To surprise or not to surprise?

[Mrs Green]

OMG @Disney Dad ADL that is awful! ha ha ha that poor mom! probably spent HOURS planning!

I'm sure her planning wound up being worth it once they arrived and started having fun!

 

[michellekcm]

Earlier this year we told our kids (ages 3 and 7) that we were going home after Universal. As we drove over the bridge near Port Canaveral where you get your first glimpse of the ship (thanks to the Dis-ers who gave me directions!) we told them we were going on the Magic instead. According to my 7yo it was the best surprise ever - even though she'd just finished telling me how she really really wanted to go home to see her best friend.

My 3yo didn't really care one way or the other. He loves the "Mickey ship" so was happy, but I don't really think he understood either the going home or the change in plans really.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Why not have the best of both worlds and announce it in a fun way at home one night? Say you have something to tell them. Gather them in a room for example lights low.. A cake appears with a ship on it.. Iced 'we are going on a Disney cruise! ' You or your DH announce from behind the door.


Ladies and Gentleman the ( your family name ) are boarding The Disney Dream...

They get to have the fun announcement and surprise and plan and prep.

 

[jrabbit]

Since your kids have been on a cruise before, surprising them is OK, sometimes big surprises like this are great!!!

But generally speaking I think that the "SURPRISE!!! We're going on a cruise" "event" with children is a lot of wasted / stressful (on the secret keepers) effort. Most kids are at least familiar with what Disneyland / WDW is (or at least we were way back when I was a kid watching Uncle Walt on Sunday nights) so a surprise trip there has a frame of reference for them. But they really don't have the life experience to understand just how special and cool a cruise vacation is or what it really means until they have experienced it for themselves at least once (like 2 of your children).

OK, time out time .... .... .... while I put on my Flame Retardant Suit ....

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

The last time I cruised, I was surprised. Everyone knew except for me. My parents told me on April Fools Day that we were really going. They didn't want to tell me incase we had to cancel it

 

[thebrundogs]

Since your kids have been on a cruise before, surprising them is OK, sometimes big surprises like this are great!!!

But generally speaking I think that the "SURPRISE!!! We're going on a cruise" "event" with children is a lot of wasted / stressful (on the secret keepers) effort. Most kids are at least familiar with what Disneyland / WDW is (or at least we were way back when I was a kid watching Uncle Walt on Sunday nights) so a surprise trip there has a frame of reference for them. But they really don't have the life experience to understand just how special and cool a cruise vacation is or what it really means until they have experienced it for themselves at least once (like 2 of your children).

OK, time out time .... .... .... while I put on my Flame Retardant Suit ....

No, I totally understand what you mean--that's why I'm wondering about the 3 yr old. The other two talk about going back all the time, but she has no frame of reference. She gets excited by DCL commercials. At least I have alone time with her to talk it up without giving it away. Plus, even if she mentions it, we can explain it away as a 3 year old saying funny, random stuff as usual.

 

[Churchladychurchlady]

We're going for the surprise ourselves... DD17 knows we're going to Universal and then WDW, and knows there are a couple surprises along the way - she's been begging to go on a cruise for years, so I know that she's going to be extremely happy that this is the surprise. (Whether she actually shows us how surprised and happy she is will be another story )

 

[KJ2016]

We are choosing to surprise. We let them plan the first one with us, and now we are going to pull up. I definitely need to know about those directions to see the ship!

 

[Madame]

Earlier this year we told our kids (ages 3 and 7) that we were going home after Universal. As we drove over the bridge near Port Canaveral where you get your first glimpse of the ship (thanks to the Dis-ers who gave me directions!) we told them we were going on the Magic instead. According to my 7yo it was the best surprise ever - even though she'd just finished telling me how she really really wanted to go home to see her best friend.

My 3yo didn't really care one way or the other. He loves the "Mickey ship" so was happy, but I don't really think he understood either the going home or the change in plans really.

Could you please point us to the thread with directions ?

 

[michellekcm]

Could you please point us to the thread with directions ?

Hope this works: http://www.disboards.com/threads/driving-to-port-canaveral-question.3499486/

 

[Madame]

Hope this works: http://www.disboards.com/threads/driving-to-port-canaveral-question.3499486/

Excellent! Thanks!

 

[tlprice]

I have surprised my daughter twice. The first time was a total surprise. She had been begging to go to Disney for Halloween for a couple of years. We had a day off school and I told her we were going to go somewhere fun for the day in Denver. We got to the shuttle lot for the airport and she said, "Mommy, this does NOT look like fun!" Then I got the suitcases out of the car and the shuttle bus pulled up and she figured it out. She was very excited and said, "Dreams do come true!". Last year she thought it would be fun to have a surprise trip again. She knew we were going on a trip, but not where. We did Universal first, which she was extremely excited and surprised about; then our first Disney cruise, which she wasn't as excited about as I thought she'd be. Then finished with WDW, which she was excited about, but not as surprised because we go there every year. It turns out she wasn't very excited about the cruise because a little over a month before our cruise, her father decided that it was okay to let an 8 year old watch Titanic. Although, she had previously begged to go on a Disney cruise, now she was terrified that we were going to sink and die. She was terrified until we had the safety drill and she was able to grill the crew about the number of lifeboats and their capacity. After that, she really enjoyed the cruise. We are going on another one in October because she loved it so much. She does NOT want a verandah room though because she's afraid she'll fall overboard! Saves me money! We just had the conversation today of whether she wished it were a surprise again or not. She said no because she likes helping make decisions and knowing what she is looking forward to. I have planned a couple of surprise meals at WDW for before our cruise though, but no BIG surprises.

 

[Bear3412]

I vote for no surprise.

Involve the kids in the planning and anticipation.

Trust me.

Been there, done that.

 

[Madame]

Thought I'd come back to this thread to share my kids' reaction. We'd spent 2 days lounging at AKV & 4 days at Universal. The kids thought we were headed home (SW Ontario) until one of my twins spotted the Mickey boat...


According to all three... Best surprise ever! My daughter especially appreciated all my deviousness (you brought my dresses?!?).

 

[jahber]

We are surprising my kids with a cruise next Sunday. We've done a complete surprise before, but this time they know we are going on a cruise this month, but not when. They are 12 and 9 and it's hard to keep the date a secret because they use my computer and they apparently have super hearing and reading skills when it comes to the cruise info. The rest of the time, well. Anyway. I've had to have a friend on the cruise with us send fake emails about when we are leaving to throw them off. It's a lot of work, but it will be worth it on Sunday morning when I wake them up with the news! (My 12yo daughter has basically written a script for me for how it's going to go down on the morning of the cruise. I am to let her wake up at her usual time and tell her when she's washing her face )

 

[FigmentSpark]

We are surprising my kids with a cruise next Sunday. We've done a complete surprise before, but this time they know we are going on a cruise this month, but not when. They are 12 and 9 and it's hard to keep the date a secret because they use my computer and they apparently have super hearing and reading skills when it comes to the cruise info. The rest of the time, well. Anyway. I've had to have a friend on the cruise with us send fake emails about when we are leaving to throw them off. It's a lot of work, but it will be worth it on Sunday morning when I wake them up with the news! (My 12yo daughter has basically written a script for me for how it's going to go down on the morning of the cruise. I am to let her wake up at her usual time and tell her when she's washing her face )

lol! It sounds like you have a planner on your hands.

 

[jahber]

lol! It sounds like you have a planner on your hands.

I do! Long before we ever even considered a cruise, I used to call her my little cruise director. And believe me, the script for this surprise has changed several times. First she wanted me to put her packed suitcase in her room. Then it was she wanted me to wake her up. And then...you get the picture. It makes me happy that she and her brother are so excited about this!

 

[bumbershoot]

Awhile ago ODD mentioned wanting to be surprised by a trip sometime, but she loves the planning too (she loved sitting down and planning out our WDW days this past spring).

I know this is an old post, but for others with this dilemma, it might be a great idea to ask the kidlet how they can be surprised AND plan. Does that mean surprise them ahead of time? Plan out theoretically? etc.

12 Year Old was actually disappointed at first that she was not going to Miami Beach

I can imagine that! Don't make it a place they want to go.

I still feel a twinge of guilt for not considering more thoughtfully how each of my kids would react to a surprise of that magnitude.

Agreed.

My mom did a great surprise with us, but the result of that was that EVERY single trip from there on out I was kind of hoping/expecting a surprise.

That was when I was 9 or so? I'm 46. I planned out a trip with my son where we spent last week at Universal Orlando, then we drove to the airport and got on a flight to visit my brother in San Diego (where I currently am).

And...this is ridiculous...while we were driving to the airport, just me and my 12 year old, there was part of me hoping that DH would call, and that he had instead booked us a cruise and cancelled our flights, and would tell me to drive to PC instead.

Seriously, it's pathetic and I need to get over it. But that's what that awesome surprise set up in my silly little head. (for the record, we had driven from where we lived in San Jose CA out to the Grand Canyon, and the whole way there my brother and I were begging to go to Disney the whole time we were driving south in CA, then we did the same on our way back from the Grand Canyon, until we pulled into the Disneyland Hotel...preplanned the whole time.)

Hope no one cries or I might be overboard.

Just remember they might want to go to Vero!

the key is to trick them into thinking they are going someplace they really don't want to go to

YES.

I definitely need to know about those directions to see the ship!

Drive on 528. Keep your eyes open. It's EASY.

It turns out she wasn't very excited about the cruise because a little over a month before our cruise, her father decided that it was okay to let an 8 year old watch Titanic.

LOL.

But FWIW I know a kid who LOVED Titanic, and loved Shark Week, and never ever was afraid to go into the water because of those two things.

The kids thought we were headed home (SW Ontario) until one of my twins spotted the Mickey boat...

You did it right.

My daughter especially appreciated all my deviousness (you brought my dresses?!?).

Nice!

My 12yo daughter has basically written a script for me for how it's going to go down on the morning of the cruise. I am to let her wake up at her usual time and tell her when she's washing her face

Your daughter is awesome.

 

[Sytrace]

We are surprising our 13 and 14 year olds with our upcoming cruise on September 16th. It originated as a surprise cruise for MY 50th birthday, but the Vacation insurance company sent me an email confirming the purchase of the insurance. Oops.
So, my husband and I are telling them that we are staying at a Disney resort for that weekend instead but he is not telling me or them which one. lol It should be a fun time seeing the expressions on their faces. Hopefully, they won't notice that we are going the other way on 528. The best thing is that they are totally NOT expecting it as we are taking a 7 night cruise leaving on the 24th. Hehe.

One time we surprised them with a visit to Fort Wilderness Lodge after a cruise and that went over well. We told them that we were looking into joining DVC and that there was a thing at Fort Wilderness Lodge that we were going to. It was really easy since we already had our suitcases ( I packed extra clothing in a separate suitcase and left it in the car) They figured it out at the gate when the guard said, welcome home and enjoy your stay. They were totally surprised. I think they were 11 and 12 back then.
Then another time we told them that we were going to Clearwater to visit my Mom but wanted to visit Disney Springs on the way to get her something. They were so absorbed in listening to music and playing on their phones, that they didn't notice we actually went the wrong direction. But obviously when we pulled up at the gate, the game was up. This was when they were 12 and 13.

All in all, we have to work a bit harder to pull it off now that they are older, but with a little creativity and some small omissions of truth, it works out well for everyone.

 

[Richard Howren]

After watching many YouTube videos on the subject, we thought that it would be a great idea to surprise our two granddaughters, 3 & 9. The older one had just finished swim lessons and we told her that we would take them to a hotel to play in the pool. Little did they know - a 7 night Alaskan cruise was in store. A timely placed character call in which they listened but didn't understand the meaning. The younger one had stated on numerous earlier occasions that she wanted to go see Minnie and Mickey. Once revealed, they did not know what a cruise was much less a passenger cruise ship. Living in the Seattle area they were keenly aware of car ferries. It wasn't until the next morning when we walked to the cruise terminal in Vancouver and they cast their eyes on the ship did it really hit home. Priceless!