We aren't telling the kids

[erikamj]

We have planned our trip to DL at the end of March with the kids but we aren't going to tell them until we are in the car driving.
It is killing me not to say anything to them since I am so excited about going!

Now anybody have any great ideas on how to tell them?

 

[CrazyDuck]

Don't tell em til you can see the matterhorn on I-5

 

[LoveMyBeautifulGift]

Well...depending on how old they are/if it might freak them out to think you are actually lost...pretend to be lost and ask them to check the map for you...then pull out a map that you have created that says something like "you are here" with a road that leads to Disneyland (which, of course, you have circled)...see if they can figure it out, lol...or play I spy and then "spy" Disneyland...or get a character call the morning you are leaving....or give them mickey pancakes for breakfast and tell them....hmmm....now I kind of wish I had kept it a suprise for my 6yo, lol....

 

[CrazyDuck]

Tell em you are going someplace boring.... Like a financial planning convention, or a ball room dancing tournament. Then when they see DL they will be sooo happy!

 

[bumbershoot]

My mom and stepdad let us sweat until we saw the signs (back when the huge sign was there). We had gone from northern CA all the way to the Grand Canyon for Thanksgiving, and then we were on our way home after the holiday when it was sprung on us. And they had endured hours upon hours of "please can we go to Disneyland pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee". Not sure how they did it! Worked out well.

But I'd never do that particular thing with my kid, if only for my sake.


You have a *bit* of a longer trip, and if you tell them "we're going to the Grand Canyon" they might WANT to go and will be disappointed, LOL...so a slightly different tack might be needed. Maybe..."we're going to the Death Valley desert for some camping"?

 

[MommyWithDreams]

My son knows we're talking about an upcoming trip, he just doesn't know "when". So when it comes time leave, I am just going to say, "how about we go to Disneyland today"....

I have a feeling he'll actually get ready without a fight unlike getting ready for school

 

[chrissiecutie]

We are surprising DS with a trip for his birthday at the end of Feb.

Our plan is to tell him at his birthday party. We have a refrigerator sized box just waiting in the garage, that I will stuff full of helium balloons, a Happy Bday Mickey stuffed animal and a special custom t-shirt that says "I'm Celebrating my Birthday at Disneyland". Then of course I will wrap up this gigantic box and it will be one of his "presents" to open at his party.

I'm also going to make a big batch of Tigger Tails, which are his favorite treats at DL, and wrap those up too and say that Mickey sent them especially for his bday. Most likely, I will probably incorporate something along the lines of "I'm so sorry that you won't be able to get Tigger Tails on your visit, and I know how much you love them, so I sent you some..." etc. Still working on that...but I'm worried that we won't be able to find any since Critter Country and the store that sells them will be closed during our trip. You have NO idea how much this child loves his Tigger Tails!!

 

[chrissiecutie]

My son knows we're talking about an upcoming trip, he just doesn't know "when". So when it comes time leave, I am just going to say, "how about we go to Disneyland today"....

I have a feeling he'll actually get ready without a fight unlike getting ready for school

We were thinking of doing something like that too...just waking DS up the morning we are scheduled to fly and and say "Guess what, we're going to Disneyland today!"

Such fun!

 

[DizNee Luver]

We surprised our then 3 & 7 yr old.......we were going to put them in the car & say we're going to go visit an old friend.....after being in the car for a while we were going to tell them who the old friend was........we figured after 4 hrs or so in the car they'd start whining about going so far......lol BUT.....we couldn't hold it in that long. So we set up a scavenger hunt the day before. They were so excited & laughed during the entire hunt. PRICELESS!!!!

 

[MommyWithDreams]

We surprised our then 3 & 7 yr old.......we were going to put them in the car & say we're going to go visit an old friend.....after being in the car for a while we were going to tell them who the old friend was........we figured after 4 hrs or so in the car they'd start whining about going so far......lol BUT.....we couldn't hold it in that long. So we set up a scavenger hunt the day before. They were so excited & laughed during the entire hunt. PRICELESS!!!!

I thought about telling Ayden we were going fishing with Papa and just letting him notice when we exit for the airport. However, I'd have a pretty emotional kid if he didn't get to say goodbye to the dog and Chris. Going to be so weird without Chris there with us this time.

 

[BELLEDOZER]

Here's what I am doing and hope that some DISer's will get a chuckle out of it. First I let the school know what I was doing so that I could get the kids pulled out of school for 2 weeks, and instructed the teachers not to tell the kids where we are going for our vacation. They got a major chuckle out of my evil plot, and have kept their word. Then I had to create an elaborate excuse for the reason that I was pulling them out of school for 2 weeks. Now I don't lie as a nature, but have a highly over active and no holds bar imagination, which usually get's me into trouble, but created this whole story about how we are going to visit their Grandma in the Gulf Islands, and the lies got bigger from there. My mom is taking care of the hounds, so the kids couldn't question that. My older DS was getting suspicious, but managed to throw him off the scent so to speak. The way I view it is that you are going to have to let the kids know before you cross the border into the USA in case the border guards ask the kids where you are going. Because of this we are letting the kids know just as we are heading out the door. I've got a large box that I've covered in "Beware of Pirates" tape. On top of the box is a letter stating that they've been kidnapped by Pirates and to look in the box for clues as to where we are going. Inside the box is a blanket for each of the kids with a t shirt from DL I picked up from my solo trip from the Mouse in Oct. Inside it is a stuffed Mickey holding a sign that say's "We are going to Disneyland!". All this is going down tomorrow afternoon once DH get's back from his union meeting. Will be arriving in DL on Feb 1 for a 7 night stay. Have a great day everyone!

 

[jtown]

A coworker once managed to pull it off clear up until they got out of the car. Told the kids they were doing a community service project and came in from the south to the TS parking lot which didn't have much in the way of signs visible from the back seat. He said the kids were wonderful, trying to act enthusiastic about picking up trash. "They make you pay to park when you're doing community service???" That's when they started to figure out something wasn't quite right.

 

[CrazyDuck]

First I let the school know what I was doing so that I could get the kids pulled out of school for 2 weeks

That's the most impressive part of your story! How do you get the school to allow you to pull them out for 2 whole weeks?

 

[KelliLee702]

Maybe you could make up index cards with clues that your 8 & 6 yos could read.
Maybe put the letters "DISNEYLAND" on the front with a clue on the back and they have to put the scrambled letters into the word of the destination?

 

[chrissiecutie]

That's the most impressive part of your story! How do you get the school to allow you to pull them out for 2 whole weeks?

Allow you?

Umm...you're the parent, just do it.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

my kids school will have to allow me the 1 week out so im gona tell them ahead of time an get his school packet. He will hate missing school but for disney he will do it lol

He loves school an its so cool.
They said last year they would have been fine. with him missing a week so we know it be fine next year

 

[BELLEDOZER]

First off my DS7 and DS6 are in Grades 1 and 2. Secondly the elementary school that they go to is very multicultural with many different cultures and nationalities. The school is unusual in that they are used to parents going overseas for 3 to 4 weeks at a time, and because of this are more accepting of parents pulling their kids out of school for familiy vacations than other schools in our district. Once my older son starts Grade 3 in the fall we will be at the mercy of the school holidays, so this will be our last time pulling the kids out of school for more than a week. They have requested that the kids do a page of journal writing each night and reading homework, and that's it. They have also requested that the kids pickup some simple free things as the trip progresses so that they can show their class when they return.

 

[jlindley9]

We're doing our first surprise trip for our DD5. This will also be the first trip for our DS-2 months. We didn't want our DD5 to miss her Valentine's Day party at school, so we are leaving right after we pick her up from kindergarten on a Friday. We decided that since we'd be leaving straight from her school, we'd wait until then to tell her. From DisneyStore.com we ordered a personalized gift card for her with a picture of her and Mickey from Christmas 2009. In the card we wrote, you are going to Disneyland right now! We can't wait to see her reaction!

Here's the picture:

 

[disneymama83]

We're doing our first surprise trip for our DD5. This will also be the first trip for our DS-2 months. We didn't want our DD5 to miss her Valentine's Day party at school, so we are leaving right after we pick her up from kindergarten on a Friday. We decided that since we'd be leaving straight from her school, we'd wait until then to tell her. From DisneyStore.com we ordered a personalized gift card for her with a picture of her and Mickey from Christmas 2009. In the card we wrote, you are going to Disneyland right now! We can't wait to see her reaction!

Here's the picture:

Nice idea! You should record her reaction. She is a cutie

 

[chrissiecutie]

Disneymama- awesome idea!

Did you see the t-shirts? They say something like, "I'm going to Disneyland" super cute!