When did you tell.....

[KSB818]

Hi !!
So I am bringing my daughter who is 5 years old for her first Disney trip for the first time at the end of September/beginning of October - I CANNOT wait !! haha
To make it even more special, My mother, brother and sister-in-law will be joining us! I have not been to Disney World, Since I was seven or eight, and that was in the mid 90s, so it's almost like my first trip to Disney since SO MUCh has changed.
I have not told my daughter yet, I was worried she won't be able to handle the wait(only 62 more days !!) and I don't want to use the trip to get her to behave(even though I bet it would work as good or better then "Santa's watching"!) haha
So when did you tell your children about Disney? I was thinking about 30 days out or so - I want to be able to enjoy the anticipation with her before the trip, and have her "help" with last minute planning.
BUT, as my excitement for the trip grows, my will for not telling her is waning - I want to tell her SO BADLY!! So,as with most of my questions I came to the disboards- what should i do? Wait till 30 days? is that too long?Wait for a week before? Just tell her already?
Any stories/advise,etc would be greatly appreciated !!

 

[DeeSee]

We are leaving in just under two weeks and we haven’t told our 5 & 3 year old kids yet!! Our flight goes out in the afternoon and we are telling them that day when it’s time to get ready for the airport! I am SOOOO excited and a big part of me wants to share the anticipation with them... but realistically, kids that young usually find waiting stressful. I know my 5 year old would be completely preoccupied (bordering on obsessed!) with “how many more days?”, “when can I start packing?”, etc. So, even though it’s incredibly hard, I am so much more excited to be able to tell them “we are going to the airport and going to Disney World RIGHT NOW!”

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I could never stay quiet about our Disney trips so my daughter knew about them as soon as they were booked. The videos where people tell their kids about the trip on the way to the airport are adorable but there is no way I could wait that long

 

[22Tink]

We’ve been going to the parks since our kids were little (now 3 are adult, and 1 is 9) We only ever surprised our youngest daughter once, and she wished we hadn’t because she loves the anticipation. I love involving the kids in the planning too and it’s so hard for me to keep quiet!!

 

[KSB818]

This is how I feel now, think i'm going to tell her soon - i just can't wait !!! I can make our fast pass reservations on tuesday, almost tempted to tell her before then !!

 

[unrequited23]

Our kids were 5.5 and almost 3 when we took our first trip. They were very involved and excited the whole time, watching ride videos, putting spare change in the Disney jar, flipping through travel books, pointing out attractions on park maps. We hung up our count down chain 72 days before the trip. This was way too early. I'm in the middle of planning our next trip and I think the kids have no clue. We are not planning on telling them until less than a month before we go.

 

[mamaofsix]

We have gone on two trips to Disney World with our kids - coming up on our 3rd. I like a happy medium. It's fun for them to have a bit of time to build anticipation, but not too long. I plan our trips and start booking things about 18 months-2 years in advance, so there's no way I'd let them in on it that soon. We usually let them in on it about 2 months ahead of time. And I like to work telling them into an existing celebration of some sort. Last time, we went in March and gave them our trip details as a present on Christmas morning. This year, our son's birthday is about 2 months before the trip, so he will be getting a special birthday notice of our impending trip. Kind of a good mix of 'Surprise!!' and anticipation building.

 

[PollyannaMom]

When DS was 5, we told him at about 4 months out. Here's the scrapbook page with the "countdown caterpillar" he helped make:



I'm not a person who adjusts to new things quickly - even fantastic new things - so I'd rather be in on the planning than be surprised. I just figured he'd feel the same way.

 

[BLAZEY]

We surprised her the first time we went to WDW and she was missing 2 days of school. We picked her up on Friday evening from DH's Parents house where she normally stays Friday nights. She new we had an appointment early the next morning. She was excited to go but at that age (6) she would have been too excited to sleep. Next time she got to help plan and we picked her up from school on the Thursday before spring break started and sh missed the Friday. She helped plan as she birthday fell during Spring break most years. Her birthday was the day she planned in full. Park, meals, rides, shows, everything. This time when we go to DL with DH's family I'm sure she will help plan as her birthday will be while we are away.

 

[Arielfan98]

I'm 21 now, but when I was very young my parents surprised me the day we were leaving. There is no other feeling in the world that compares to thinking you're just going to school, the dentist office, etc., only to find out you're actually going to Disney World!! Also, I should add that if you ever want to surprise your child with a trip to WDW the day of, I suggest doing it while they're young so it's "less" work for you. Once they get older they will be able to pick up on things (e.g see airplane tickets via email) and it will be your responsibility to pack for them despite their maturity. When your child is young, like 5 years old, you have to pack for them anyway and it's easier to "trick them." If it were me, I'd like to be surprised the day of, but you know your child better than me. Good luck and have fun!!

 

[amberpi]

We don't plan trips very far in advice due to work travel, it's impossible. So, we fit 2 of your categories, a month or so and when we had booked. We also wanted the kids to be able to watch the rides. They're both small and LOVE HM and POTC, so I'm feeling like having a meltdown are much less. The ride videos might be worth if she doesn't know what to expect.

 

[AKL_Megs]

We leave tomorrow, and we are telling tomorrow, right when we wake her up. We “have” boring plans that day that we’ve been talking about, and that she’s been lamenting. We are going to ask her, “What if we went to Disney World instead?”

 

[KSB818]

We leave tomorrow, and we are telling tomorrow, right when we wake her up. We “have” boring plans that day that we’ve been talking about, and that she’s been lamenting. We are going to ask her, “What if we went to Disney World instead?”

awww.... I'm sure she'll lose her mind !! hope everything goes wonderfully- I'm sure it will have a great trip !

 

[KSB818]

We don't plan trips very far in advice due to work travel, it's impossible. So, we fit 2 of your categories, a month or so and when we had booked. We also wanted the kids to be able to watch the rides. They're both small and LOVE HM and POTC, so I'm feeling like having a meltdown are much less. The ride videos might be worth if she doesn't know what to expect.

I can't wait to watch the videos with her - I think I'm going to plan something "disney" each week before we go after I tell her, watch videos one day and then maybe get pedicures another,.... we are bascially at the 2 month mark now

 

[Amy11401]

This is how I feel now, think i'm going to tell her soon - i just can't wait !!! I can make our fast pass reservations on tuesday, almost tempted to tell her before then !!

If you want her input on anything involving fastpasses I would tell her before then. Or use that as your way of telling her....."guess what Mommy is going to pick some of the rides we are going on for our trip to Disney!"

 

[cbrown1007]

I'm planning to take my kids at the end of September. They're 9 and 5. They've both been before, 9 year old has been 4 times, 5 year old has been 3 times. Those times they knew we were going.

This time, I'm a new single mom, this will be my first trip just the 3 of us. I'm not telling them. My dad lives in Florida, so I'm considering telling them we're going to visit my dad. But not far in advance. So then start the drive, but then drive under the Disney sign. I think they'll FREAK. My 9 year old LOVES surprises. 5 year old does too, but not like his sister.

I am a TA. To involve them in planning, I've asked for advice for "clients". I told them I'm planning a trip for a family with kids their ages, what parks would they like, what rides, etc. Not much, but some. Really, I'm trying new things this trip. Doing park hoppers. Basically slamming the days full. We're only going for 3 full days.

 

[YesterDark]

Last year we booked in April/May and went for August. We told them right away (4 yo and 2 yo at the time). The wife made a poster sized calendar for them and we marked off the days for 3.5 months leading up to the trip. It was fun.

 

[liquid17]

For our first trip, our younger kids were 5 and 6. Our older ones were 12 and 14 and helped me plan but we only told the little ones that we were going to a hotel with a pool. They were thrilled about that and I could shop and pack openly. I bought a few Disney themed shirts for everyone but we were already a graphic tee family so they weren't suspicious.

We told them the hotel was in Disney World right before we left for the airport and it was great! They were ecstatic and it made for a wonderful start to our trip. And it wasn't a lie, as the hotel (CBR) did have a pool lol!

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

You know your daughter best but my daughter is 5 and at that age they don’t deal with the unknown too well. My daughter can get especially anxious. She likes to “rehearse” or just walk through each step and each day lots of times. “On Saturday we’ll get up super early have a quick breakfast, the car will come, we’ll go to the airport, take the airplane, here’s where everyone will sit on the airplane,, here’s what we will pack to do... then we wil....”. We will go over vacation plans ad nauseum but it really helps her. At this age I just don’t find it appropriate to surprise her. Each kid is very different though.

 

[Amy11401]

You know your daughter best but my daughter is 5 and at that age they don’t deal with the unknown too well. My daughter can get especially anxious. She likes to “rehearse” or just walk through each step and each day lots of times. “On Saturday we’ll get up super early have a quick breakfast, the car will come, we’ll go to the airport, take the airplane, here’s where everyone will sit on the airplane,, here’s what we will pack to do... then we wil....”. We will go over vacation plans ad nauseum but it really helps her. At this age I just don’t find it appropriate to surprise her. Each kid is very different though.

My son is almost 5 and he can often be like your daughter. He has known about the trip since we started planning and he goes to the travel agent with us everytime we go.