To Surprise or not surprise??

[MT momma]

End of February will be the first trip for my girls, 3 1/2 and 21 months. Any input... past experiences on keeping it a secret until we fly out vs. telling them now??

 

[lalasmama]

At 3.5yo, my daughter was all about routine. At that age, I would have told her that we were going, because she would have needed a lot of prep--from pre-meeting 6 foot tall rodents to the idea of not becoming a human octopus when brought near a public bathroom.

She screamed like she was being seriously hurt when she met Chuck E Cheese at 3yo, so I held off on any dreams of Disney for many more years, LOL.

 

[disneychrista]

My kids were never very good with surprises. I tried to surprise my girls on a couple of occasions and I ended up dissapointed because they didn't seem excited.

 

[araes2102]

IMHO those ages may be a little too young to really get a good surprise reaction because I don't think they will really grasp the whole idea of Disneyland. At least mine didn't at that age (part of the reason we waited until now to take them; I know we won't be able to go back anytime soon and I really wanted DD to remember and appreciate the trip). I would talk to them about it and get them excited that way

 

[SFMommy]

We did not surprise our daughter because I knew that she would do better knowing and seeing everything ahead of time.

We went online and watched you tube videos of every ride, watched disney movies, watched disney junior tv shows, talked about the rides and characters. This went on for months!

By the time we got to DL, our DD was so comfortable and excited. Nothing was a "surprise" for her but nothing scared her either. She ran into the arms of the characters, jumped on rides with no fear. It was a wonderful vacation because she was so well prepared for everything.

Only you know your kids and what would work best for them!

 

[CandMmommy]

My daughters are borderline obsessed with Disney thanks to the commercials on nick and Disney Channel. They are nearly 3 and nearly 6 and we will be surprising them on march 16 with a princess t shirt and nightgowns I got at Disney store on clearance. We are going on the 17th

 

[tiggerjay]

You know your kids the best, but my expectation is that they really have no clue about how terrific DL really is, so they just might not get it. I would agree with some of the other posters, tell them about it, and get them really excited watching YouTube videos and order some of the promotional materials. Watch Disney movies which correlate with attractions they'll see in the parks. And then make their next trip the surprise.

 

[RuthieT]

We are going in just over a month and our oldest daughter will just be turning 8. She has no idea we are next month and just thinks we are going back in the fall... We will just wake her up the morning of and surprise with our bags all packed and ready to head to the airport!

 

[Mugglemama]

When my kids were those ages, a *surprise* trip to Disneyland would probably have been overwhelming to the point of making them feel really unsettled.

For my own children (who are now aged 7, 10, 14, and 20), I wouldn't have "sprung" that huge of a surprise on them until they were probably 6 or 7 years old (especially if that "surprise" trip was going to involve flying, or any other major experience..which can be overwhelming on its own for some people).

My kids have been to DLR many, many times...and our trip next weekend will be the very FIRST time we have surprised them with it. And the only reason we're doing that is because we have a good cover story...my nephew finishes his deployment to Afghanistan next week, and we are driving down so the kids can see him when he gets home. His parents happen to live half an hour from DLR, so we can hide it at least until we get to the hotel.

For my kids and me, a HUGE part of the fun of a trip to DLR is the planning and anticipation! Truth be told, I'm actually really missing getting to share that excitement and planning with my kids for this trip. I actually think it's going to take away from the overall fun a bit, to be honest.

 

[lisachrystine]

We surprised my kids (2,4,6) this past December. They knew we were going *someday* and had had all the prep of YouTube, etc. It still failed miserably. They didn't get it. We got almost no reaction. It took until we were in the car on the way to the airport for it to even *start* sinking in. In retrospect, we might have been better off letting them work up to the excitement. They were so overwhelmed at the whole thing that they didn't really start getting into it until the day we left for home! Now, they all want to go back. So, that being said, only you know your kids, but at their ages, I might let them know a bit ahead of time so they are mentally prepared. Things backfired on us.

 

[disneychrista]

It still failed miserably. They didn't get it. We got almost no reaction.

This would be my experience with my kids too. I think part of the excitement is the build up & planning etc. So without it the trip it became less fun for them.

 

[Tarijeno]

As much as I'd like to surprise the recipients of our upcoming trip, I don't think it's a viable option for all of them. The eldest of the three will have to take a couple days off of school for the trip, which will require requesting homework assignments, negotiating absences, etc, at least a week before the trip. Maybe we'll tell her then.

I'm still thinking about telling the kids that we're going some place boring by comparison, up until we arrive at Santa Ana.

 

[geekypeach]

Our surprise trip was the best trip we've ever had. We drove, and our DD didn't figure it out until we were on Harbor Blvd. (11 hours away!). Our DS was 3.5 and our DD was 7. I wish I could put the video online, it was AMAZING. My kids are die-hard routine kids, but this just isn't your ordinary change of pace. They did famously, and in fact, there was much less anticipation anxiety than they usually have. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[pixiewings71]

We surprised our kids, but they were 6 and 9. I'm not sure it would have worked as well had they been as young as yours. You know them best, how will they do with a surprise like this one?

 

[LucasandMickey]

I CANNOT wait until my kids are old enough to surprise them with a Disney trip! Seriously, something I can't wait to do. I want to wake them up early one morning and head to the airport and go. But I don't see them being ready for the whole "surprise" idea until my oldest is AT LEAST 6-7. I just don't see *most* kids "getting it" until that age. We took our kids in September about a week before my DS' 2nd birthday and we did lots of prep work so he would be excited when we got there and recognize things. Mickey Mouse Club House is his all time favorite show so we were good there on all the classic Disney characters. I also got him watching Finding Nemo and Toy Story so those rides/characters/paraphenelia were recognizable to him. We also did the whole YouTube thing as well.

Believe me, I get where you are coming from on wanting to surprise your kiddos! I just think you might not get the reaction you are hoping for from them. But, like others said, you know your kids better than anyone. Maybe they are old enough for it!

 

[myxdvz]

Only you would know your kids but for that age (my kids are 0, 2, 5 and 6) and I wouldn't surprise them yet. It was more entertaining for us to build up their excitement since they haven't been there before.

Now that we've done DLR, WDW and DCL with them at least once - I can try and do the surprise next time. Surprise is way better IMO, when one knows what it is. If its something they're doing for the first time, they may not know why it's a big deal.