SURPRISE TRIP! How to tell the kids?

[lee]

Hi Everyone,
We are leaving for WDW in a week and no one knows except my husband and myself. We are really excited about surprising the kids (6 & 8). Since we are traveling light, I will have everything packed and in the trunk of the car without the kids knowing. DH thinks we should just get in the car and start driving. How would you tell them?

 

[tribus121]

I think that your DH has the right idea of getting into the car and start driving. Just tell the kids that you guys are going on a trip and don't say where until you get there. Would this help?

Tribus121's wife

 

[rdsx28]

I would get a balloon from a party store a mylar one that maybe has a Disney character on it. I would put a note on it saying Surprise! we are going to Disneyworld or whatever you want to say and then wrap it up in a big box and wrap it up.You could give it the day you leave or night before. When they open up the box the balloon will come floating out. I did this for my husband as a surprise and it worked out great and my family thought it was so special. Good Luck and have a great trip!

 

[lee]

Thanks for the good ideas. I know they are going to be so excited!

 

[owenbyd]

Can you get them some 'disney' activities for the trip (coloring books, etc) AND not tell them what you are doing (maybe Birbaun's book for kids?). Then perhaps, the kids will start to 'get' it as you give them more Disney oriented materials as you get closer?

 

[bedgraynexl]

I am all for just driving and giving some Disney related stuff on the way down. We just did this for our June Disneyland trip. We went and saw the grandparents in Vegas and then drove to LA. Kids didn't know what we were really doing until we got there. They loved the surprise!

Any way you tell them will be great!

 

[Windy City Heather]

I just gave my niece who is 14 a trip. I gave her a clue, the answer to that clue lead her to another clue and so on. At the end she had to turn the 7 clues over and solve the word scramble that was Jamaica. Since yours are a little younger you could have your last clue lead to the disney planning video or a good basket of disney stuff that they can use in the car or down in disney.

 

[dman11]

If you're driving all the way it would be great to just get in the car tell them you're going on a trip and tell them you got them some things to do during the ride. Give them all Disney related stuff (coloring books, books, games, etc.) but don't tell them. They'll catch on real quick as you pull up to the main entrance. Make sure your directions take you through the main entrance and not one of the other side ones like by DTD. Imagine the look on their faces as they see that sign with Mickey waving at them! That would be something none of you will ever forget.

No matter how you tell them I'm sure they're going to be some seriously happy kids. Enjoy!

 

[Tiffer]

Hi Everyone,
We are leaving for WDW in a week and no one knows except my husband and myself. We are really excited about surprising the kids (6 & 8). Since we are traveling light, I will have everything packed and in the trunk of the car without the kids knowing. DH thinks we should just get in the car and start driving. How would you tell them?

How about a fairygodmailer? You could still get it if they sender used a first class stamp. If no to that, just drive like your DH said. Then tell themthe whole way you are going to great anunt Bertha's to take care of her because she just had her hammertoes fixed, then when they see WDW they will freak!

 

[barneythebassett]

How long is the drive? My DS(10) goes nuts and asks a ton of questions if we take a different route around town. I could not tolerate excessive questioning over several hours. However, I think it would be great fun to just get in and drive if your children are not the questioning type or if the drive were 3-4 hours. My kids would "get it" when we crossed the Florida state line....but it would take 3-4 hours to get to that point.

I have a friend who took her kids on a surprise trip to WDW for Christmas. They opened Christmas presents, found the tickets, she was packed and they headed for the airport. When they arrived at a restaurant at WDW they found their grandparents as an additional surprise.

 

[lovinpoohbear]

This post made me smile My very first trip to Disney, I was six years old and my younger brother woke me up and said Wake up We're going to Disney world!!! And I was like Yeah ok. Sure enough, when I ran down the stairs, all the suitcases were by the door. We were so EXCITED!!!!
Slightly ot, but this was 1982, flew on airplane and they packaged the kids meals in boxes that had the magic kingdom on it!!! It made the trip even more exciting!!!

 

[lee]

I think I'm as excited now as the kids will be when they find out. Thanks for all your posts and great ideas!!

 

[Eeyore Excitement]

I agree with your DH, just take off in the car! Say you're taking them to boot camp. >.<

 

[danalee]

Last year when we surprised my son (6) he loved wheel of fortune! So since the trip was for his birthday (we left 2 days later) I made a big poster-board sign that said "Hunter is going to Disney World" covered the letters with pieces of extra paper, made a spinner(used one from a game, covered it with constuction paper and wrote "pick a letter", "pick a vowel", "get a clue" and a "$ sign") so he would spin land on something and go from there!
The clues I made up and numbered from 1-10 just put simple things like "trip, 7 days to buzz & castle"
He got it when the sign was about half full and was "over the moon" he had NO idea and was thrilled!
It was fun for everyone!
This year we told him months ago we were going and he said, thats great but next time please surprise me!
have a great trip

 

[djblu883]

I'm saving all your ideas for our trip next year. My grandaughter will be almost 3. She went at 9 months be we decided it was just too much so we are skipping this year and only MiMi is going....won't she be surprised as MiMi has her house stocked with all kinds of Disney Goodies...Have a great time!!!!!!!!!!

 

[momofthreegamers]

We surprised our 2 older kids with a trip last year. At the time they were 9 and 7.

We taped a 'fake' jr. high school radio show...very low-tech; bought a cheap microphone for the computer, jotted down a simple script and recorded. My friend and I (I disguised my voice) came up with characters, a fake school and everything. The topic of that day's 'show' was Disney. J-red (my friend) and MJ (me) were discussing whether they would want to be surprised with a trip to Disney or if they would like to be involved in the planning. We gave a number to call to place votes. On our way to the airport (the kids thought we were just going to Jackson, MS to visit relatives), I played the CD. The kids listened and my passenger videotaped. When it was time to call, we called (of course it was my friends number) and J-Red answered. They kids placed their vote (luckily it was a vote to be surprised) and then J-red told them that their family was surprising them with a trip that starts right now! They were in total disbelief. It actually took about 30 minutes for it to sink in because they were totally questioning things in their little heads.

It was definately a memory that we will never forget! Good luck!

 

[slduck]

We suprised Dh with a trip for her 4th birthday. When we came home one afternoon, there was a box wrapped in Mickey paper on our front door step. When she opened the box a balloon came out with a letter from Mickey.

 

[aGoofyMom]

We surprised DD4 with a trip this spring. We had to tell her as we were leaving the house though - didn't want trouble crossing the border! Since we spent a night in the US closer to the airport, I made sure Tinkerbell left her a gift for the morning of our flight. Tinkerbell towel & sunglasses purchased at Walmart. Perhaps Tinkerbell could visit your car at a rest stop along the way?

If it is their first trip, I do like the idea of handing out Disney related items along the way - can you get park maps from anyone? Then as you get closer to it, you can pass back the maps & ask them to check & see if you are close yet...Or even use a map of Florida and draw a or a on the destination...
Don't forget to check out mousesavers.com for trivia downloads - that could occupy some time on the way too.
No matter what, have a great trip!

 

[striker3636]

We are planning our trip before Christmas as a surprise for our kids too. Since we are driving to Buffalo the night before for a 6:10am departure, we are planning on telling the kids we are going to go shopping at the Galleria for Christmas presents for the weekend. Then, we will still keep the destination a secret until they figure it out, or see the ME bus at Orlando!