Surprise trip...how did you do it?

[sftball19]

My DH and I are taking our DS (5) and DD (3) for their 1st trip to WDW in October!! We are planning on taking them to MNSSHP because they love Halloween. I am so super excited and refuse to tell them until we are going because they will ask us when we are going every day until then...BUT I want to surprise them..just not sure how...
I am not sure a scavenger hunt will work...any other ideas for young kids?

 

[emij]

Our first WDW trip came with about 70 days notice, as dh was being sent to a conference and we decided to take advantage of the hotel. I was torn over the option of surprise vs anticipation. I decided to compromise. We kept it a secret until about a month before... hard to do when making kids "walk train" without a reason!! One Saturday dh took the kids out for a walk and I rushed around decorating the dining room all Mickey mouse and Disney. Crepe paper, balloons, tablecloth and settings, confetti, and a big poster that said we are going to WDW! Even backpacks full of Disney shirts and toys for the trip.

They returned from the walk and saw the party, but it took a while for them to catch on! I had been watching Disney movies daily and showing the castle, talking about how cool it would be there, so at least they had a desire to go before then so once they caught on they were thrilled. We told them that one day in the next few months we would wake them up and fly all night to go, but the actual day would be a surprise. midnight flight. When the day finally came, dh was not feeling well and he actually slept before waking up the kids too!! I picked up the 4 yo put her in the car, picked up the 7 yo and put him in. We were just getting ready to head out and DS asked "where are we GOING" still sleepy. When we replied WDW he said "yay, but can we go potty first?" I think he figured we would be going right there!!

 

[pinkprincess30]

Our first trip we did a scavenger hunt that ended with balloons and a sign that said we're going to Disney (in one month)! The kids, 4, 6 & 8 at the time gave us a pretty boring response because the had no idea what they were in for. We wanted them to have a chance to enjoy the anticipation, and they did, but our next SURPRISE trip, their response was so great!

Fast forward 4 years... As a family we were saving toward another trip. It was beyond time for another vacation. As far as the kids knew we had saved up about $1000 toward the $4000 we would need to go. There were many "no's" as we sacrificed to put funds aside in the Disney jar. The kids turned in cans and put any extra cash they had in the jar as well. I loved that they were a part of saving for the trip!

In the meantime...We planned, booked, and packed for a week long trip to Disney without them knowing at all (they thought we were still about $3k short of actually going). They got home from school and I called them in to the family room. On the couch were three Olaf gift bags filled with random Disney items. Things for the plane ride like snacks, Disney stuffies, mad libs, park maps, etc. We didn't say a word as they looked through their bags. At the bottom of the bag were their Mickey ears from our previous trip. After reading a copy of our plane ticket itinerary but not seeing the date on it, they looked to us. "We're going to Disneyland?" And we answered YES! they asked WHEN?! And we said RIGHT NOW, GET YOUR SHOES ON WE'RE LEAVING! The two oldest were all fist pumps, hugs and hooting and hollering. Our 9 yo ds just cried tears of joy. PRICELESS!!!

Just found out we'll be visiting again in July when we are in town for my Dad's wedding... But how to tell them???

 

[Pesky]

My DH and I are taking our DS (5) and DD (3) for their 1st trip to WDW in October!! We are planning on taking them to MNSSHP because they love Halloween. I am so super excited and refuse to tell them until we are going because they will ask us when we are going every day until then...BUT I want to surprise them..just not sure how...
I am not sure a scavenger hunt will work...any other ideas for young kids?

Maybe go simpler. First decide when you are going to tell them. Do any of your kids need time to mentally prepare for the trip or is it cool to just go spur of the moment? The spur of the moment works best in terms of an immediate reward and less "when are we going" for weeks or months up until departure date. But there are those kids that don't do well without the mental prep time. If doing it before the day of departure, I'd do something like "hey, a box came for you" and you can fill it with disney balloons, vacation DVD and a countdown chain so they can pull off links for each day (helps with the visualization of how soon the trip is). You can even put in some disney treats if you like like a new shirt or such (unless you want to save those for closer to the trip to avoid stains or breakage).

 

[Kahana-ri]

The kids knew we were going, but not when. I had emailed their teachers ahead of time and let them know they'd be out. They too were in on it and appreciate we didn't tell them actually so they could keep focused on their studies. I packed their suitcases and backpacks, and kept everything in our bedroom. On the day were we to leave, we picked up each child at school (elementary and middle) with a mickey mouse ears hat for them to wear. Our little one hysterical yelling as he came down the hall, 'I knew we were going to Walt Disney World - I'm going to Walt Disney World everyone!' Our oldest, even though all three of us were there to pick him up with Mickey ears didn't believe us for some time. Once we were at the airport he knew we weren't kidding. It was fun for everyone.

 

[DisMom829]

The first year we surprised them, we made it all the way to Orlando and I put blankets over their heads and told them we were playing a game. We got to the arch, DH pulled over (in the no stopping zone) and we got them out of the car and took them to the front of the car. DD was still young and couldn't read yet. DS immediately got excited. DS had to tell DD that we're at Disney World. She then started jumping up and down! We then hurried them back to the car.

In 7 days I'm surprising DD with a Mommy & daughter trip. She has no clue. I've managed to keep this a secret. I was making some appliqué shirts for me and had to keep shooing her out of my sewing room. My plan is to drive to the airport Sunday night (2 hours away) for Mommy to leave on an early flight for work. When we wake her up Monday morning, we will give her a gift bag with her magic band and her I'm going to Disney shirt. It's her first time to fly, and our first girls only trip.