Should I surprise my 5 year old?

[Turk February]

Oh I forgot to mention how we surprised her. We wrote out one of those puzzles where you match a number with a letter and then figure out the message. She did that and then we had her read what it revealed (today we are going to disney world...or whatever it said). That was fun, and also good practice for her since she was learning how to spell and read.

 

[quakechicago]

My kiddo (now 4) loves WDW and loves helping me plan the trip. NO way would I surprise her. The planning is part of the fun right down to which rides and characters she will want to see and which ones she will not. We watch youtube videos together, we make lists, we pour over a kid's guidebook and she circles things she is interested in, we count down the days, we plan dining, we plan fastpasses, she draws and writes out what we will do. It's a ton of fun I'd hate to have her miss. She has mild SPD so her anxiety is often being surprised and not prepared. She is very ready when we go and knows the schedule better than I do most of the time.

Have fun!

 

[danceintherain]

We took our daughter last year when she was 5. We told her the day that we left, mainly because we didn't want her to ask 1000 times everyday for weeks and also because we didn't want to tell her and then have her be disappointed that we weren't going right away. Now, this wasn't here first, or second, or third trip so maybe others would handle it differently.

As far as 40" rides go, she had already been on Splash the year before, and she loved that dad got soaked, so Splash was an east sell. SDMT is, in my opinion, the perfect intro coaster for young kids. It's short, and super smooth. From that, you can move on to BTMR and Barnstormer if it goes well. The only ride we had to "push" her on was ToT. She was scared (rightfully so!) but we waited outside the exit for other kids her age and talked to them about what they thought and if they had fun. Doing that really helped, along with the promise of something from the gift shop to celebrate. She went on, and it was her favorite ride of the trip.

I have strategically shown her videos or mentioned things about WDW weeks and months ahead of time to A) put the idea in her head, and B) get her familiar with stuff. I don't think it's a bad thing to do that, and I would suggest doing that. Like anything in life, it can go either way, but the upside is enough to give it a shot.

We're planning on heading to SDMT first. It's a bummer that I couldn't get a FP for it, but it will probably be the only ride we wait more than 20 minutes for during the whole trip, so we'll survive. We'll be able to Rider Swap it so DS can ride twice.
He's done the Barnstormer, so I'm not concerned about that one.
I'm tempted to switch my FP from SM to BTMR, because I did show him the videos, and he definitely freaked a bit about the water at Splash. I just know that if we do Splash, I want it to be right before we leave for our break that day, and the line will probably be crazy then, since it will be hot.

My kiddo (now 4) loves WDW and loves helping me plan the trip. NO way would I surprise her. The planning is part of the fun right down to which rides and characters she will want to see and which ones she will not. We watch youtube videos together, we make lists, we pour over a kid's guidebook and she circles things she is interested in, we count down the days, we plan dining, we plan fastpasses, she draws and writes out what we will do. It's a ton of fun I'd hate to have her miss. She has mild SPD so her anxiety is often being surprised and not prepared. She is very ready when we go and knows the schedule better than I do most of the time.

Have fun!

He's not all about details. He's just all about fun. He actually hates making decisions. So I don't think he'll actually care that he missed the planning part of it. Also, with limited time before the trip, our options are limited. I did manage to snag a late breakfast ADR at Hollywood & Vine, but that's the only character meal we're going to do. Eating at Disney is DH's favorite part of our trips, so I like to cater that part of the vacation to him as much as possible. H&V snuck in because both the kids will love it. We only have room in the budget for two Table Service meals this time, so the other one will be something I know Daddy will enjoy.

 

[BrokeMack]

I know it isn't for everyone, but I'm a big fan of cheap ponchos for water rides (even if its hot). Everyone else makes fun of you in line but then afterwards they're all jealous.