Shh! The Kids don't know but.......

[ClaraBug]

Here is the plan:

1. Plan trip to Disney in December of 2009.
2. Pay for said trip.
3. Pay for Airline tix for said trip.
4. Patiently wait for said trip to arrive.
5. On day of said trip, wake the girls up at 4am to head to the airport.
6. Once at airport, annouce to girls that Santa is sending us to Disney.

What mom (that me ) needs to know is how do you pack and prepare to go without the kids seeing you or catching on? I work so I cant prepare while they are at school. So any parent with this experience, would you please share your magic?

 

[pigletto]

I have two thoughts.. one is do it all after they are in bed. Doesn't sound like much fun though.
The other is I am not sure where you live but we put our summer clothes away in the fall when it starts to get cold. Maybe you could say that's what you are doing and sort of tuck them all away ready to be thrown in a suitcase last minute? Or have someone take them for a day and do it all at once?

 

[mjkacmom]

I have two thoughts.. one is do it all after they are in bed. Doesn't sound like much fun though.
The other is I am not sure where you live but we put our summer clothes away in the fall when it starts to get cold. Maybe you could say that's what you are doing and sort of tuck them all away ready to be thrown in a suitcase last minute? Or have someone take them for a day and do it all at once?

This is exactly what I did for our surprise trip last November. Every fall, I pack up the summer stuff in the hand-me-down bins, and have hefty bags in every room for stuff going to good will. I packed a hefty bag for everyone, and the night before, packed the stuff in suitcases!

 

[danx2plus3more]

we are doing the same thing waking them up at 5 ( on a school day) and telling them to get dressed we have to go to the airport. my delimma is i leave in 40 days and i think im going to try to pack thier stuff the day before we leave while they are at school, then hide luggage in our van so all i have to do is get dressed and hit the door. good luck with your plans

 

[ehoops120912]

A Easy Way to do it is send them to a Grandparents house if u have a close one and say to have a special day with Grandma and Pack! My mom surprised us to!She packed when we went to bed!

 

[disneyloverforchrist]

This is so exciting for your little ones!!! My parents surprised us pretty similar when I was 12...

Me and my brother thought we were going to TN for a weeklong family vacation. Being from Ohio, that isn't too far and we were pretty excited as it was. That morning we woke up and as we went out to load up the car for our 7 hour drive...we saw a HUGE stretch limo in the driveway!!! Neither of us had ever been in a limo so we were really excited. My dad told us that he had some extra skymiles from work, so we were actually flying down to TN.
We were super excited by all of this but it just kept getting better When we got to the airport my parents told us to go look and make sure our flight was on time, they gave us the flight number and we went up to huge board to look for our flight. We finally found it, but something had to be wrong, that flight didn't go to Nashville, it went to Orlando . My parents told us to go check again and sure enough it went to Orlando...they gave us each a little box with some disney toys in it and told us we weren't actually going to TN, we were going to Disney World!!!

haha, i still smile over ten years later thinking about that time. The vacation was amazing and me and my brother felt so special I know your little ones will remember this special trip for the rest of their lives too

Best of luck and enjoy

 

[amyj1024]

Just to warn you, while you probably won't need sweaters and stuff. We didn't wear shorts to Disney when we went at Christmas. But jeans and t-shirts. It was cooler...more like fall weather here in the midwest. Just warning you. I would start setting clothes aside as you did laundry...a few outfits at a time, then it won't be as noticable to the kids.. Our suitcases are stored in an extra closet, so it would be easy for me to pack and they would never even know

 

[ClaraBug]

You ideas and stories are Great!!

Setting the summer clothes in an extra container is a great idea! I put our summer clothes away too, so this would be great. The girls have a lot of capri pants, would that be too cool for December in Florida? I might pack a couple pairs of shorts but for the most part, I was planning on jeans and t-shirts; along with "disney" sweatshirts. We will have to take our winter coats with us as we live in eastern West Virginia.
Gramma does live near by and what I was thinking about doing was to take the suitcase up to her house one day and then take small piles of clothes up and "pack" up there. Then the night before, we will load up the van after the girls go to sleep.

Is it okay to be this excited for something 16 months away?!

 

[emh1129]

You are going to have so much fun surprising them!

 

[CInderellaFan1981]

I am surprising my children with our trip as well. I plan to pack the weekend before. I have gotten my in laws to take the kids for a special sleepover three days before we leave and then I am going to put the packed suitcases in the basement for the next few days. I plan on having Mickey call for a wake up call that morning using the Disney Enchanted Phone Calls as well (at 4 am). It should be a lot of fun!!

 

[ClaraBug]

4am seems to be the magic wake up time!

 

[bear74]

I am going to make a puzzle for my 5 yr old. We will leave our house around 7am to head to the airport. My mom is coming over to drive us. I will have her do the puzzle on the way to the airport. I am going to tell her we are headed to the beach and Grandma is going with us. I am going to put the suitcases in DD #2's room and pack in their.

 

[mom_of_3_70737]

we are doing the same thing waking them up at 5 ( on a school day) and telling them to get dressed we have to go to the airport. my delimma is i leave in 40 days and i think im going to try to pack thier stuff the day before we leave while they are at school, then hide luggage in our van so all i have to do is get dressed and hit the door. good luck with your plans

OMG, you sound like me!!! This is what our plan is as well! My kids have no clue that we are going! I can't wait to wake them up that morning and tell them to get dressed, we need to catch a plane to Disney!!!!I am going to video the whole thing!!!

 

[jtopp]

pack the bags when you put away the summer clothes, and pack the last minute incidentals after they go to bed. Waking in the early AM, in your excitement you may overlook something. The best part of the surprise is the look on thier faces when you tell them-Priceless

 

[sherreis]

We're surprising our kids in the middle of October and my plan is to pack up their summer clothes and get them out of their rooms and just put them into a suitcase. My only problem is if it stays warm here - you never know in Maryland what the weather will be like in the beginning of October. As far as packing time, I will either have DH take them out for a couple hours that Sunday so I can get some things organized and hidden. If they're still wearing their shorts at that time, I'll be able to get enough out of their rooms for packing. Need to pack the suitcases, their goody bags that they will get once they get their surprise at MCO, the carry-on and things that I need to put in their backpacks at the last minute when we get to the airport. We'll be picking them up at their schools around Noon.

 

[TJ's Mom]

I surprised my kids last Nov. I told them we were going on a work trip in Florida. I told them we needed to stop at Pop to check the lost and found for a "blanket" their aunt left there in March. I had them at the hotel lobby talking to the CM not realinzing they were there! And I wonder why my kids don't trust me.....

 

[Miss Mary Poppins]

We did this last January and my dd4 was mad at us for not telling her before hand. All through the trip she was telling us never to do this again without telling her. Our dd3 LOVED the surprise of it all.

I kept everything in the guest room and they just don't pay attention to the stuff. Then the day before we left I took them to my parents and packed.

It's such a wonderful secret to have.

 

[ClaraBug]

OMG, you sound like me!!! This is what our plan is as well! My kids have no clue that we are going! I can't wait to wake them up that morning and tell them to get dressed, we need to catch a plane to Disney!!!!I am going to video the whole thing!!!

I want to see that video!!!

Well, I booked our trip!!

We are staying at the CBR for six days/five nights in Dec. 2009. Here is the cool thing....I booked a "pirate" room. The beds will be pirate ship and the dresser looks like wood crates and the curtain that seperates the bathroom area from the rest of the room, is worn and tattered skull and crossboards flag. Here is the additional perk....I didn't tell DH that I booked that room. He is expecting a "Nemo" room. So there is an additional surprise.
I talked with my mom yesterday and she might talk my dad into going too, that would be an additional surprize for the girls to arrive at the resort and gramma and granpa waiting! But we still have 16 months yet!

 

[Jakesmom504]

I don't have any experience but that sounds awesome! I told DH when we do get to go back after this trip, I would love to do the whole "surprise, let's go to the airport" thing. Aww, it's going to be so great. Have fun planning!

 

[Ritawith4]

We surprised our kids last year with their 1st airplane trip and to Disney at that! They were so excited and I didn't have to answer the question for 3 months of "When are we going to Disney?"
I hope your trip is amazing.