When did you tell?

[jmkrat]

Usually I'd tell them right away and I would enjoy the excitement. One time I tried to surprise my kid's and pretended to book a different vacation. I picked the most boring vacation I could think of, ordered travel brochures and screen printed flight reservations. I had them totally believing it. I ended up breaking down and telling them because a sad situation in our family but I could have totally pulled it off.

 

[Kellykins1218]

We usually tell them when we book the trip and then use it to blackmail them into being good

I did wait until we arrived at the airport for a trip when my oldest was 7 and that was awesome, too.

 

[hops&dreams]

I have not read all the responses, but I would tell your kids (especially the younger one) when it it tangible. For a 5 year old, that can be very subjective. A neat idea might be do do it about a month ahead of your trip, and make a countdown. There are TONS of ways to make countdown calendars, but a paperchain is the easiest and is very, very easy to see. The shorter the chain gets, the closer you are toward the trip.

For your older one, I think 30 days is a good amount of time as well. That way, he'll (I think you said your older one is a son?) have time to talk to other friends maybe at school about trips they may have taken there and what they liked or didn't like. (rides, food, shows, etc.) I also think giving him a book (we gave DD this one: http://www.amazon.com/Birnbaums-Disney-World-Birnbaum-Guides/dp/1423169417) would be a good way to get him psyched for the trip. This one was geared to kids, and DD flipped through it quite a bit, even though it was our 2nd trip there.

Here's been our experience:
1st trip - DD was 5 (just turning 6 a few weeks before our trip), and was in kindergarten. she LOVED school, so we told her when we had booked and paid for the trip. She had heard many friends at school talk about going to Disney World, so she had an idea of it being an awesome place. We wanted her to be prepared to miss a week of school (she LOVES school - still does), and in kindergarten would cry if she had to miss school because she just loved it so much! So, in planning, we let her help pick restaurants for ADRs, the kinds of rides she wanted to make sure we went on, etc. I also prepared her for rides that she would NOT be able to go on (not tall enough). She had no idea what to expect as she'd never been there before and she was BLOWN AWAY when we got there. It was a magical time.

2nd trip - DD had just turned 8 (2nd grade) and we tried to do it as a surprise for her. We booked it in Oct, and it was something for me to look forward to as a light at the end of the (Superbowl Prep) tunnel. Of course, she knew we were going on vacation. We had told her we were going to Florida, and she thought maybe we were going to just stay in a hotel near a beach or something. All planning happened at work or late at night, after she went to bed. The night we booked airfare, we sent her to bed early, so DH and I could openly talk about it and book the killer rates before they were sold out! (SW had a crazy sale - $65 each way!!) Anyway - when we got to the airport, we sat her down and had her look in her backpack. Inside were her Mickey Ears and guide book. Her reaction was flat, but she was excited. I think she was more shocked than anything. We realized later that the anticipation is part of the fun and DH and I have resolved to never surprise her with a trip again, and tell her at least a few days in advance, or have her be part of the planning process, if possible.

Good luck and have a magical first trip!!!

 

[writermommy6]

I planned it all but in the last couple of trips I did ask for their input. I think the only "surprise" trip was when my oldest was 2 and we told her on the way to the airport.

 

[summerskye]

So excited as we are officially booked for our (first) trip to DW for October. Our kids will be 9 and 5 when we come. I am super excited so can only imagine when we tell them. But if we were to tell them today, they would be constantsly asking how much longer (esp our little one as her sense of time isn't great).

So just wondering how much in advance you told them? I'm thinking maybe the end of the summer...just before they go back to school, but am not sure.

And were they involved in the planning process or did you (the parent) plan it all?

We told them when we(mom & dad) got back home... just kidding

 

[KaLyn]

We are telling our girls (6 and 4) at 2 weeks out.

 

[3happydancers]

For our granddaughter's first trip, at the age of five, we didn't tell her until we were on World Drive. Her parents had the same idea that she would obsess over things. It was also a huge trip as that's when my son and now daughter-in-law became engaged (we and our son knew but the daughter-in-law was surprised as anything!) so it was overwhelming for not only my granddaughter but for everyone.

On her second trip, at age 13, and our grandson's first trip, at age five, they didn't know until Christmas Day night and we were leaving the very next week. Thank goodness for Skype so we could see their reactions from over 800 miles away. Again, the parents thought the kids would obsess.

However, after each trip, my daughter-in-law thought she would have wanted to give them at least a month or so to help with planning some aspects. The resort choice, not so much, the tickets options, no, the food items, eh unless there is an allergy aspect. But the parks and the attractions, yes.

Also, think about other members of your family. As the grandparents on the second trip, things had been planned for nine months (kind of funny considering the length of a pregnancy!) but we couldn't share things with our granddaughter or grandson. We couldn't talk about the trip on Facebook since my granddaughter had an account once she turned 13. It became a bit difficult to communicate with the little ones around and plans to be made. We also had to make sure the others that would be there (it was a big family reunion) didn't talk about it either. A bit of stress for the adults.

So, we had pros and cons.

2nd trip was the surprise trip. We told her at the airport; she was 7 1/2 yrs old. She thought we were going to Virginia for Busch Gardens and some historical explorations (needless to say she was not too excited but accepting) When checking our luggage, services was confirming our flight info and mentioned our flight to Orlando. DD immediately chimed up and corrected the person saying we were going to Virginia. This went on back and forth a few times until she finally looked at us very confused. When we finally told her, the look on her face;PRICELESS!

Just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading everyone's experiences with their children!

 

[snorkelyn]

We surprised the kids when they were 2, 4 and 6. It was their first trip. They knew very little about WDW. I had to wake them up to get to the airport early in the morning. They were tired and completely underwhelmed. I wouldn't advise the surprise approach for a little kids 1st visit.

They have been twice now, and we have another trip planned over spring break. They will be 10, 7 and 5. I plan to surprise them the day before with a big box full of surprises. I will wrap up the magic bands and an invitation to dinner with Mickey Mouse (we have Tusker House reservations) and another invitation from Cinderella (we have reservations at 1900 Park Fare). I will also include a gift card for each kid to buy souvenirs. Lastly, I plan to buy a batch of pins off ebay for the kids to trade. They really got into this last year.

Our other trip this year is in September. I plan to tell them about it since they will be missing school. It's tough for a 5th grader to miss a week of school. Probably the last year we will pull them out.

 

[nighttowll]

Usually I'd tell them right away and I would enjoy the excitement. One time I tried to surprise my kid's and pretended to book a different vacation. I picked the most boring vacation I could think of, ordered travel brochures and screen printed flight reservations. I had them totally believing it. I ended up breaking down and telling them because a sad situation in our family but I could have totally pulled it off.

We are doing something similar this time. Our last trip to Disney while fun just didn't go as planned. We told the kids way in advance. I think we built up too much hype, and it didn't really live up to their expectations. Part of it was my fault. The kids went to a local amusement park about 2 weeks before we left for Disney where they rode their very first roller coasters. It was bad timing on my part because it created 3 little thrill seekers who are at that tween age where everything not a big thrill ride now is for babies. So while they didn't hate Disney, I lost track of the number of times I heard why couldn't we have gone to universal instead. They also told us on more than one occasion that they wish we had just surprised them because by the time we left the whole idea was kind of old to them, and all the excitement had worn off.

So with our upcoming trip to Universal, we are going to completely surprise the kids as they requested. We have told them we are spending spring break in Atlanta. This is our halfway stopping point where we are spending the night on the way down. I have a fake itinerary and everything planned out. Then when we get up on our first Atlanta day, I'm going to have the kids get out the itinerary and check it for me. Only when they go to check it, they will find the real Universal itinerary telling them to get back in the car and drive to Orlando for check in at our condo. I'm pretty sure I'll get some type of positive reaction, since I got mostly moans of disappointment that we were going to Atlanta instead of Universal to begin with.

 

[donnajherren]

On our first trip with the girls, we told them in advance. They were pretty young, so they were mostly like DISNEY WHEEE and then let it go...until about a week out. Then it was allllll we heard about.

So we decided to make our second trip a surprise. Mark us down in the lackluster response category for that one. LOL They were like, "...huh. Really? Okay then."

This time? We're going with extended family members, so the girls have to help me plan special things for their cousin, who has never been. They seem most excited about that!

 

[k1koala]

When my daughter was 7 I told her the morning we were leaving! I will never forget the surprise and amazement on her face, priceless!!! She was jumping up and down so excited. She could not believe I had everything packed without her, and all she had to do was bring "Ducky" her stuffed animal that she slept with. I have never forgotten that moment, and would do it again except she is too old to keep secrets now
So she got up dressed and we were out the door to the airport in 15 minutes, and had lots to talk about and plan on the way

 

[Frozen2014]

Great responses. Wow, I'm amazed at those of you made it a surprise until going to or at the airport. I couldn't hold it that long (and maybe the packing would look suspicious to them ). I'll say for my own self, when I have something exciting coming up, whether it be a trip or a show, that I like the excitement of knowing it's coming. Our 5 year old will constantly ask when...but I like the idea of the calendar (as we do have one in the kitchen and can even get her her own). Both kids will be taken out of school for a week...so we'll have to give the teachers a heads up.