The Best Way To Say "WE'RE GOING"

[extrap99]

We are arriving at Disneyland on NYE, but have not told the kids about the trip yet. I'm going back and forth on telling them Christmas Day, the day before we leave, or at the airport in the morning.

I got a lot of useful advice on my last post, and was wondering if anyone has any thoughts or experience with "The Big Reveal"?

 

[coaches24]

I like the Christmas Day idea. Have them open a present that reveals the trip. Maybe a Disney gift card with a little spending money for them and a note to say they should spend wisely at DL. Or wrap up a suit case with a Disney travel tag and note that says you have one week to pack.

Not exactly sure how but I like the idea of making it a Christmas present.

 

[mrslamb]

I will be stalking this thread, I am in the same boat!! We have a 2 and a 6 year old we are surprising with a trip in December. I can't decide whether we should tell them at the airport or wait until we are at the front of the park/hotel. The 2 year old won't get it either way, really, but our 6 year old is going to be SHOCKED! lol

 

[StyledSugar]

When we took the kids last year at Halloween they knew we were going to Disneyland (we wanted them to save money for the trip so we had to give them a date or they would have gone with nothing lol) but they thought we were leaving November 26th. We actually left October 26th! To keep them in the dark and to explain why we were letting them take the day off of school we used the excuse that we were letting them have the day off to go for lunch and to search for a Halloween costume.

We had it all planned and actually recorded (mostly just the sound because we didn't want them to see the camera) it in the car. We told them we were going to this really cool costume shop which happened to be by the airport. We pretended we were lost and after a mini "fight" between DH and I(totally planned to make it seem like we were really lost), we finally decided we should pull into the parking place to "ask for directions". When we pulled up the kids were getting frustrated that we didn't know where we were going. lol We said don't worry, we'll find it......then we stopped the car, popped the trunk and said orrrrrrrrrrrrr we could just go on vacation right now. They were stunned! It was the most amazing surprise and my daughter was literally shaking. My son thought we were lying until we made him get out of the car and look in the trunk, where all of the luggage was. It was great!!

It took a lot of planning to pull it off. You have no idea how hard it is to pack clothes for a 10 day trip or so (we went to Vegas and then DL) and not have them find out. lol "Mom, where are my jeans?????"......"Geez, I have no idea. That's what happens when you don't put your clothes away".....lol Meanwhile they are in the basement, in a suitcase. lol

It was totally worth it though. I will never forget it and neither will they. We will never be able to pull that off again but for our Christmas trip we have one little surprise planned. The kids think we are staying at the Del Sol but were disappointed we weren't staying at PPH where we spent 2 nights last time. Well, we are staying at PPH but figured we had to surprise them somehow. lol Like I said, it won't top the one last year but should be a fun little surprise!

Whatever you choose, it will be great and they will love it. If you can pull it off though, the last minute surprise is the best!!

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

Last year we took our boys 10 and 1 at the time to WDW the week before Christmas. My 10 year old had no idea we were going. We let him go to school 1/2 day and picked him up early. When he got in the car we had a Christmas gift bag with a shirt that said "I'm going to Walt Disney World." We also had a card in the gift bag with a print out of our hotel reservations. After he read the card he was like....."are we going on vacation?" We told him to read the date and look in the back of the car where we had all the luggage packed. He was so surprised, and excited to be going to WDW for Christmas. It was amazing to surprise him even though it by no means was his first trip, it was however the first time we were able to pull off a surprise trip.

 

[Susannajean]

Awww how cute! Dbf and I are going on a 9 day long disneyland/so cal trip next september, and I REALLY wanted to make it a suprise for him. Untill I realized he is an adult and probably has his own opinions on what he wants to do on vacation. And this way I don't wind up with paying for the whole thing myself.

HOWEVER, back on topic, I think you should definately suprise them with it on Christmas day. Or maybe the day after Christmas? That way they get all the excitement of Christmas, and then when they think the fun is over, they find out they're going to Disneyland! The reason I think you should tell them before hand, is I remember when I was 6 we took our first trip to Disneyland, and I had my own idea of things I wanted to bring that my parents would never have thought of. Also, the excitement is half the fun! Maybe get them a fun Disneyland guide book with a ton of pictures so they can look through it and have a week to get super excited! Whatever you choose, I hope your family has a blast!

 

[awdsmama]

How exciting!!!

I suprised DS7 this past March for his 1st DL trip. I bought some small gifts ahead of time like POTC figures, Chip and Dale stuffed animals, a "I'm Going To Disneyland" t-shirt, a McQueen word find book etc.

I put it all in his McQueen Suitcase and on the top of the suitcase I put part 1 of a riddle, and on top of the stuff on the inside I put part 2 of the riddle which told of the suprise

I gave it to him the morning we were to leave - we were driving)

 

[scrapshappen]

Well we drive when we go to Disneyland and usually overnight in St. George, UT on the way down because we have family there. For our trip last we told the boys we were taking them out of school for the week to take them to the Grand Canyon. So we would have to go through St. George anyway. Then the next morning, we had a package for them to open that had a luggage tag, their ticket and an autograph book in it.

But the other really fun thing we did was have an additional surprise for them to open each day. So the first day it was that we were going to DL. On Sunday morning, they opened an envelope with our Goofy's Kitchen vouchers in there. The others were Mickey's TT Morning Madness, a Gift Card, and dinner at the Rain Forrest Cafe. We kept that going on the next leg of our trip (San Diego) where we wouldn't tell them what we were doing before hand, they opened up an envelope that morning that revealed Lego Land, the Zoo and Wild Animal park.

My sons loved the daily surprise and asked if we could do that every time we went on vacation.

Although they already pretty much know all about our next trip, it's been fun planning it with them this time.

 

[lsulindy]

We're surprising our kids for Christmas with a February trip. Unless they've been lots of times before, I'm not a fan of 'day of' surprises. I think the anticipation is half of the fun, and I think kids need some time to prepare and "be prepared." Discuss lines, (you wait in line, take your turn, and then get off so the next person can take their turn, etc), watch videos (YouTube and my kids love "Sing a long Disneyland Fun" even though I got it to prepare them for their first WDW trip), know what "Disney is" and what it isn't. But, that's just my opinion. I know many disagree.

I am a sucker for those surprise videos though. haha
Hoping to get the best of both worlds this time. I want to do a box of Mickey balloons for them to open Christmas morning.

 

[DisneyDanielle2012]

We are taking our just turned 4 year old son for his 5th birthday in October next year. I haven't decided if we should surprise him.or give him a couple day warning. We went in march when we was 3 and he loved it. We have a 9 year old daughter that can't miss school to go in Oct, so she is staying with her dad when we take our son, we don't want her overly dissipointed by not going so we won't tell her until we get back, so we really can't tell our son or he will tell.. lol. We took her alone when she was 7 and our son stayed with my inlaws. On her 11th birthday just she and I are going to go, so she isny being left out but still don't want her sad or anything. Anyways. We live in Maine and will more then likely take amtrack train if we can't find reasonable airline ticket prices. If we take train, we will tell him the night before we leave by allowing him to open an early birthday present. And he will have the while 27 hour train ride to be excited lol! Good luck!

 

[kaci]

We're taking our DS5 and DD2 this December. This is a first trip to DLR for all of us. We've done the anticipation thing before (countdowns and what not) and DS's excitement and enthusiasm usually wears down before the vacation even starts, so we've decided to go the surprise route this time. As far as the kids will know Grandma is going on a trip and needs us to drop her off at the airport, then when we get out to say our goodbyes that's when we'll tell the kiddos that Grandma is actually dropping US off and we're getting on a plane headed to Disneyland

We'll see how it goes, should make for a good video either way

 

[jmac323]

How exciting for them! We're also surprising our girls at Christmas for a January trip. I bought Minnie hoodies with their names embroidered and I will wrap them up with a note that the older one can read when she opens her gift. I'm not sure the little one will get it but we'll see.

 

[mouseymommy]

Awww how cute! Dbf and I are going on a 9 day long disneyland/so cal trip next september, and I REALLY wanted to make it a suprise for him. Untill I realized he is an adult and probably has his own opinions on what he wants to do on vacation. And this way I don't wind up with paying for the whole thing myself.

HOWEVER, back on topic, I think you should definately suprise them with it on Christmas day. Or maybe the day after Christmas? That way they get all the excitement of Christmas, and then when they think the fun is over, they find out they're going to Disneyland! The reason I think you should tell them before hand, is I remember when I was 6 we took our first trip to Disneyland, and I had my own idea of things I wanted to bring that my parents would never have thought of. Also, the excitement is half the fun! Maybe get them a fun Disneyland guide book with a ton of pictures so they can look through it and have a week to get super excited! Whatever you choose, I hope your family has a blast!

I kinda like the idea of telling them the day AFTER Christmas. When I was a kid (and now as an adult) Christmas Eve and day are so busy and fun, and the next day is kind of a let down. I would have love to have the fun spread out a little bit more.
We have surprised our kids a couple times. This March I had little Mickey bags made up with a shirt and toy and water bottle for each of them in their seat in the car. When they got in they were so excited! For DS5's Birthday trip we told him we were going to the outlet malls in Palm Springs. When we got there we told him we should just keep going and go to DL. He wasn't excited at all. 10 minutes later he asked if we were really going to DL, and when I said yes, he was really excited!!
We usually only go every couple years, so even though the trips were close together, they kids were beyond excited.

 

[crystal1313]

We surprised our boys in July with a quick, one day trip so they could see Cars Land. They were 4 and 2. We drove from northern California so it was about a 6 hour trip. The boys were tired and kept asking where we were going. We told them Lake Tahoe. We usually never drive down at night, so it was a LONG trip. LOL. It took them forever to fall asleep. Once we got off the freeway, they woke up, so we were worried they would notice DL. They didn't. They were so tired, they never noticed. We stayed right across the street at the Ramada Maingate and they still never noticed. So the next morning we got up extra early to get to the parks at opening.......the boys still had no idea. My husband broke the news to them as he recorded their reaction. It was priceless! So cute. My oldest thought we were joking to the point that my husband had to carry him out of the room and show him the Tower of Terror across the street. LOL. They were beyond thrilled and couldn't get out of the hotel fast enough to get to Cars Land. It was totally worth it to save the surprise! They still talk about being surprised too. I'm sure whatever way you choose to surprise them, they will love it! Have a wonderful time =)

 

[momtotwolittleones]

We told our boys last year, ages 10 and 7, the morning of. Our thought was we would put their packed suitcases in the hallway and they would see them when they woke up in the morning. Well, they woke up, and the suitcases didn't even register. They just went about their morning. Dh and I were packing up the car, and our kids were totally clueless! They were just reading and playing legos and eating breakfast. When the car was all packed up, dh turned to the kids and said "Okay, get dressed and brush your teeth." They responded "Why? Are we going somewhere?" And he said "Yep." They said "Where?" He said "Disneyland." They were in shock, and thought we were kidding. When we confirmed it was really happening, chaos ensued, and they were dressed and out of the house in record time. Super fun. We're planning on doing the same thing again this year.

 

[jkattk]

I'm taking my 5 yr old son on New Year's Day. My current thought is to keep it a secret until Christmas Eve and then give him a present from us with Disneyland clothes and an autograph book (he's a beginning reader so an extended note wouldn't help but he certainly has no trouble recognizing the word "Disney" ). I don't want to give it on Christmas day because that day is too chaotic with a large family gathering to be able to focus on a gift with meaning. I do want to have it be a gift that he opens though since we won't be buying as much as usual for him otherwise with the trip being the major Christmas gift for him and myself (DH is staying home since he's working a new job and doesn't enjoy theme parks anyway since at 6'10" he finds many rides uncomfortable) - so I wouldn't want to wait until the day after Christmas since otherwise his gifts from us would seem light during Christmas eve/day. I also don't want to go for a "the day of" surprise since the anticipation will be very fun for him too (but two months of anticipation would be way too much if I told him now!).

 

[lisachrystine]

We surprised our kids (DS6, DS4 and DD2 at the time) last Christmas and I won't do a "day of" surprise again. I WISH it went as well as some others have. I had the video camera ready for the happy screaming reaction. And I got.... nothing. It took a long time for it to sink in. Don't get me wrong, they were excited, but I think like someone else said that the planning and anticipation is half the fun for some kids (when asked after the fact, my DS6 said he wanted to be involved next time, not surprised). Only you know your kids, but I particularly like trying to get the best of both worlds - surprise them around Christmas time, but then they still have a week for the anticipation to set in.

 

[BusyB15]

I am stealing the first page of the pictures posted for tonight! We are giving our kiddos an early Christmas present and are spilling the news that we leave next week with a stocking full of Disney goodies. Thanks for sharing!

(Can't quote-- I don't have enough posts ;( )

 

[MermaidHair]

We surprised DD(11) and DS(9) on their 2nd trip when DS turned 5. We do trips on years divisible by 5 (5, 10, no one is 15 yet!) so they knew it was coming, we just did not tell them when. And we went about a month before his b-day so they were totally surprised. We woke them up a little earlier than usual and appologized but "we have a plane to catch!" They were very excited. When we got to the airport I gave them a little travel bag with park maps, a couple of pins, gum, a little word search book. They loved it.

Since then we have gone a couple of times and they have been in the loop. I have asked them if they prefer the surprise or not and they are completely torn. I may surprise them again in May if I can figure out how to manage the homework situation...

 

[Here4mydisneyfix]

We've done it a couple different ways. The first time we surprised them with the news at home and videotaped it. FUN! hehe This last time we actually told them we were flying to Cali to visit family and that yes, although Disney is in Cali (as our 6 year old made SURE to point out! ha!), we would unfortunately not be visiting there this time. We kept up the rouse until we were at basically at the entrance to Disney when the girls finally realized where we were! What an exciting moment!!