Who else is surprising the kids???!!!

[Carolc]

I'm so excited about this trip, it's killing me!! I'm taking my three kids to WDW in August (free dining ). My oldest daughter knows about the trip, but my younger two don't know yet (DS 9 and DD 6). I haven't decided when or how to tell them yet... thought it might be fun to hear how others plan to tell the kids (or share experiences from doing this in the past).

- how far in advance did you book the trip?

- how old is your child(ren)?

- how far in advance will/did you tell them?

- how will/did you tell them?

- did you almost blow the surprise (like me, a few times)?

For me, I booked about 4 months in advance (arrgh, the wait is killing me!). We are staying at POP - I may avoid telling them what hotel we are staying so that they will still have a little surprise... we have never stayed onsite before! I don't know when to tell them yet... going Aug 16. Thinking about making a paper chain (one for each day until the trip), and wrapping it up for my youngest daughter's bday in July. DD (11) almost gave it away accidentally a few times, too. Don't know how long we can keep it up!

 

[shaws2003]

What a riot, I am researching the same topic right now!!! There is another great thread in here that is a great read. I'm with you, we aren't sure of when or how to surprise our kids yet.

Let's see....

- We just booked POP for December 4th - 12th, so 6+ months in advance

- DD9 and DS almost 5

- DW and I are thinking that we will surprise them either waking them up the day we leave and telling them or telling them that I am going away for work ( I never do) and tell them on the way to or at the airport

- I haven't blown the surprise YET, but my DD is pretty smart so she might figure out why I spend so much time on this site, or why we have the Disney planning DVD, or the WDW trivia book, or the Hidden Mickey's book, or the..... you get the idea. DW and I are only telling who absolutely need to know like teachers, coworkers until right up to the end when we will tell the family, friends, etc.

We did the paper chain thing when we went in 2003, it was fun to take turns ripping off the links to count down the days.

Good luck keeping the secret

 

[taximomfor4]

We are TRYING to keep it secret right now, but our true reason to do that is in case our plans fall through.

We booked 4 months in advance, are staying at POP also, 8/12, 8/13-8/19. We're driving. My oldest knows, but is a great secret-keeper from the other kids.

dd13, dd8 (on tuesday), ds6, dd3 (almost 4).

My only concern about keeping it secret is that dd3 will sometimes EXPECT us to get in the van and drive to WDW, out of the blue. We went last August. Well, one day in November, I put her in the van to go to the bank really quick. When we pulled back into our driveway, and I went to get her out of her carseat, she grabbed onto her carseat straps and cried. When she calmed down, she told me "But this isn't the Didney-Weeld. I thought we were going to the Didney Weeld!" I felt really bad, because I could not figure out what gave her the impression that WDW was in our near fugure, because it wasn't!! I guess once the trip is really paid off and stuff, we might tell.

Another trip I took oldest dd for her 8th bday. I did NOT tell her (3 months of secret-keeping). At her birthday party, we wrapped "hints" with clues, and she went on a scavenger hunt and found the clues. THe final clue was a GIANT cardboard WDW ad, a human-sized Mickey cutout. I had borrowed it from the travel agent. Her last gift was the plane tickets.

 

[DisneyDadof3]

We leave in 4 days - the kids have no idea. Picking them up after school with the van packed and leaving!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hannahsmom]

We haven't told DD (5) about our planned trip at the end of Aug. We are planning on giving her a countdown calendar, complete with Mickey Head's (thank you Home Depot!!!), for her birthday, Aug. 2nd. But that plan may change to a complete surprise. When we booked the trip I wasn't planning on making it a surprise. But lately my DD has been going overboard with upcoming "special" things (dance recital and grandma visits in 2 weeks). She is non stop with excitement. Don't get me wrong, it is fun seeing her so excited, but she has been driving DH and I completely crazy. We know if we were to tell her now, she would make the remaining 2 1/2 months before our trip painful for us.

 

[mumto2]

As soon as we heard about free dining, I convinced DH that a trip would be the ultimate birthday present for our DD. She turns 7 on the 12th, so the original plan was to arrange a family breakfast gathering and give her one package with a WDW souvenier. Then share the excitement with the gang for a little bit and hit the road and drive until we got very close to Orlando, spend the night on the road, then get up early to maximize the amount of resort time.

Then our school district decided to start school a week earlier, and a conversation with her teacher convinced us that missing the first full week of school wasn't a great idea. Hadn't mentioned destination to the teacher, just that with both parents in grad school (DH graduates 8/5 - I'm sharing this little tidbit with the fine folks at Whispering Canyon ), we wouldn't be able to have a family vacation until later in August. Teacher was not opposed to DD missing school later in the year, just thought that first week was not good. I was sure we'd have to cancel the whole trip

DH turned to me last Saturday night and said, what about Labor Day Week? DD would only have to miss 4 days of school. Trip back on!

Plan is still to tell DD on her birthday (and MIL too - otherwise the cat will be out of the bag - Grandma is a blabbermouth!!!), but perhaps a little differently. I'm thinking about a hunt for pirate treasure, with the prize being the reservation for the GF pirate cruise (DD has a pirate obsession; I was so relieved to be able to rebook the pirate cruise when we changed plans). Other gifts might be a new Birnbaums, some pins for trading and some disney dollars. We're kind of getting the best of both worlds - we get to surprise her, but also get to let her get excited and plan for a couple of weeks, which I think should be just the right amount of time - last trip she knew from the beginning and was climbing the walls months before we hit the road.

Any other suggestions out there?

 

[mlwear]

We leave in 4 days - the kids have no idea. Picking them up after school with the van packed and leaving!!!!!!!!!!!!

My friend did this a couple of years ago. Her kids were completely clueless. They thought she was just taking them home at the start of spring break. Instead they went straight to the airport. It was really fantastic for them.

I could nver keep it a secret like that. DS 11 years old loves planning the trip probably as much as anyone on this board He's driving us nuts with memorized itinerarys, trvia facts and menus from restaurants. Just like for so many Dis-ers, it is part of his fun.

 

[monalsw]

- how far in advance did you book the trip? April, so about 4 months.

- how old is your child(ren)? DD is 17 and DS is 7.

- how far in advance will/did you tell them? I haven't told them yet...well, DD knows that we are going sometime within the next 6 months & DS thinks we are going next year!

- how will/did you tell them? I don't know yet!

- did you almost blow the surprise (like me, a few times)? Not me, but fully expecting DH to-he has 'loose lips"!

I have surprised the kids before; told them on a Sunday afternoon that we would be leaving for WDW on the next Thurs. That trip was kept secret for 10 months and even DH didn't let it slip!

DD wants to be surprised again-I'm thinking of telling them the day before we leave for PC!

Love these stories/ideas!

 

[F1Julie]

Another surprise trip courtesy of the free dining promotion here! We're headed to YC in September. DD6 has no idea and I won't tell her until the night before we go. DBF is coming with us for the first time as well. I just told him about the trip tonight. I am so excited.

I surprised DD once before when she was 4. I told her the night before we left. She was thrilled. Usually, DD and I start planning our next trip on the way home from the last one. It is hard to keep it a secret, but very worth it when I see her face light up when I tell her.

 

[RockyMtnMaria]

My older two (10 and 8) had figured it out before we even booked our tickets? Dh and I kept slipping up on our code, lol. We were awful. We wanted to surprise them but after some very pointed questions we gave them the good news right after we purchased the plane tickets.

 

[Carolc]

Wow, these are great ideas! Does the Disney Store sell Disney Dollars? Maybe I'll put them in a box with the paper chain.

Some other ideas for those thinking of wrapping some things up (or hiding in a treasure hunt)...

- Rand McNally Trip Tracker (especially for any kid who likes to plan/keep a journal)

- autograph book

- shiny pennies for the pressed penny machines

- spray mister/fan

- a fun (yet practical) hat to wear at WDW

- one-time use camera

- free DVD planning kit Disney sends (do they still do that)?

- for younger kids - the 'Beach Party' and 'Campout' Sing-A-Long Videos (filmed at WDW)

Let's see, if I tell them mid July, that would be about a month before. I 'think' they could handle that without going nuts. Wait any longer, and I'LL go nuts!! It would be pretty cool to wait until the day we go, but my DD(6) loves to plan and mentally get psyched up - I want her to enjoy this pre-trip time, too.

Keep the ideas coming... this is fun!

 

[MouseEarsJenny]

- how far in advance did you book the trip? 5 months

- how old is your child(ren)? 6 and 9

- how far in advance will/did you tell them? This Friday we'll pick them up from school, tell them, and leave.

- how will/did you tell them? We made a special custom photo book that we'll have dd9 read to ds6.

- did you almost blow the surprise (like me, a few times)? Sort of - we've made a few dumb comments like "when we leave.....pause... for Aunt Cyndy's" (We were going to my sister's for Memorial Day, which was great cover.)

Oh, and right now when I'm going upstairs to wake them up and scream it out cause I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!! AGGGGHHHH!!! *phew* Okay, so I'm not gonna do that. But I wish I could. The last week is the hardest!!!

 

[LISAVWL]

We did this a few years ago to surprise my DS, then 10. We had a trip planned for later in the year but had to reschedule because I was expecting baby #4 at the time of our trip. He thought we had cancelled due to the baby and was really bummed. We kept it a surprise until the day we left, woke him up at 5AM and said "Surprise -- we're going to Disney World"! I think he was in shock all the way to the airport! It finally hit him as we checked into the VWL, where my parents met us -- surprise #2!

We kept it a surprise for about 3 months -- so hard! It was totally worth it to see his face for both surprises, we even video taped it when we woke him up!

 

[Reese]

Our very first trip was last Feb. We booked it eight months in advance. The kids had no idea. I kept making secret trips to the Disney store to get the kids matching shirts for each day of our trip (while they were on sale).

We didn't tell them until the morning that we were leaving. We went out for breakfast with the grandparents and everyone came back to our house to witness the surprise. We gave them each a gift box with Disney characters on them. Inside we had put matching princess hats for the girls and Mickey hats for the boys. They also had disney journals, pens, I made them each an autograph book and a few more disney trinkets. At the bottom I put their boarding passes for our flight leaving in five hours (three hour drive away). I had already packed and they had no clue. It wasn't until half way through the flight that any of them even thought to ask about clothes.

They were 13, 8, 6, 5, 18 months and I was seven months pregnant. I wanted to tell them so many times but I'm glad we didn't. The kids didn't have time to get worked up about the flight since only my oldest has flown before. Also they all got a good night sleep the night before (not me I was too excited ).

 

[bartleby1]

You guys have some GREAT ideas! Oh, I soooo wish I could keep my mouth shut and do a surprise trip! I'm just too much of a big mouth, lol! I keep saying that we are going to do that, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe next trip, lol!

Good luck to all of you trying to keep it a secret! I think that is so much fun. Someday I will do it!

 

[Lilacq]

Here's what we're thinking of doing. We're going in October, so we'll pick DSs (ages 5 and 7) up from school at 3. They are usually pretty psyched to not have to go home on the bus, so they'll be pretty happy with just that. Then I'm sure they'll be curious as to why Daddy is with us. And HEY - what's with all the stuff in the trunk? (We drive a hatchback, so the whole free world can see what we have in the car - how embarrasssing!) Mommy will smile and drive on, but wait a sec - that's not the way home... We'll drive to the airport, which luckily is close enough, and give them little clues as we wait in line(or should I say, lineS). We're not going to tell them anything about which parks we're visiting each day until we get there and they read the signs. This is our first trip, so hopefully I can keep my fool mouth shut!

 

[poohtink]

I took my daughter for Christmas and it was a total surprise she had no clue until we got to the airport (in a snow storm). I packed the car when she wasn't around. It was greatest and hardest surprise I have ever done but it was totally worth it. So the longer you can keep it a secret the better. Have a great time

 

[disneydaisyndonald]

We booked our trip last November for June 9th-17th... DD6 & DS 3 have no idea! We normally will go to Disney each year but told them this year we just couldn't do it.They love disney so much they play that they are traveling to Disney or on certain rides.... School ends on thursday & Friday morning we are going to wake them up & head to the airport.... We are going to tell them we are headed to the beach... well there is a beach there so we not lying..... We are just going to let them figure it out...

We have a layover so I think DD will figure it out till we landed in Orlando or get on Magical Express.. CAn't wait to see their faces.....

 

[bdink921]

We're keeping our trip a surprise too !!!! We're going on the Disney Wonder from 11/12-11/16. The 16th is DS 8th birthday --so after the cruise, we're heading to WDW for 2 nights--Epcot (DS loooooves MS and TT) and MK for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. The cruise has been booked since October 2005 !!!!!! The wait to tell him is killing me--sometimes I feel like I just HAVE to tell him, but I'm not. We're thinking of telling him we have to go to Florida for something job related and then watch the Magic sail off on Saturday . Then on Sunday we could "tour" the Wonder. But he's pretty smart and would probably catch on so the other idea we had was doing a scavenger hunt and leaving him clues to his "surprise" . Either way, I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out where we're going!!

Bridget

 

[bnf2]

We're going in September and the kids have no idea! This will be their second trip... and the second time we've surprised them with a Disney trip!

-How far in adv. did we book? 2004: 8 months out/ 2006: 4 months out

-How old? 2004: they turned 5 during the trip/ 2006: they'll be a few weeks from 7

-When did we tell? 2004: we told them 11 days before/2006:... not sure!!!

-How we told? 2004... Gave each an envelope full of 'pixie dust' and letters from Tinkerbell and Peter Pan telling them *they* couldn't wait to see my kids at WDW! We also gave each one a goodie bag filled with Disney related treats... DDollars, pens, stickers, books, etc. Oh... and a countdown calendar. We had already given them the Birnbaum Kids guide for our "one day trip" and we'd made a Disney bank for them to save for our "one day trip". On the morning of our trip the doorbell rang; we had the kids open it and it was my parents- big surprise for my kids since the g-parents live over an hour away. They had their suitcases in hand and said, "Hey, we heard you were going to WDW... can we come?" My kids still didn't get it until we were on our way to the airport! That night we went to Ft. Wilderness for dinner and for the kids to see where Mom camped when she was a girl (yet another surprise coming!) As we were walking out of Trails End they spot their uncles riding up on bikes and were blown away again! They were just beside themselves when we got to the campers and found their aunts and cousins! It was a fantastic trip and I'm not sure how I'm going to top it this time!

-Did I almost blow the trip? Yes... many, many, many times! I've almost let the cat out the bag for this trip too!

Best wishes on surprising your families! It's almost as much fun as the trip itself! (Well, almost!)