Surprise Trip

[momtoltl74]

Hi everyone. I have been apart of these board for awhile, but am mostly a reader. I enjoy all the great information.

I am planning a surprise trip for my 3 kiddos ages 11, 9, and 7, the youngest will turn 8 on our last day in the parks. We are going in February. I gotta say this is hard. We usually have a big count down and we talk about everything we want to do and see and where we want to eat. Now my kids know that sometime next year we will be going so I can talk to them about ideas, and what if's but we usually go in Sept. or November, so that is what they are expecting. So I still can get their input, just not like we usually do it and it's still hard because I can't be excited about it. lol

We plan on having my son's birthday party for friends on Friday the 7th and his last present will have a back packs with each of my kids names on it with stuff inside for the trip. ( We will be driving from Ks) So when he opens it we will have him give his sisters their back packs and have them look inside and of course that will be when they figure out we are going. I really can't wait to see their faces and their reaction. No one thinks I will be able to pull it off (parents and husband) but I am determined it will be a surprise. We will leave early Sat. morning about 3am.

That part I have pretty much figured out, what I'm worried about is how the heck am I going to pack for everyone. Have any of you did surprise trips and what advise would you give to me?

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

Keep the clothes in a laundry basket folded, not a suitcase until they know.

 

[froakiemonkey02]

Ok tell your kids that you are going to start having them pick out the next weeks worth of clothes in advance. They will lay out all the clothes. Tell them that next weeks weather will be much warmer. So they lay out shorts and pants. During the party leave your husband in charge of watching the kids. Sneak out and pack everything in the suit case then hide the suit case in the kids closets. Don't let them go to the room till they no, or just hide the cases in the car then drive to the airport then give them the suitcases. I hope this helps.

 

[froakiemonkey02]

Ok so here is what you do

Tell your kids that you are going to start having them lay out the next weeks clothes the week before

During the party sneak away and pack all the clothes and put the suitcases where you think is best.

 

[sugarmagnolia325]

We've never done a surprise Disney trip before (but we are next month!), but we've packed our 8 year old for a surprise end of school beach trip. It was pretty easy to pack for her, like the previous post said, by putting things in "laundry stacks". Since you've been before, you'll know what they want to wear for the most part (throw in a few extra options if you have a picky fashion forward kiddo like mine). Mine won't know until she gets an early dismissal from school next month. Big reveal then birthday presents to act as souvenirs and road trip fun. She'll get to actually turn 9 in MK! Good luck on your surprise trip!

 

[afinnteach]

We are doing a surprise trip over Thanksgiving. The kids (ages 7 and 9) think we are going next Thanksgiving, so like you I can talk about "what ifs". We aren't telling them at all, we are going to let them think we are heading to their grandparents for the holiday and see how long it takes them to figure it out! I totally agree that the hardest part is not being excited, I'm really going I don't blow it! Good luck!

 

[momtoltl74]

Thank you for the advise.
I never even thought of putting the laundry in a clothes basket until time to go.

 

[brinafair]

Thank you for the advise.
I never even thought of putting the laundry in a clothes basket until time to go.

I love that idea. Thanks. I'm working on a surprise trip as well. We leave in 47 days (but who's counting?!) I am trying to work out the logistics on how to get everything together without being obvious that I'm packing.

 

[grage]

We are planning a surprise cruise trip in 55 days... Our children think we are going to visit family in Texas, our main concern is that we are travelling from Canada so not sure if we will be able to make it through customs and keep the surprise... Any suggestions?

 

[QueenQueso]

Are your kids really observant? Would they even notice shorts/tshirts missing from their drawers in Feb if they're probably wearing jeans and long sleeves right then? My older son wouldn't notice a packed suitcase if I left it next to his bed, so personally, I would just pack the suitcases and put them under your bed or in your closet. That said, we did matchy-matchy shirts, so I wouldn't be packing shirts they would have worn before anyway. (Next trip I think I'll just match the kids and go with a general Disney 'theme' for me and DH to save $$)

Toiletries, I do all travel-size stuff so nothing would be missing from my bathroom and things like toothbrushes, hairbrushes, favorite loveys for smaller kids, etc you don't pack until the day you leave anyway.

IMO, if you're not super obvious about it, just go about your business like you're not doing anything unusual and the kids won't notice.