Super disappointed, surprise is ruined :(

[Tiggerlover91]

I was planning on surprising my son with our June trip next year. I told a friend and originally asked if she'd like to join us. I was pretty sure I told her my son didn't know, but she asked him was he excited about Disney. I was so upset at first. Eventually I realized him knowing is actually pretty cool! We've been discussing the rides and which ones he's really interested in! I let him choose the hotel....All-Star Sports, and I'll put the first night down in February when our refund arrives. I'm sure once there, I can find a surprise or two in the parks!

 

[jbethel77]

Eventually I realized him knowing is actually pretty cool! We've been discussing the rides and which ones he's really interested in! I let him choose the hotel....All-Star Sports, and I'll put the first night down in February when our refund arrives. I'm sure once there, I can find a surprise or two in the parks!

This! I’ve actually never understood the secretive Disney planning. Obviously Every kid is different, but my daughter has always enjoyed being a part of the planning! I’d feel kind of bad to leave her out. I also think she wouldn’t handle the impulsiveness of telling her last minute very well. I guess she herself is a planner by nature.
I say to enjoy the anticipation with your kids now that the cat is out of the bag. It could be even more exciting now that they know there’s something fun to look forward to! Like others have said, it’s super fun to say things like “this time next week, we’ll be at Magic Kingdom!”

 

[Tiggerlover91]

This! I’ve actually never understood the secretive Disney planning. Obviously Every kid is different, but my daughter has always enjoyed being a part of the planning! I’d feel kind of bad to leave her out. I also think she wouldn’t handle the impulsiveness of telling her last minute very well. I guess she herself is a planner by nature.
I say to enjoy the anticipation with your kids now that the cat is out of the bag. It could be even more exciting now that they know there’s something fun to look forward to! Like others have said, it’s super fun to say things like “this time next week, we’ll be at Magic Kingdom!”

Uh, my son looks at the calendar every couple of days and says, "Ema (that's Hebrew for mother), we're going to Disney on June 9th?". I'm like, "Yep! Yep!" He thanks me often for taking him and says he's looking forward to doing better on the rides. When we went when he was in 1st grade, and 7 years old, we weren't very successful on a lot of rides. Winnie the Pooh scared him because it was too dark and Buzz Lightyear caused a crying fit till he and my husband got off the ride and I stayed on because I was so upset. I think back on it now and realize, that's just who my son was then. He was really into the character greets and Test Track surprisingly. Loved the snot out of both!!

Now we've discussed rides, I've showed him YouTube videos and he even wants to give Haunted Mansion a try! Says he'll even do Soarin with me knowing my fear of heights. Come to find out, you're not really that high off the ground a friend told me, but my son says he wants to give it a try! SO glad he knows now and we're looking at things together. I wonder if I would have told him back in 2015 we were going and done what I'm doing now, would the trip have been more successful? Eh.... he's 3 years older now and I think that's the major difference!

 

[rg35]

MBs don't come in a plain box, or at least they didn't in the past.
Not sure why you are blaming Disney for you not checking the mail thoroughly and missing the envelope.

From Disney's perspective, their goal is actually to make sure people DON'T miss this mailing because it contains important items for their trip. It is not their concern to conceal surprises from parents to their children.

 

[gulliesmom]

MBs don't come in a plain box, or at least they didn't in the past.

Yes, they are in a plain, white box. Return address does not even say Disney. I'm over it anyway, but thanks for the kind reply.

 

[lookame]

So we were (are) planning a trip and I had bought special luggage for everyone. My son one night came into my room and saw his luggage. When he got it on the day of the actual surprise he said “I thought this was (my husband’s name)!” I asked if he liked it and he said he loved it. My son is 12. We surprised the kids around the 100 day mark and the kids help us plan. My 4 yr old periodically yells “we’re going to Disney!” We do have one major surprise the kids don’t know though...my parents will be arriving Monday after we arrive so I’m excited to see the kids reactions when they find out. (My Mom is always nervous about traveling so she wanted it to be kept a secret)

All this to say...sometimes things don’t work out. Surprising kids is always fun but it’s also fun to count down together. You’ve done a great job keeping a secret so far and dropping the envelope sucks but it may be ok in the end

 

[AllYouNeed]

We planned on surprising our kids (4 and 6 at the time) for their first visit to Disney world in 2016. They knew we were going to visit my sister in Florida, but they had no idea we were going to Disney world first. We planned on telling them when we got on the Magical Express instead of going to get a rental car. But when we got to the airport and were checking the luggage, the ticket agent saw the luggage tag and loudly announced "Looks like you're going to Disney world!". Definitely not how we planned on telling then the news and I was a little unhappy at the time! It didn't ruin our trip, though, and it turned out not to be a big deal.

We're planning to hit Disneyland in June for the first time, and we're going to try the surprise thing again! The kids know we are going on a trip to Southern California, but on the day we drive to Anaheim, I'm going to pull some Disney maps out of the glove compartment and ask them to help us navigate. If it works, I think it will be an awesome reveal; if it doesn't work this time, I don't have anyone else to blame but myself, lol!

 

[sapphirerose915]

If you have to tell your son, then just let each kid think they are in on the surprise.. they will both think they are so cool knowing a secret the other one doesnt.. then when they found out they both know it will be a fun surprise for them... almost make it like a game.. then you can get them each included on doing something without the other one knowing... it can just be a fun trick to play on them... and even tho the surprise is kind of ruined, it will still make the reveal fun and memorable