What do your kids plan?

[la79al]

Reading all of these threads about people who do or don't tell their kids about their trips makes me wonder. What exactly do your kids help to plan? For example, my SKids have no clue about any of the resorts, they only know that Chef Mickeys exists because we went there before, they have no knowledge of EMHs. Turns out we won't be telling them about this trip ahead of time, but I'm wondering what exactly we/they are missing out on by not knowing ahead of time.

 

[tlivgstn]

My DD9 did not really help "plan" but we looked at travel books and websites together in anticipation of our big trip. We watched the free promo DVD from Disney, excitedly discussing what we wanted to see and do. She made choices like the Alice Tea Party or the Sassagoula River Cruise, etc. She created a special t-shirt on disneyshopping that she wore every Wednesday for a month before we went. (We flew out on a Wednesday and it made it easy to count down the weeks.) She had a calendar that she marked off, too.

 

[Micka Mouse]

She created a special t-shirt on disneyshopping that she wore every Wednesday for a month before we went. (We flew out on a Wednesday and it made it easy to count down the weeks.) She had a calendar that she marked off, too.

This is a fabulous idea...

 

[powellrj]

my kids read over the menus and helped decide which restaurants they wanted to go to. They read about the different water parks and decided which one we would go to since we were only doing one.

I love the anticipation of the trip so thats why I always involve the kids in the planning. They help decide which day we are going to which park and everyone gets to pick a couple of must do things they want to see or do.

We do a lot of splitting up when we travel because there is a large age gap in the ages of our children, so we also will decide who goes where and with whom. I like thrill rides more than DH, but he is more patient at waiting than I am so he goes to the places with the long waits!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

My kids weigh in on the decision for restaurants and accomodations. They have their favorites for meals and now that they are older they like to make sure they go to the good places-their favorite is CG. Before we bought into DVC, if we stayed on property I would also give them an opportunity to tell me where they would like to stay. For a few years they made sure we hit every resort just to be able to say-been there, done that. Their favorite is AKL, ultimately they weighed heavily in our choice of buying SSR or AKL for DVC. When the F&W Festival Events come out, they also analyze that very closely, usually they want to do one of the PFTS dinners. They really do have a lot of input since it is a family vacation. Only one time did I not tell the kids they were going to Disney and that was a surprise Land/Sea trip I did for the family for Christmas. Probably the only time that I will have done that too as it is much more fun to collaborate with the kids.

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

Since my kids have been there before they like to give imput on dining choices. Then I show them menus to get some thoughts on new dining options. We don't go to every place they pick, but we make decisions as a family.

I usually plan the day to day touring -- as far as what park to visit but everyone is involved as to what attractions to hit.

 

[dsnymomof4]

I think once the kids have been there a few times, they do have their own ideas of what they would like to do and where they would like to eat. On the last 2 trips, I let each child pick a place for dinner. They looked at the menus and some they just knew from having been there before. DD5 picked the Sci-Fi based on the pictures she saw of people sitting in the cars. On our first couple of trips, they loved to read the travel books for kids so they knew all about the rides and shows and what to expect. I would love to do a surprise trip someday, but for now, they love planning and looking forward to our trips as much as I do.

 

[PJinNYC]

I asked my DD what characters she liked the best and that is how I picked which character meal to do. We are going to do Chef Mickey.

In terms of other planning, I intend to pull out the maps and stuff while we are on the plane and talk to her about some of the rides. (We are not telling her until just before the trip and will watch the planning video together.) I have already kind of figured out which parks we want to go to on which days, but I figure that she can pick what rides she MOST wants to do and we will make sure that we do those too.

 

[beattyfamily]

I ask for input but I make the final decisions. I'm the head planner!

No complaints so far.

They let me know what restaurants they love and which ones they'd like to do again. They let me know if they want to do Fantasmic or Wishes or if they want to do the Alice Tea Party again.

We've gone so many times now, to shake things up, we didn't tell them about our girls-only (no daddy) summer trip last year. They were so surprised and shocked when we arrived at the airport that morning. It was priceless! I'd do it again in a heartbeat. No regrets. But boy, it was so tough not discussing it with them and it was really hard packing behind their backs!