To tell or not to tell......

[jsh1975]

that is the question. Where does everyone stand as it relates to letting the little ones (DD6 and DS4) know about an upcoming trip? Do you want everyone to know ASAP or wait until you get there or close by to let them know?

 

[Heidi K]

We tell our kids. We absolutely love planning with them, even though they're also little (they were 7, 4, and 1 when we started planning our upcoming trip). We let each kid pick a restaurant, we read guidebooks together, etc.

However, we're also terrible secret-keepers. We told each kid that we were pregnant with the next within a few days of the positive pregnancy test

 

[disneybliss2]

We always tell them in advance. Planning is half the fun for me, so I figure it's the same for my girls. I love seeing my girls get excited as they I show them the website and they plan the rides they want to go on, places they'd like to eat, etc. To me, it just builds up the anticipation & fun. As it gets closer to the trip, we make a countdown chain to the day we leave. We'll also have Disney movie nights before our trip so we can brush up on some of the classic movies that have characters we might see.

 

[LisaTC]

We've surprised DD both the times she's been. It was great. She was in school and I knew it would be an utter distraction. Teachers thanked me for NOT telling her! LOL. She's older now and homeschooled, so we'll tell her this time. However, the surprises were legendary! Her face...priceless!

 

[jvattes]

Because our trip that was supposed to happen LAST year was postponed due to a homeownership emergency (my bathtub was threatening to fall into my kitchen!) we held off on telling the kids about our upcoming trip until it was essentially paid in full. Fortunately last year we hadn't told them as that was our plan, then, too - so there were no tears of disappointment (from them... from me - that's another question).

So until there is pretty much 100% certainty you will travel, I would hold off. Once you have that certainty, spill the beans! We told our kids about 10 days ago and it has been SO MUCH FUN involving them in the planning

 

[TeachGeekLove]

I had a friend recently who didn't tell her kids until they were ready to go. I am a single mom, though, and honestly my son is my best friend. I can't imagine who else I would plan it with. It's months away and we're planning and talking about it daily. I'm trying to keep him in the moment though with other things instead of just living for the day we go to WDW, and it's working out well ^__^

 

[Simba07]

We tried to surprise DD6 this year. We got her from school an hour early and hadn't prepared her for that. She wouldn't believe us. She kept yelling at us that we were playing a joke on her and it wasn't nice of us. Even after seeing our luggage she wasn't buying it. I'm not sure she really believed us until we were half way to the airport. We never got the excited surprise reaction. It is a funny memory but she would probably had more fun knowing ahead of time.

 

[disneybliss2]

We never got the excited surprise reaction. It is a funny memory but she would probably had more fun knowing ahead of time.

That's another reason why I tell my girls. We tried to surprise my daughter about something else & it totally bombed on us so I know surprising them with a Disney trip wouldn't work out. We'd probably get a similar reaction to your daughters. Our girls just aren't the type to be surprised all of a sudden. They'd rather know what was happening. Plus, I love planning with them!

 

[pixarmom]

Really depends on the kids and the circumstances, I think. Like many others, our boys enjoy planning, counting down, etc. They are currently ages 14, 13 and 7, but we've been taking kids to Disney since our oldest was a baby. They enjoy the planning and the anticipation. And they specifically said they would never want for us to lie to them for any surprise (as in, saying we're going one place and then surprising them with something else.)

We did try to surprise them in the summer four years ago. We did this only because they had already been to WDW in the spring and were going again in the fall - so the summer trip was a short trip and a little extra surprise. But then our middle son was selected for the all star baseball team, and would have to miss tournament games. So we told the boys about the conflict a week in advance, and our baseball player was really grateful that we did! We had a great time, but a last-minute surprise would not have worked there.

One time, we surprised our kids on Christmas morning with a trip we planned for March. So we enjoyed the fun of the surprise, and we had resort reservations and ADRs, but we could change all that based on their input and they were able to anticipate and count down.

Now for kids ages 4 and 6, it also depends on the kids. Are they familiar enough with Disney that they will be both excited and enjoy the surprise? Our 7-year-old, for example, has never been great with unexpected change, so we usually prepare him in advance for anything unfamiliar. But other kids are more go-with-the-flow.

Having said all that, I'm surprising our kids with a short WDW visit next week. We'll be visiting my parents in Florida and initially planned to spend the week at the beach. Again, we have APs and were just at WDW last month and we'll return in January. Our youngest is not only very familiar with WDW, but we're staying at the Poly - a resort that's familiar to him. On the other hand, he isn't really a "wake up in the morning and surprise!" kind of child. So I have a plan for revealing the surprise a day in advance. They assume we don't have any plans for the days we're going, so there is no story or lie involved - nothing they expected that they'll miss. And by letting them know a day in advance, our youngest can ask questions and see the schedule (I have it all printed - that's a thing for him) and we can enjoy some of the anticipation the day before. Wouldn't surprise them for a big trip - just too overwhelming - but for a short visit in between planned vacations - think it will be fun!

 

[gg060571]

Keeping secret from DS(6), he has been begging to go back I told him we were not going this year. Little does he know I have planned a surprise trip. He will have his birthday party on May 17th (actual Bday 18th) from 1 to 4 and when he opens his gift it is a Mickey T-shirt and Mickey Beach Towel and I purchased a pop up card that reads

"Surprise" Today is your lucky day, Mickey and the Gang would like you to spend your 7th Bday with them, so thank everyone for coming and kiss them goodbye, grab your bags and head to the airport. You leave TODAY!!


I am excited about the trip I also schedule a Birthday InRoom Celebration for the 18th.

Keeping the secret is hard but I believe the reaction and excitement from son will be worth it!!

 

[LisaTC]

Keeping secret from DS(6), he has been begging to go back I told him we were not going this year. Little does he know I have planned a surprise trip. He will have his birthday party on May 17th (actual Bday 18th) from 1 to 4 and when he opens his gift it is a Mickey T-shirt and Mickey Beach Towel and I purchased a pop up card that reads

"Surprise" Today is your lucky day, Mickey and the Gang would like you to spend your 7th Bday with them, so thank everyone for coming and kiss them goodbye, grab your bags and head to the airport. You leave TODAY!!


I am excited about the trip I also schedule a Birthday InRoom Celebration for the 18th.

Keeping the secret is hard but I believe the reaction and excitement from son will be worth it!!

 

[#1eeyoregirl]

We have always told the kids well in advance except for the trip this June

When we went last March we told them that next time we would go would be in about 2 years. Well, an opportunity rose for the kids & I to go again this June and I decide to make it a surprise Let me tell you, it has been the hardest secret I have ever kept. They both keep asking (esp DS) when we are going again and the the biggest bite my tongue moment was when we watched Frozen a couple of weeks ago and my DD11 said that she wanted to meet Anna & Elsa next time we go to WDW (and yes FP+ for that meet & greet has been booked).

My kids love surprises and this trip will be full of them. We are staying at the Dolphin so I splurged and rented a limo for them which I cannot wait t o see their faces when they see that.

I am planning on not telling them until we are on our way to the airport, so wish me luck that I can still hold out for another 2 months

 

[Meldev]

that is the question. Where does everyone stand as it relates to letting the little ones (DD6 and DS4) know about an upcoming trip? Do you want everyone to know ASAP or wait until you get there or close by to let them know?[/QUOTE

We took our DDs aged 2,4,6 in '10 - I only had three weeks to get it all together as DH was changing companies and that was his down time. Kids knew from the get-go, but with such a rush to get it all together there wasn't a ton of planning fun.
This time I fully intend to totally surprise them! They'll be 6,8,10 and now DS will be 2 - he LOVES Mickey and Cars! I can't wait to see his face in the parks! As for our DS's we will be picking them up early from school telling them DH wants to take us to the zoo, or something - won't be until we get to their airport that I had them their brand new carry on bags that they learn we're headed to Disney!

 

[Luv2PixieDust]

that is the question. Where does everyone stand as it relates to letting the little ones (DD6 and DS4) know about an upcoming trip? Do you want everyone to know ASAP or wait until you get there or close by to let them know?

That is the same question I've been asking myself. For our last trip my DS and DD (3, 4) knew about the trip almost a year in advance. We downloaded an app to count down the days and DD would check it often. It didn't seem to bother her but I always wondered if she was being 'tortured' by the wait. Plus, since it was her first trip she really had no idea what to expect.

I'm not sure if I'll take the same approach this year. Our next trip is in mid-January so we could wait until Christmas to give it to them as a gift. But, in all honesty I don't think I can control myself from telling them sooner!

 

[HeyKoolaid]

We prefer to tell our kids because it is so exciting for all of use and helps spread the magic over a longer time. One year, however, we had to keep it a secret because our DS2 was having too much anxiety/excitement over any trip and before Christmas. It started to affect his sleep and his behavior at school, so we decided that Disney might be too much for him to handle. It was totally awesome when we headed for the airport and told him he was headed for the House of Mouse.

 

[OThopeful35]

I told my son about our upcoming trip because there is no way I could keep quiet about it . I talk about it so much DH has begun giving me the eyeroll DS does not know that we are staying at AKL. He thinks we are staying at POP. I am going to tell him when we are on Magical Express.

 

[Beth06015]

We haven't told our kids yet but have talked broadly about "which characters would be the best to eat lunch with?" Or "pick a princess" or "who's the best Mickey or pooh?" So I could pick the restaurants to get ADR's for! Initially I thought maybe we should tell early so I could get input but DH thought its better to choose what we think is best for both of the, so they don't just end up fighting or being disappointed if it's a can't do (ie we chose not to repeat CRT as we did it last time and want to try other places this time). Also. Last time she knew wayyyyyyyyy in advance and by the time we went there was less excitement leading into it because it's like we'd been talking about it sooooo long. I'm thinking maybe we surprise them about a month ahead? When do you get the magic bands, because that could be really fun to use for the reveal. We are also taking a family vacation to our camp five weeks before so it would be good to share at the end of that trip I think, then get them thinking about the next vaca!

We told DD when we went last time we'd go again when her yet to be born brother was that age (five years apart) - which would be another year away still so it will be a surprise she's going this year. She has seen my books and stuff but she thinks it just takes that long to plan. DS doesn't have a great concept of time yet, just turned 3, so he's like oh can we go after dinner? He's been dreaming of riding an airplane so that will be a huge joy alone.

 

[2disneycruzrs]

Just got back from the first surprise trip for DD(5). Told her four days before we left. She unwrapped our MagicBands and her cousins were on FaceTime to announce it to her. She didn't have the exciting reveal reaction - she was more stunned than anything and kept asking if it was real. One of the main reasons I did this was so we wouldn't have to hear over and over "Now when do we leave?" like we have for other trips. (We went on a trip in March that she had known about since last summer and wanted to start packing in December.)

Good thing I did tell her a little in advance. When I told her the plans, she decided she wanted to go to HS instead of AK on our departure day, so I had to change all the plans including an ADR but all worked out perfect. She knew her cousins were going to Disney before she knew she would, and to find out if she would like a ride or activity, I showed her the POV videos and ask if her younger cousin would like the ride. She gave me honest answers and what she would think, too. The POV videos are SO helpful in planning.

 

[Thrifty]

I'm just in the planning stages right now, but will be taking ds13 and dd5 on a cruise soon-ish. (Waiting for an insurance settlement.). Both know that we'll be going, but don't know when.
We live in Canada, far from an airport, and have never even been in a plane. We went to watch the planes land once two years ago, so I'm thinking I might tell them I heard of a new place to watch them land and just tell them once I start pulling luggage out of the trunk.

 

[Thrifty]

OOooh I just had an idea! Helium balloons in the trunk that fly out when I open it!