Unique Ideas on How To Tell The Kids?

[KLR1968]

Hi,
We're taking our kids (8 & 3) to Disney for the first time, in November. They don't know yet, it's a surprise. Does anyone have any unique/fun ideas on how to tell them? Thanks!

 

[StlJoe]

I'm in the same boat... we've been planning this trip for a couple of months and now we're pretty close so I need to tell them but I wanted to come up with a neat way to do it. If anyone has any clever ideas I'd love to hear them!

 

[luvmy2sams]

We surprised DD with a trip in 2006 for her 7th birthday. On her birthday we took her to Build-A-Bear and let her...surprise...build a bear. When we finished, we gave her a star box with a bear's tee inside it. The back of the tee said "Disney World January 7th-17th, 2006." Watching the realization spread across DD's face was worth the months of secrecy.

Lots of DISers have done surprise trips, so you'll probably get lots of great ideas on this thread.

Have fun surprising your kids!

 

[babynala]

We just told our DS (3) and DD (6) about our December trip to the World. On Sunday morning before the kids got up we put 2 Mickey balloons on the mailbox with an invitation to Walt Disney World in the mailbox. There was also a letter from Mickey Mouse and a few maps of the park that I printed out for the kids. We decided it was time to tell them to maximize the bribe value. Now my daughter wants to send a letter and some balloons to Mickey Mouse.

I'm sure they will be excited no matter how you tell them!

 

[cyberfilly]

If your kids are old enough to spell, try doing what we did:

1) Tell them they're going on a trip.

2) Hand them a bag of Scrabble letters that include only the letters W-A-L-T-D-I-S-N-E-Y-W-O-R-L-D.

3) Tell them to arrange the letters to find the answer. If they expect a WDW trip, they may figure it out quicker than if they have no idea they're going. Their expression will be priceless! Have the video camera rolling from the beginning.

Good luck!

 

[kjbrown]

Their used to be a thread KOTS (keepers of the secret) that had lots of ideas. You didn't say if you have boys or girls or both, but I am telling my DD4, by sending her an invitation to breakfast at Cinderella's castle sent by Cinderella. Of course, I'll be sending it, but DD won't know! It says something like,

Dear DD,

You are cordially invited to attend breakfast at my castle on the morning of xx at 8 AM. Please bring your brother, mommy and daddy with you. All eligible maidens are required to wear a ball gown.

Signed,

Cinderella

I used castle clip art to make the letter look "official".

 

[wright1baby]

I packed the kids up while they were at school, picked them up early (everyone at school already knew) and after a million questions on the way home and me not saying a word we got home to do a scavenger hunt. Each clue included a clip art of a character and sent them to another area of the house. They were running around the house like crazy! When they got the next to last clue, it sent them to the car for a long journey and when they got in the car there was a big sign saying WDW or BUST!

 

[amyhughes]

What we are planning on doing is similar to the poster above. Picking up the kids from school but starting to drive to WDW that evening. Along the way we will be doing a "car" scavenger hunt. Each time we stop at Chattanooga, Atlanta, Macon, etc. I will pull out a bag with a piece of a puzzle in it. I am planning that by the time we get to Disney they will have all 8 pieces that show the Castle, their favorite icon. I am also putting together gift baskets to be their "treasure" at the end of the hunt. Stuff that they would normally be begging for in the parks, but already purchased and waiting for them in the room.

 

[Aristomommy]

Our trip in November is a surprise for DD. It's 2 days after her birthday and I think I will give her clues on her birthday to see if she can guess where we are going. She knows we will be taking a vacation in Nov. because this is the time DH can take time off. But she hasn't really talked about it or anything. My mom is joining us but because she is flying from a different direction, she will surprise the kids in WDW. That'll be the ultimate surprise for them, because they don't get to see her too often and miss her terribly.

 

[bzzymom]

We planned a trip in mid-Jan. I gave a present to DS for Christmas. I had a t-shirt personalized for DS that had seval characters on it in front of the castle, and it said my fantastic vacation at Walt Disney World, January 15th-22nd 2006. Then I put little mickey post it notes inside with details. One of them said, Animal Kingdom Lodge pool view room, another said my pirate cruise and the date and time, and another note with details of our ADR at Teppanyaki (his favorite restaurant) and another for the character meal we went to, and the last one was the details of the day we were meeting our friends whose son is he best friend who had recently moved to Fl. He was so excited because he had no idea we were going. It was awesome. He did have a couple weeks before the trip though. DD was only 11 months then.

The next time we go to WDW, I plan on not telling either child at all until the day of the trip. I think I can pull it off. I have the clothes ready to be packed and pack them without their knowledge. I don't know when that trip will be though.