end of Oct which was 3 weeks after DS and 3 weeks before DD and they open all their gifts --- all Disney related , Disney Dollars, Disney plush , Disney games , T-shirts --- and then I announce they have a Scavenger hunt from me .. the first clue leads them to a poster of Airplanes and cars and says " this is how we will be getting to your present" then next is pictures of HIFS , CBR and pools and hotel rooms in general and this clue says "this is where we will be staying for your birthday present " well by now they are really excited flying and a hotel with a pool !! but still no clue as to what really is going on -- oh they were turning 8 and 5 -- so clue number 3 the final one leads them to a big box with mickey stuff for DS and minnie stuff for DD and that poster is of Mickey and Minnie , the MK, Epcot , AK and MGM and says "this is who we will be visiting for your birthday present from Dec 1st to Dec 15th !! " now DS hadn't been since he was 5 months old so he has no CLUE what this means but DD was 3 and was like "we are going to Disney - mom we are going to disney - I can't believe we are going to Disney !!! " so I only had to endure a month or so of "how much longer" we did do a countdown and they earned some other money for spending . that was a lot of fun ..
On my trip this past June - we compined it with a wedding we had in KY .. so the kids just thought we were heading to KY .. untill the man at curbside said we will make sure your bags gets safely to ORLANDO .. my Ds still clueless (even now at 7 ) but DD is like ORLANDO WHY ORLANDO MOM OUR BAGS ARE GOING TO THE WRONG PLACE .. so I had to tell her that we are flying to orlando and driving to KY for the wedding and then driving back to WDW for Vacation !! they were quite excited by that - I also didn't tell them that our best friends were going to meet us in orlando later in the week so they really had 2 surprises that trip . My dd was a bit disappointed in not being able to help plan but soon got over that ..
they knew about our 2002 trip and they know about our 2004 trip but I have some smaller surprised planned..
Best of luck .. sorry this was long Michelle

 

[2BoysMum&Dad]

I have two boys (aged 10 and 7 like Pam - "jcandtjsmommy").

We will be visiting WDW for the first time in the summer. I told them in January that we were going to WDW and they were really exicted. I have been back-tracking a little bit since then because I decided when it was too late that I really wanted to surprise them a lot nearer the time or on the plane about the trip. At the moment, they think we are probably going, but Mummy and Daddy think it is rather expensive and we might plan to go later in the year instead.

After reading the posts here, I might actually just "come clean" about definitely going in the summer and let them help plan the trip. But I will leave it a little nearer the time as four months is quite a long time for children to wait for an exciting holiday.

I obviously cannot make it a total surprise now, but any help would be appreciated how I can put some surprise element into the trip? One thing I have done which might do very nicely is a swim with dolphins at Discovery Cove, our tickets are confirmed for the date of my elder son's 11th birthday - so that'll be great.

My husband's birthday is two days later and our wedding anniversary is two days before my boy's birthday. So we will have lots to celebrate while we are out there!

2BoysMum&Dad

 

[MarthaB]

I just read a few days ago about Garden Grill in Epcot (which is supposed to be excellent, BTW) doing a "re-hitching" (I believe it's called) at lunch-time. You need to tell them ahead of time and they hold a short ceremony at your table, you say "I do", get a certificate, and a cake. That would be fun to do for your anniversary!

We're also doing Discovery Cove. It's always been a dream of mine to swim with dolphins!!

 

[dsnycrzy]

miche61

my kids and neice and nephews are like your kids. They don't want to know when we are leaving, they want to be surprised. But they know we are going. They even know we are going in August. I am now taking votes on whether they want there count down calendars to end on the 1st or the 15th (the beginning or the middle of the month). We leave on the 3rd. Now that I have decided to take the 2p.m. train, I have to find a new way to suprise them. When I was going to take the 9p.m train I was going to take them out to the Old Country Buffet for dinner and while they were fixing there plates, I was gong to put there tickets (Train and WDW) inside the napkin but hanging out so they will notice it. And give the announcer the okay for him to read my note that would say " The Frazier family has 4 hours to be at amtrak, for that WDW train". And pray we don't hear plates drop from excitement. But now with the time change, I don't know. It will be hard to go to the resturant in the morning because we needed them the be at day camp while my sis and I ran the bags to station, which is what we were going to do for the night train. Pick the kids up at 3p.m everyone go home and shower after my sis and I having a bogus conversation about a taste for some thing at the Old Country Buffet and saying we'll meet back up at 4p.m to go eat. Getting there at 4:30 and 4 hours from the time we are seated would be right time for the announcement.