SURPRISE TRIP - HOW do you DROP THE BOMB?

[mikkiwikki]

Help -

We are going to Disney in 3 days and Im struggling with how to tell my kids the news....I have heard a few wonderful stories and hoped you disers could help me out.

The issue is the plane leaves very very early in the morning...
So should I tell them the night before (and how to do it cleverly....and will they sleep through the night after telling them...)

OR do I tell them in the WEE hourse of the morning....thus probably not having the intended affect...but assuring that they will get some rest at least...

THOUGHTS...Stories...COMMENTS...THANK YOU! IM SO EXCITED. Never did a surprise trip before

 

[woodkins]

Help -

We are going to Disney in 3 days and Im struggling with how to tell my kids the news....I have heard a few wonderful stories and hoped you disers could help me out.

The issue is the plane leaves very very early in the morning...
So should I tell them the night before (and how to do it cleverly....and will they sleep through the night after telling them...)

OR do I tell them in the WEE hourse of the morning....thus probably not having the intended affect...but assuring that they will get some rest at least...

THOUGHTS...Stories...COMMENTS...THANK YOU! IM SO EXCITED. Never did a surprise trip before

We have done many trips but did a surprise for our last one in Dec. Woke up our dd7 for school (it was much earlier than normal) and told her we had a new outfit for her to wear, showed her a disney themed dress & asked her if she would like to wear it to WDW...Today!! She was so surprised she started to cry!!!

 

[ashkash]

We surprised our kids last year (they were 6, 5, & almost 3 at the time). We told them we were going to visit some old friends in Florida & that it might be boring but we expected them to be on their best behavior. About an hour before we arrived in Orlando (we'd driven from New Orleans), we stopped & told them that we'd forgotten to mention that the old friends were Mickey & Minnie! They were very surprised & super excited. It worked out great because we only had another hour to drive, and they had just enough time to get hyped up about it. I'd surprise them again in a heartbeat, but I don't know if they'd fall for it again so soon!

 

[RIDisneyFan]

We surprised our 2 daughters last trip. We told them the day before; I was afraid if we woke them up very early the next morning they would be too tired to be excited. When they got home from school, I had a game all set up for them. Gave them their first clue, which led to the next clue, then the next, etc. Each item had something to do either with Disney or going on vacation. Towards the end one of the clues said "each item you've found has something in common; do you know what it is? If not, go to _______ to find the answer." The next to last card read "We're going to Disney World!! Want to know when? Go ask Leopard Kitty (DD's favorite stuffed animal she's had since she was 2), he knows." Then Leopard Kitty was holding a sign that just said "Tomorrow!!" They were so excited, and DH got most of it on video. We will definitely surprise them again next time, but we'll have to think of a different way to do it. (They think the next trip will be a couple of years from now, but it may be in December! )

 

[RIDisneyFan]

Some ideas I have for next "surprise" trip are to tell them we are going to visit their grandparents in Washington and then wait to see how long it takes them to figure out we are getting on a plane to Orlando. Or tell them mommy has to go on a business trip and they have to come to the airport to see me off, then tell them at the airport that we're actually going to Disney. I was also thinking of doing some sort of slide show presentation on the computer. Both DD's are starting to use programs like Powerpoint, so I could say that I put something together to show them how it's done, then put the information about the trip into the slide show.

 

[Tinker_]

We are surprising DS with a trip in May- loving these ideas! Keep em coming!!

We surprised DS yesterday with a Disney Live show for his V day present- and his face was PRICELESS. I literally told him in the parking lot before we went in! hahaha! I thought he would figure it out when I dressed him in Mickey tie dye for the day (me and DF matching hahaha), but he had no clue! It was great!

 

[rookie78]

I love the idea of walking them up in the wee hours and saying get dressed we are off to Disney!! What memories, I am sure even as adults they would remember that!!!!And an added bonus they would sleep good the night before, b/c there would not be that excitement. Maybe telling them in the morning would help jump start them that early in the morning!!!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

We told our kids about two weeks ahead of time. When they got home from school I told them we were having a scavenger hunt. I had a different one for each child (appropriate for their age). Their clues led them to letters. When they had all of their letters they had to bring them down and unscramble them into words, I think it was "We're going to Disneyworld!" I might've put in so many days or something like that, I can't remember.

They were super excited and still got to help me plan a little bit and since it was the first trip my 5yo had been on since he was a baby I had time to prepare him by letting him look at brochures and a book from our travel agent.

 

[daisy2jae]

plz be sure to come back and tell us how you surprised them. We're planning a surprise trip for our kids in sept and we're still trying to figure out how to tell them. We fly our early in the morning. We live 3 hours from the airport so we have to go the night before and stay in a hotel. We're going to tell them dad has a dr apt (since that's the main reason we go to Omaha). Then that night we plan on telling them but not sure how. Thought about ordering room service and working out something with the hotel to put on the room service tray. Maybe an invite from Mickey or not sure....wondering if anyone has good ideas. The hard part is for me to keep it a secret from them!

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

We just "broke the news" to our kids yesterday. DH gave me the go for a Spring Break trip, and I had originally wanted to wait until the day we left to tell them, but decided that I wanted their input on some of the planning.

So last week I tie dyed shirts for them, shopped for all kinds of little Disney candy and stuff, and put Valentines Day bags together with all of it. We sat them down and gave them the bags. The middle kids ages 11 and 5, were confused a bit, the 13 yr old was wondering why in the world he got toy story crayons and a color book, but when they all pulled the shirts out they all know instantly! It was so exciting and they are now driving me crazy with questions. 4 weeks from today we will be hanging out at SAB....if its warm enough!

 

[Catira]

This past November, we surprised my 10 year old son with a birthday trip to disneyworld. The night before, I asked him to pack his bag for a 4 day trip because we were off for a quick trip to his aunt's house that weekend.
I asked him to include some games for his Dsi and a blanket. Then in the morning, I told him if he would like to accompany me to drop off his dad at the airport for a business trip. Next, I asked him, "Hey wouldn't it be cool to skip school today"? Of course, he said "YES".. thought it was the greatest idea! Then at the airport, I told him we were going to go through the security checkpoint and sit with his Dad until his flight departed. Ok, when they called our flight, I surprised him!! Told him we were going on an awesome trip.
Once we were in our seats, he kept asking where we were flying to. Finally, gave him his birthday card and told him we were off to disneyworld! He was so happy, he kept telling us he would never forget his 11th birthday!

 

[dsnymomof4]

I would wait until you wake them up that morning. What child wouldn't want to be woken up to "wake up, honey, we're going to Disney World!"? So exciting!

 

[here757]

great stories

i told my 6 year old we were going to the wolf lodge.. (we live close to one)

he didnt believe me til he saw the sign .. then he had the nerve to get upset cuz he wanted the lodge trip instead LOL

 

[dphie28]

There is a lot to be said for a surprise trip. Their frist trip, we did the chain count down. That was fun. We started at 75 days and the excitement built and built. IT was a great behavior modification product too! The last time we went, we surprised our two boys (they were 6 and 4). We left on a Friday after school and when I picked up DS at school (rather than let him take the bus) he asked what was going on. I told him we had an appointment we had to get to...but thatit was a little far away. We drove an hour to the airport and both boys fell asleep. They woke up in the parking lot of the park-n-ride and asked why we were there. DH said he was wondering if they would like to watch the airplanes for a while. They said YES! Then DS6 said "I wish we were going ON an airplane" and DH said "Let's see if we can..." And the next ting they knew we were boarding for WDW! DS (now 8) still talks about that! He hasn't forgotten what I tld him we were doing and what we ended up doing instead!

This year we are heading back to WDW with our THREE sons (ages 8. 6 and 2) Last time we were there I was pregnant with #3 and they have been told ever since that we won't be back until the baby is 3. DS8 has seen me planning but thinks that it is for Fall when his brother turns 3... We are really going in May! DH has off the day we are leaving, so once the boys are on the bus, he will drop the dog off at the kennel and get the car packed up. Then we will again pick the boys up from school but we will tell them we are going to Grandma and Grandpa's house. The airport is about 45 minutes past the Grandparent's house. I am sure DS8 will let us know when we don't make the 'right turn' and we will tell them that Grandma and Grandpa are not home... I can't wait till they see the airport and see tat Grandma and Grandpa are not home because they are coming with us!!!

I do think that waiting until they are awake is a better idea. We went to Orlando last summer for a non-Disny trip (Seaworld, IOA, Nick Hotel) and the boys knew about it. It was summer, so I wanted them to have something to look forward to. We had a 6 am flight and needed to leave our house by 3 am. DS8 barely slept. He didn't fall asleep (from the excitement) until after 11 pm. DH and I got nothing accomplished because they were so excited. So, when we woke them at 3, they were WIRED....none of them (including the baby) slept a wink until bedtime that night! DH and I needed a case of coca cola to keep us awake with them!

 

[AJRitz]

We're planning on waiting to surprise DD7 (and DS3, but he'll be fairly oblivious anyway) with a trip to WDW over her birthday. We want to wait to tell her until the morning we leave, both for her reaction and to avoid the, "how much longer?" questions every half hour for seven months. But I'm struggling with what we do when she asks about her birthday party/"we need to send invitations to my party to my class". How do we balance maintaining the secret without outright lying to her (which we try very hard to avoid doing, and to which DD is VERY sensitive).

 

[MSMomTJ]

We are surprising our kids, but we're telling them a week before. I know our oldest will enjoy getting to plan a little bit, and I think the youngest will need to watch the video to really understand what WDW is. To tell them, we're going to have a friend sneak a box onto the porch, sprinkle pixie dust on it, and then ring the bell (and hide). In the box will be some things they'll need for an upcoming adventure...after they pull out the Mickey outfits, the Encyclopedia of Disney characters, they'll find a note from Mickey and tickets for the plane and the parks.

When I'd planned to tell them the day before, I was going to tell them that we were going to a friend's for a few days. After we put the luggage in the car, I was going to direct them to a suitcase left and ask them to see if there was anything we'd need in it. There, they'd find all the stuff I mentioned above. I really love that idea, but we decided that it wouldn't be best for our kids to wait until the morning of.

 

[PebblesMK]

I just booked our trip for September and have no intentions of telling my kiddo until the day before or the day of. Not sure. Either way,I've been thinking of some ideas, and my idea would work best the day before when she gets home from school. I'm going to have a big box addressed to her on the porch. She's used to seeing boxes and she'll see it's for her and get excited, and when she opens it, Disney balloons will pop out (like in the commercial) and it will have a note telling her she's going to the happiest place on Earth. I may opt to wake her up super early and say that UPS just dropped it off.

Regardless of what you do, it will be memorable and a most fantstic surprise!

 

[zipadeedoodamom]

We have surprised our kids twice (once the morning of the trip and once a couple days in advance) and both were great. The first time we woke up my daughter at 4:00 am and said that Mickey had just called and told us it was our turn to come to WDW that day. She gave us a hug, jumped out of bed and ran into her baby brother's room and yelled "Wake Up! We're going to Disney World!" At the end of that trip my daughter had a green Mickey balloon that she didn't want to part with on our way to the airport. I told her that if she let the balloon go it would float to Tinkerbell and she could make a wish. Of course, she wished that she would get to come back to Disney World someday. A few days before our next trip, I placed a green balloon in our living room with a note from Tinkerbell attached that said we would get to visit Disney World again, just like she wished. My daughter loved this and has convinced the other kids in her Kindergarten class that Tinkerbell is real because she got a letter from her.

 

[PebblesMK]

We have surprised our kids twice (once the morning of the trip and once a couple days in advance) and both were great. The first time we woke up my daughter at 4:00 am and said that Mickey had just called and told us it was our turn to come to WDW that day. She gave us a hug, jumped out of bed and ran into her baby brother's room and yelled "Wake Up! We're going to Disney World!" At the end of that trip my daughter had a green Mickey balloon that she didn't want to part with on our way to the airport. I told her that if she let the balloon go it would float to Tinkerbell and she could make a wish. Of course, she wished that she would get to come back to Disney World someday. A few days before our next trip, I placed a green balloon in our living room with a note from Tinkerbell attached that said we would get to visit Disney World again, just like she wished. My daughter loved this and has convinced the other kids in her Kindergarten class that Tinkerbell is real because she got a letter from her.

Awwww! I love the balloon story! We took a balloon into the airport and gave it to a kid who was just getting in and heading to Disney. Nothing like giving a bit of pixie dust to others!

 

[AlexandAndysMom]

Awwww! I love the balloon story! We took a balloon into the airport and gave it to a kid who was just getting in and heading to Disney. Nothing like giving a bit of pixie dust to others!

We deflated the balloon and brought it home and blew it back up! LOL