Suggestions for surprising teen with trip to WDW

[princessjadesmom]

My daughter will be 16 next year. She and I both LOVE Disney World. I plan to take her on a 4 day weekend trip to WDW. I'm just not sure how or when to tell her. She will want to pack her own stuff and since it will be winter here it will be different clothes than what she has readily available to wear here. Also, she's a cheerleader so she will need to let her coach know she's leaving. So, I'd love to hear any suggestions you guys have for how and when to let her know. Thanks everyone!!

 

[subtchr]

Is there a reason why you'd like to surprise her at all? I know my kids at that age would LOVE to be involved in every aspect of the trip, from resort choice to park schedule to FP+.

I'd say let her know as soon as possible, especially since she might have to coordinate the schedule with her coach.

 

[mom2rtk]

I agree. It's hard to pull off a surprise during the school year for a 16 year old. I'd probably just tell her and let her plan accordingly.

 

[Julylady]

You know your daughter best! Just make sure the surprise is for her and not for you. We are leaving for WDW in 9 days with my two nieces ages 13 and 10. They have known about the trip for several months. We have had so much fun planning it together! I can't imagine not letting them experience that side of it. Its also been a great learning opportunity for them. They have done multiple Internet searches before recommending hotels, restaurants, and even the best day to go to each park. But we did add a "surprise" for them just this week. We were able to change our Southwest flights and leave four days earlier than we originally scheduled. They were super excited! I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[Julylady]

Another story. A friend of mine surprised her then 9-year old son with a trip to Disney during school several years ago. He thought she was picking him up early to go to a doctor appointment. He figured it out when they turned into the airport. He was thrilled at the time. She now says she wished she hadn't done it that way. He is now about 14 and every time he is picked up from school he is secretly wondering if they are really leaving for Disneyworld. So, he is being disappointed over and over again.

 

[princessjadesmom]

I will be taking her on the weekend of her birthday. I wanted to surprise her with this trip because she's always wanted to go for the Christmas party and we've never done that (only the Halloween party). The Christmas party should fall ON her birthday, which is awesome! We've been to WDW many times, so I know exactly what FP rides she likes and what restaurants she likes.

 

[sersee05]

I know for my daughter...she wouldn't care about being involved with the plans. She is 18 now and I am currently planning. I keep asking her what she thinks and she said she doesn't care but she is beside herself to be going to Disney again. She is so excited...but the planning stuff she would rather leave to me because she really doesn't care. She just wants to be there.

But because she is older ..I don't know if I would wait until the last minute . Like you said there is a lot of things that would have to be planned like letting her coach know and packing her own stuff. Oh my..I would never pack clothes for a teenager! lolol.

But you could surprise her earlier. Maybe go out to eat and "order dessert" and have the waiter/waitress bring out dessert and a mickey plush. You could make a cake and then give her a slice after dinner with some sort of disney decor on it. I kind of surprised my daughter..sort of. She knew disney was a possibility for our vacation this year but I was also looking into other things. When I decided I just started sending her disney pictures in text. The first one was Elsa and I asked if she wanted to build a snowman. We say this all the time so it didn't register. She answered and I changed the subject. The next day I sent her a picture of stitch. We both are obsessed with him so she just responded...awww cute. I sent her one of the castle and she started saying.."Why are you sending me this". I just responded .."i don't know, I just felt like it". This is totally me so I think she was still on board. Then the I sent a picture of us at Ohana breakfast. She finally said.."Mom are we going to Disney""..lol She is gullible though . When she came flying in to hug me, she almost knocked me over. There is so much you could do to let her know in a cute way if that is what you want to do.

But you know your daughter best so do what would work best of you all.

 

[subtchr]

I will be taking her on the weekend of her birthday. I wanted to surprise her with this trip because she's always wanted to go for the Christmas party and we've never done that (only the Halloween party). The Christmas party should fall ON her birthday, which is awesome! We've been to WDW many times, so I know exactly what FP rides she likes and what restaurants she likes.

Fair enough, and as another PP wrote, you know your daughter best!

Just ask yourself, is making this a surprise something YOU want, or something that SHE would feel is more fun than if she was in on the planning? Only you know the answer to that! My kids are now in their 20s, but they were never good with surprises, even good ones.

If you do decide to surprise her, can you contact her coach yourself?

 

[sersee05]

I will be taking her on the weekend of her birthday. I wanted to surprise her with this trip because she's always wanted to go for the Christmas party and we've never done that (only the Halloween party). The Christmas party should fall ON her birthday, which is awesome! We've been to WDW many times, so I know exactly what FP rides she likes and what restaurants she likes.

does she know the xmas party falls on her birthday? If she doesn't that would be a great surprise on it's own!

 

[scrapquitler]

I would tell her at least a couple weeks ahead of time...for nothing else than to allow her to pack what she wants, make arrangements for school/work/activities/plans that she might have with her friends. I think that most 16 year olds have things on their schedule that they wouldn't want to drop at the last minute unexpectedly.

 

[Mama Lo]

We surprise our kids all the time, I'll admit that the surprise might be for me just as much as it is for them.

One time I got a white Mickey head painted on my big toe while getting a pedicure. We drove to the airport and the kids were so excited. The begged to find out where we were going and we told them "the toes know". They saw the Mickey head are were overjoyed.

Maybe you could arrange to get your nails done together in preparation for her birthday weekend and prearrange for the people to put a Mickey head on one of her fingers or toes.

That way she would know far enough to pack for herself.

I love a surprise! I hope it works out just how you want it to!!

 

[mrsjoannh13]

If you want to surprise her then DO IT! Only a parent will know how their child will react. Sounds like you want to tell her a little early so she can pack which is super nice of you. Could you maybe have something in the mail waiting for her and tell her she can open it - like an early birthday present a week or two prior your trip? Maybe more if she needs time to shop for fabulous Disney outfits? One idea would be get one of those hideous Christmas sweaters and wrap it for an early birthday gift and when she turns her nose up and asks why would you get her that you can tell her she'll need something warm to wear to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! Have a great time and let us all know how the surprise goes. So exciting.

 

[bear_mom]

I was going to surprise dd, who will be 16, about our upcoming trip (KTTK Tour). Then she applied to be a mentor, part of the application said that freshman orientation was mandatory and she would miss it.

So I had to tell her, but still wanted to suprise her. So I started texting her random pictures of Disney related things that weren't obvious Disney: red rose, fork, bowling pin (Pop Century), camelon, etc.

She got very annoyed at me and kept asking my why. She finally figured it out. It was fun for me.

 

[DisneyAnytime]

Surprises are wonderful! My DH "surprised" me with a trip for Christmas 2013 (we didn't travel until June 2014) but he made a DVD with pictures from previous vacations and such and inserted slides that had cryptic messages like "Where will we go next?" "What will our next adventure be?" and the last slide was a picture of the castle proclaiming WDW June 2014! It was a great surprise and left me with 6 months to plan everything out, since, bless him, he could make the reservation with the help of our TA but he knows I love the planning part sooooo much and he really isn't the planning kind.

The following year we decided that since our kids are older and spoiled (I admit it!) that instead of having a lot of "Santa" gifts under the tree, we would use the money for a family vacation instead. So we wrote up a little verse announcing our trip, printed it out, cut the paper into puzzle pieces and hid them around the house. They had to find them all and put the puzzle together to "open" their gift. You could do something like that with a scavenger hunt too.

Oh! And our first trip reveal was to get a Disney themed photo book for DD and use index cards to write "We are" "Going to" "Disney World" on various pages. You could show her the new album with pics of past trips to WDW and let her come across the message that way.

Depending on how much time/warning you would need to give coaches and teachers, you might want to talk to them before you told your daughter so you could keep the surprise from her a bit longer. We teachers love helping make our extended kiddos happy!

 

[butterfly71076]

My daughter will be 16 next year. She and I both LOVE Disney World. I plan to take her on a 4 day weekend trip to WDW. I'm just not sure how or when to tell her. She will want to pack her own stuff and since it will be winter here it will be different clothes than what she has readily available to wear here. Also, she's a cheerleader so she will need to let her coach know she's leaving. So, I'd love to hear any suggestions you guys have for how and when to let her know. Thanks everyone!!

I think a surprise is so fun! I did it with my son a couple years ago, but, he was easy and I could pack for him. Maybe tell her a week or two ahead of time, that way she will be surprised and still has time to pack her things and let her coach know what is going on.

Maybe get one of the planning DVD's and have a "movie night". Or, do an early birthday present with balloons in a wrapped box. Good luck! Hope the surprise goes well and your trip is great!

 

[Jeff from Texas]

We did a surprise trip for out DD at her 14th. We always talk about Disney around the house, always trying to figure out what we would like to do on a trip, so we incorporated a "Would you rather..." game into the discussions. We asked things like "Would you rather have breakfast with Pooh or the Princesses?" "Would you rather ride Pirates or Maelstrom?" just kinda all over the place with questions and everyone answered, myself, DW and DD. We did the game for months before the trip. Our fly out date, because we don't drive from Texas, was actually the day after her birthday, so we did her party the weekend before. We talked to her band director to clear her absence with him, informed all the grandparents and friends, and everyone kept it a secret. At her party, we gave her the first gift (not one of her friends) that was a card with her Key to the Kingdom in it. She still had a week to revel in getting ready for the trip, got to celebrate with her friends and enjoy the buildup of that last week. For the trip itself we kept the daily plans secret, but had made up a envelope for each day that had the park that we were going to and basic food itinerary. We were able to set up a window seat for Coral Reef, and had the celebration menu set up in advance for her. It was a great trip, that she DID get to help plan, but didn't know that she was doing it.

 

[princessjadesmom]

I still have quite a while to tweak my plans, but here's what I'm thinking as of now.
I'll get her a set of birthday MagicBandits and put them on her MagicBand.
My daughter's and my Mom's birthdays are very close, so I'll take them and my Dad out for an early birthday dinner at a nice restaurant about 2 weeks before the trip. At dinner I'll give her her gift wrapped MagicBand.
I do also like the idea of having some sort of scavenger hunt though. I may try to incorporate that into the plan.
We have 2 Disney trips coming up before her birthday, so I've been paying really close attention to anything that she says she'd like to do "someday".
I know she wants to try the Wishes Fireworks Dessert Party and the AMC Downtown Disney Dine-In Theater, so I'll try to get us into those.