Surprise the kids or not?

[WDW TRIP NUT]

We have been to Disney several times but ever since the last trip my oldest (11) has been begging to stay at AKL. We've told our two d's that we can't afford it this year but maybe next summer. My husbands co-worker lives in Orlando so we are telling our boys that we have to go to Orlando so Dad can work.(lol) We are going to drive up to the gates of AKL then tell them. I'm so excited and it's been so hard not to tell them but I'm glad that I've kept it a secret

 

[blestmom]

We're 'kind of' surprising the kids. We have 5 kids (14, 12, 10, 8, 5) They think we are going in February. Really, I changed the tickets to take them the first two weeks of December. We're coming from Alaska so it's a pretty big trip. I've got tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party, and we're doing all the special things like the Candlelight Processional dinner package, and the Fantasmic dinner package, etc. They don't know anything about that, but they do see me making general plans, etc. My 8-year-old's favorite movie is "Willy Wonka" so we're going to get them each a Wonka bar and hide a golden ticket inside saying they're going to Disney, and give it to them a day or two before we go. I'm packing everything in secret ahead of time.
Deb

 

[monalsw]

we've told the kids ahead of time and we've surprised them...each has it's own merit. kids love to plan by watching the videos, picking restaurants, etc, but they can also stress out from the anticipation!

this trip is a compromise. the kids know that we 'may' be going, probably in december. i'm thinking of making a countdown chain when school starts, with it lasting til december (i know, huge chain, but at least i can use some scrappin scraps, lol). then one day, maybe a week before we go, when there would still be a lot of the chain left, i'll say, "know what, lets just cut off a few days' and let the kids cut off a month's worth. then they'll realize that we're actually leaving the next week.

they'll have time to plan with us and enjoy the excitement, but still be surprised when they find out it's much closer than they think! less stress for al of us, i hope!

 

[Pooh93]

We are surprising our kids in a couple weeks. They are 8 and 6. I did not want to tell them for some of the same reasons previously listed i.e. distraction at school, trip cancellation possibilites

My dh wants us to tell them we are heading to Branson, MO and let them figure it out when we get to the airport. I figure they will be so excited and off the (airplane) walls! I'll let you know how this all played out when we get back!

It's killing me because I am getting myself!

 

[pjlla]

I KNOW THIS IS LONG BUT PLEASE READ THIS!!!

THis is my experience..... we wanted to surprise our kids with their first trip to WDW.... DS was about to turn 4 and DD was 6 1/2. Yes, I did tell the teachers about the trip ahead of time, but I swore them to secrecy!!. DD's teacher was able to send home a little "extra" homework for a few days in advance and then before we left I went into the school to pick up a packet of work to be done while traveling.

I packed on the sly and then that weekend we told them that we were going to Boston for the weekend (something we do occasionally). We loaded the car and off we went. When we got to the parking garage for Logan Airport we turned on the video camera and made the "big announcement". Well..... to say that we were surprised at the reaction would be an understatement!! DD cried and said that we "lied" to her about going to Boston. She was really mad. DS said he was afraid to go on an airplane (but then he did say..."We're going to see Cinderella!"). They just didn't give us the reaction we were looking for or expecting. DD stayed mad all day, even throughout the plane ride. DS seemed to warm up to it in a few hours.

Suffice to say it was not exactly a trip full of magical memories. And for the longest time I could not figure out why. THat is, until we planned our next trip. Then I came to the realization that they were just OVERWHELMED with the whole idea. When DS got mad when we wouldn't go on Indy Speedway for the FOURTH time in a row, we thought he was just kind of bratty..... come to find out, he had NO IDEA how much else there was to do!! They were both THOROUGHLY UNPREPARED!! They had no idea of the scope of all there was to see and do. I think that he thought that it we pulled him off the Speedway, there was nothing else to do (or that sort of thing). They didn't realize how much there was to see and do and it just kind of floored them.... they didn't know what to expect next. PLUS, my children have always been creatures of habit and this was putting them away from their normal routine.

Plus, DD was old enough to have some anxiety about the fact that she didn't know what was packed. Imagine someone surprising you like that... even though as adults we understand that we can always buy what we need, it would still be a bit shocking ("Did they bring my glasses and medication?? What if I can't find comfy shoes?).

For our next trip we told them exactly 100 days in advance. That was enough time for them to get excited and help with planning, but no SOOOO much time as to make it seem too far away. I think even if we had told our kids 2 days in advance of the first trip it would have been better. OH WELL... Live and Learn! Maybe you could tell them that week or even just a few days in advance. Sorry to be so long.... Hope this helps.................P

 

[Sandy Feet]

We also debated suprise the kids or not, and in the end told them. They're obviously thrilled to be going, but are very happy to be involved in the planning. DD, 7yrs, has a calender in her room where she crosses off every day. For us, the anticipation is part of the trip, but to each his own.

 

[laurabelle]

Well, I tried to surprise them, but one of my kids found out. Thankfully it's not the birthday girl, so I've sworn my older dd to secrecy (I trust she'll keep it to herself) I did consult her about a couple of plans, but she doesn't know all, like the 2 side trips to the beach down and back, birthday breakfast at CMs, and other surprises. I hope I can keep the rest of it a secret!

 

[Yensid_MD]

I vote for surprise them. I am sure their teachers can keep a secret. Sad if they can't.

The surprise will be one of the fond memories of the trip.

 

[TINKERBECK]

This will be our 3rd trip. When we went in Aug-03 we made the chain and the kids took turns taking one off each day-they were thrilled! Our house is emersed with Disney anyway-my 3yo DD favorite movie is Disneyland Fun so that is on atleast once a day as it is-the girls bedroom has murals on every wall including the castle and many, many characters (it's really cool!) I am obsessed so my oldest just thinks I sit here on the boards anyway. My point is this year we are going to surprise them! We are leaving the day after Christmas. This is the plan: they all will have the normal under the tree presents-however this year the will be numbered in the order they have to open them, the gifts will include things we need for the trip. I have ordered each of them a personalized small suitcase on wheels, a new Disney beach towel, fake "hopper passes" and "airline tickets" so they don't get lost in the excitement, their pack of stuff to do on the plane(we always get new crayons/markers coloring/sticker books, hand held games etc..) a new swim suit-Disney of course-except for the oldest becasue he's too cool to actually wear a Disney swimming suit, and a Disney t-shirt. They will still get some unrelated gifts from Santa but the gifts from us will all be things I would have gotten them for the trip. I figure it will save us some money because I would normally be spending about the same amount on just gifts and then add a WDW trip on top. I say they don't need another toy we might as well take advantage of that and have a great surpirse on Christmas morning. We are also taking my parents for their first trip ever. They are going to get their surprise airline tickets for their birthday's (beg of Aug) and Cirque tickets for their anniversary and Hoppers for Christmas! Who can refuse that offer! Their are some valid points of not surprising the kids-if we were going during school I may not. This will prob be the only time we surprise but I think it will work for this trip under these circumstances! Geez this got long-can you tell I am excited!?! I can't even talk to anyone about it-DH isn't as obsessed as I am! I can't wait til Aug so I can plan with my mom!!!


Sarah

 

[drewc]

I guess I'll be a dissenter here and say that we use the trip as another tool for motivating good behavior. I don't know about your kids, but our three can sometimes fight and disagree or generally get into trouble. Call me a Scrooge, but short of "Santa's watching", bringing up the Disney trip is one of the best ways to get your kids back on their best behavior.

We're using our trip in December as a motivator for our soon to be 3 year old to start using the potty regularly also. He absolutely loves the Disney parks, and wants to be in big boy pants by the time we leave (and so do we!).

That aside, our kids love looking forward to the trip and talking about what they'll do and see. We've talked about popping a trip on them as a surprise, but we've always changed our minds and gotten some extra mileage out of the trip in terms of keeping the peace in our household.

 

[KimR]

We've surprised our girls the past 2 years and I think it's a great idea. For one thing, my kids (especially my middle DD) do not handle aniticipation well...they drive themselves and everyone else (especiallly me) nuts asking how much longer, how many more days...etc. Also, they LOVED being surprised at the last minute. As for telling the teachers, I just told the teachers where we were going and that it was a surprise; they were very good about keeping the secret

The hardest part was when I had to tell my DD that she would be missing the last day of school due to doctor's appts. Boy, was she ever furious with me and whined and complained to me and everyone else who would listen. I was the meanest mom in the world up until the morning of the day we left and she found out that her 'appointment' was with Mickey Mouse! Also, packing in secret was very hard, but in the end it was all worth it.

I think with 2 'surprise' trips behind us, it's getting a little old so I'll probably let them know about our next one coming up in Aprill 2005.

 

[clkelley]

I just surprised my son who just graduated from High School.

When they are older it is really hard.

We had to tell his summer coach, his boss, etc. The hardest one was I had to call a college coach back and arrange for a different meeting time after my son had so maturely arranged for a tryout all on his own. I was sweating bullets on that one as it could have backfired bigtime! Fortunately, the coach understood, and we rescheduled.

Anyway, the morning of graduation while he was at rehearsal, I managed to get his stuff packed and in my truck, then at a big dinner after graduation, we gave him a homemade card with "Now that you've graduated High School, What are You Going to Do" on it, then there was a whole list of boring things to do over the summer, then on the last page it said "Your Going to DisneyWorld"

I don't think it quite sunk in until I handed him his airline itinerary with a flight time of 10:00 the next morning!!

He then went to a party at a friends house and he was bragging about his graduation present, and they all told him they knew about it!! So the surprise was a great success, but boy was it work!!

Carol