Who has surprised their kids with a trip?

[quadsthen1]

We have never surprised our kids before but are planning to surpised them with our next trip. We will be their on their birthday. We are planning on signing them out of school after lunch and telling them we are going somewhere special for their birthday. I am hoping we are to Altanta or past it before they figure it out! This will be their 3rd trip. So far keeping the secret has been easlier than I thought it would be. I think I'm so excited about the surprise that i want to keep the secret!

 

[dis75ney]

We'll be surprising DS with our trip in May. DS keeps two guinea pigs in his room, so we plan on telling DS that we need to fumigate his room (we get nasty lady bug infestations every spring) and we'll need to move Snoopy and Charlie's cage downstairs overnight. He's used to this yearly ritual and won't blink an eye, especially when he gets to sleep on the downstairs couch on a school night. My parents live with us, but they cannot handle stairs all too well (DH and I moved upstairs and let my parents have the downstairs rooms), so this will make it easier for them to tend to Snoopy and Charlie while we're gone.

I'm still on the fence about how to surprise him the next day. We had thought about just waking DS up the next morning and asking him if he'd rather go to school or to Disney World, but then I saw some awesome designs on the DISigns boards and am thinking about making up a small gift bag with a "Surprise! We're going to Disney World!" t-shirt, then taking him to breakfast (before a made up doctor's appointment) and surprising him there...or at the airport before we go through security...what to do...what to do...

 

[sara74]

We are surprising the kids in 3 days!

They have NO idea that we are going this year. Have been told that since Daddy's business partner retired it is too hard for him to get away from the office right now.

On Thursday night we are having a scavenger hunt. I got lime green blank notecards with envelopes from Target and wrote the clues on them already. They are sealed already or I would post them. They aren't Disney themed or my DD would get it too quickly! There are 10 clues that lead them all over the house - one is - "When you put your drink down, please use a ______ (coaster), when you want to make toast then go to the _______(toaster)!"

The last clue leads them to my hope chest in the bedroom - there will be an envelope on the top of it with one last note inside "Open the Chest! Love, Mom and Dad"

Inside the chest I made signs that will be taped to the inside of the lid. One says "SURPRISE! We're going to Disney!" the other says "Pack Your Bags! We leave TONIGHT!" In the chest with the signs will be the embroidered Mickey ears I bought them, and the new pajamas and the pinwheels with Mickey on them, etc. I'm trying to figure out how to tape the ears from my last trip to the inside of the lid - they are the light up ones from two years ago and they still light up.

I am going to have to set this stuff up while the kids are in the bath or something so they don't see it all ahead of time.

Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it all goes!

 

[conachan14]

Last year my husband was able to come home from R&R from Iraq during the kids spring break so I had a disney trip all planned out. We surprised them the day before we left. They got home from school and we had a note on the door starting the scavenger hunt. I found window clings and disney figures at the dollar tree that we used in the hunt. It ended with them opening a suitcase which we had mouse ear balloons in (bought off ebay). Once the suitcase was opened the balloons floated up with a paper attached saying Pack your bags we are going to Disney world in the morning. We taped it all and it was great.

We are going again this fall and they already know about the upcoming trip. But it was alot of keeping it a secret and seeing their faces when they found out they were going to Disney. Our kids were 11, 8, and 6 at the time.

 

[donaldsgirl]

I was logging on to post something just like this. Saved me the trouble. We are going the week of easter..and it is right after our sons 7th bday. He has said he wanted to go Disney world so here we go. Any excuse to get us down there is fine with us. I am planning on giving him a clue a day from the day of his birthday party until the day we arrive. I only have 4 of them written right now, but take a look and tell me what you think!!

A birthday surprise for a boy that is so sweet.
He is 7 years old now, WOW that is so neat!!.
So what will we do, to celebrate this day,
will we go someplace cool or at home will we stay?
Will we be Watching The Disney Channel and Thomas the Train
or will we go visit a friend but not get there by plane?
Mommy and Poppy, Abby and me, Oh the fun we will have
but what and where??? We shall see!!!
From now until then, everyday will have a clue.
On paper just like this with the what, the where, the when and the who.
Every day I will try to guess what my big surprise will be,
but for now on with the party.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

This is clue # 2, what will I learn today.
Will my clue be something I read or will it be something I play?
Mommy has been shopping, but from where I can’t say.
Did she buy something from the store or maybe something from ebay??
I am not sure what but I know it will be cool,
maybe it is something for my DS or maybe for the pool.
These clues are so hard, I wonder what it could be.
Here is the clue for my birthday surprise.
We will see a tree. (Tree of Life)
A tree?? Really?? Is that my only clue?
No here is another one, Your dreams will come true. (Self Explainatory)

Day 3 has started, so off to school I go.
What is my 3rd clue? This I have to know.
Every day starts out the very same, I read and write all day long,
Every day I make my sissy laugh, every day I sing a song.
I sing lots of songs, so which one is my clue?
I am such a silly monkey. It’s the song about true blue.(you got a friend inme)
Yes about true blue and about being the very best,
never having to be alone and being better than the rest.
I always get a pair of clues so what is my second one?
We will see one of our best friends and now this clue is done.
(Mickey and Donald)

It is time for Clue #4, I wonder what it will be.
I have had a clue about a song and a clue about a tree.
I have had a clue about seeing a friend, that will be so cool.
Here is the first clue for today, the clue is a tool. (Handy Manny)
Today is my real Birthday, I am 7 now.
I cant tell mommy that makes her old, she would have a cow!!
I blew out 7 candles on my birthday cake so now I get a wish.
I want to know what my second clue is and it is “We might see a fish”!
(Nemo and Dory)

As it gets closer the clues wont be so hard and I had planned on spelling out We are going to Disney World or each page will have different character names by highlighting the letters on each of the days, like a word scramble maybe?? What do you guys think???

 

[Veals_Family]

These are all great! We are going May 2-8...staying at a hotel near the airport on the 1st. My DDs are 5 and 1....DD5 has been talking about the BIG Disney for a while now, she remembers Disneyland...but not our trip to WDW when she was 3. She knows we're going on vacation...hoping it's WDW, But I told her not this year, but we are planning it for next yr. (which is why I have a few books out, I just can't resist! )

I'm hoping to hold out till the night at the hotel before we leave.....but I just don't know if I can!!! I would LOVE to do something special!

 

[Mary•Poppins]

After having my 10 year old son complete a week's worth of homework over Thanksgiving break ... we finally told him when we got out at the airport. Everyone knew, his brothers, grandparents and even his teacher!

Since his big brothers had a lot of homework to complete over Thanksgiving break too ... due to the Disney trip, our 10 year old just assumed that the school gave a lot of homework that year. His face at the airport was priceless ... and his older brothers felt like grownups ( ... helping to keep the secret).

This is one of my favorite memories!

 

[LadySiren]

Donaldsgirl, I like it. I think he's going to have a blast with this! I'm doing a find-the-word thing, where you have to find and circle the words in a square full of seemingly random letters. The leftover letters will spell out WDW. The kids will have this figured out by clue #1, if you believe DH. I don't care though - I think that will be half the fun.

 

[5inwonderland]

I love this! DH and I are planning to do the same thing and surprise our girls. Kellygirl - we will be waking them up @ 4:00 am!
Thanks so much for the clues and tips. I canNOT wait
k

 

[mandersk]

Our trip is planned for mid-April (first visit for my 4 & 5 yr old children and husband), and I'm thinking about putting together Disneyworld themed easter baskets for the big reveal moment ... I'm going to make "admit 1 to DW" tkts, and pack it with stuff like activities for the plane ride, sunglasses, jammies, glow sticks, water bottle, mouse ears (maybe), etc... Perhaps even the pin trading starter sets (I'm not sure if my kiddos would be in to that at all).

Their grandma is also planning on joining us for the week which is surprise # 2... With a little luck (no flight delays), we will be running into her at the airport ;-)

 

[disneylovingfamily:4]

We are surprising dd and ds with the May trip. We are going to put them in the car at 1am and start driving and see how much of the 7 hour trip we can complete with out them waking up LOL..

 

[2princesses2princes]

This is awesome reading all of these ideas and such. We suprised our kids at the time ages 7, 5 and 18mos. We didnt' tell them until we got them up at 3am to head to the airport. The 5 year old got angry and said repetedly we are not going to disney, I know were NOT. We are planning our next trip right now and have been for quite some time. We are in Michigan and plan on driving, my brother and his fiance are moving to NC this summer, so we will be telling them we are going to visit their Aunt and Uncle. That will be our half way point, and hoping I guess they don't pay much attention when we leave to come "home' that we are still heading south. Hearing all of these clue games and such makes me almost want to do that though, so who knows.

 

[sara74]

The Princess and the Frog added a flash of brilliance to my surprise tonight!!!!

I was driving the gymnastics carpool this afternoon and for a very special treat I put the new Princess and the Frog DVD on in the car. Neither DD nor her friend had seen it in the theater - and since we leave for WDW this week (SURPRISE TRIP!) I wanted DD to see Tiana before we had a chance of running in to her!

Anyway - I am listening to the movie while I'm driving and I hear THIS -

Evening star is shining bright,
So make a wish and hold on tight,
There's magic in the air tonight,
And anything can happen.

We are doing a scavenger hunt leading to my hope chest full of balloons and ears with the kids names on them and new pajamas and a big sign that says "surprise we are going to Disney!" Our last envelope in the hunt was just going to say - open the chest! but now I printed the quote from the movie with a clip art picture of Tiana with her hands clasped to her chest and little swirls of stars on it. I am going to tie it with a ribbon and put it on the chest. When DD reads it - we'll see if she gets it and opens the chest and if she doesn't 'get it' then we're going to ask the kids what they are waiting for!

Ok, I am so sleep deprived right now I am sure I am babbling, but this quote just seemed so perfect for a surprise trip reveal!

 

[mamajojo]

We surprised our kids. We took them to Disney and on the disney Magic so we did our treasure hunt in two parts.

I will write it in two parts because it will be long. The first part will be the Disneyworld reveal and the second will be the cruise reveal. We were able to video the whole thing and I took some picture but not as many as I would have liked too. They were running through everything so fast.

We had everything ready for when the kids when they woke up. We had placed the starter clue on the table under the remote. It said " OPEN ME " . The kids sat down and started eating breakfast and we finally had to tell them to turn on the tv. They then found the clue and were very excited. This is what is it said:

STARTER CLUE:


A surprise you have found,
look for clues all around.
If you both work together,
at the end you'll find treasure.


They asked what the treasure would be and we told them that they would have to finish the treasure hunt to find out. We then said that when they were finished breakfast they would be able to start looking for clue number one. DS took a couple of bites and saw the clue right away ( the plates are see through . ) Clue number one was hidden under DD's plate and clue number two was hidden under DS's.


CLUE NUMBER ONE:

You have found the first clue,
and a couple of letters.
When you come to the end,
you will put them together.


There was a couple of letters in each envelope. They had to collect them all and spell out some words at the end



CLUE NUMBER TWO (under DS's plate):


Now head to the stairs,
the ones that go down.
There you will find,
what needs to be found.


They ran to the stairs and DH had built a track that ran from the top of the stairs to the bottom. At the beggining of the track was a hulk car (representing Universal and Islands of Adventure) with a card that said " Push me." The kids pushed the car and it flew down the stairs with their next clue attached to the back of it by a string.

They opened up the next clue and found this


CLUE NUMBER THREE:

Now for the next clue to be found,
you want to finish going down.
Don't be silly, don't be a goof,
look up and find, your clue on the roof.

When they went into the basement there was a string attached to the ceiling. When they pulled the string a clown nose (representing Cirque) came down along with clue number four.


CLUE NUMBER FOUR:


There is a place that spins round and round,
this is where the next clue is found.
As tricky to you as this may seem,
this is where our clothes get clean

They ran to the washing machine and found a car and a map (representing the drive down) and clue number five


Clue number five


This is where Daddy's tools are kept,
In the winter your bikes have also slept.
Don't be nervous, nothing to fear,
Daddy also works out in here.

We have made part of the garage into a workout room. In here they found a globe ( representing Planet Hollywood) and the next clue

CLUE NUMBER SIX:


The two of you are good at this,
working together, nothing will be missed.
Go to the living room and there you will see,
If you can find what's in the tree.


We have a really big plant in the living room. On the dirt in the pot I had placed all kids of animals (representing AKL) and clue number seven.


CLUE NUMBER SEVEN:

Next is a place where you lay your head,
Is it a car or is it a bed?
DS is the one that knows,
Since this is the room that he has chose.


DS has a car bed. In his room.


Here they found a dinosaur ( representing T-Rex) and the next clue

CLUE NUMBER EIGHT:


Next is a place that is purple and frilly,
Pull up the blankets, so you don't get chilly.
This is the spot DD lays down her head,
Upon her pretty princess bed.


In DD's room they found a halloween decoration (representing MNSSHP)
and clue number nine.


CLUE NUMBER NINE

There is another spot you will find,
it's the place where we have our sleepy time,
Mommy and Daddy share this place,
It also holds a pillow case

To settle the kids down, about an hour before the kids go to bed, we all pile in our bed and read stories and talk about our day. They call it sleepy time. Here they found a mask that we had bought when we in New Orleans
( representing POR. We are staying there for a night ) and the next clue.


CLUE NUMBER TEN:


You have both done very well,
Now put letters together and see what they spell,
When you are done doing that,
The computer is where you treasure is at!

They put all of the letters together and this is what is said:

DH and Mommy and DS and DD are you ready?




They then ran down to the computer and DH had made an amazing power point presentation. Each screen also represented thing that we will be doing and said stuff like "for adventure..." "for high flying acts " etc

The first screen had a picture of the kids and said are you ready?

The last screen had "When you wish upon a star star" start playing and Disney characters start popping out of everywhere. It then said...For your Disney trip:


Their mouths dropped open. After we told them when we were going (they thought that we were leaving right away) and talked for a couple of minutes, we took them upstairs to look at the scrap book that I had made, to show them everything that we are going to do at DW. On the very last page was................ CLUE NUMBER ELEVEN
__________________

 

[mamajojo]

So after we read the scrap book they found clue number eleven.


CLUE NUMBER ELEVEN:

I bet you thought that you were done,
Well guess what? We have lots more fun.
A map will now be given to you,
See if you can find the clue.




They were given a map and they went outside to their sandbox to dig up their clue. They found a treasure box with a picture of a key and the word ouest inside....ouest is WEST in French (which the kids speak).


They also found another clue.

CLUE NUMBER TWELVE:

The next place that you need to look,
is in the spot we use to cook.
It's black and built into the wall,
and makes yummy food for us all.

We have a built in oven. They found clue number thirteen and a picture of Dora ( representing Cozumel )

ClUE NUMBER THIRTEEN:

This is it, you're almost done!
Hasn't it been so much fun?
You will find your treasure soon,
If you look in the downstairs bathroom

In the bathroom they found one more clue and a picture


CLUE NUMBER FOURTEEN:

Since wishes really do come true,
There is one more clue for you.
Open the front door for your surprise,
I bet you won't believe your eyes!

When they opened the door there were two boxes that were covered in Disney characters, that I bought at the Disney store. They had balloons attached to them. DD's balloons were pink and said " princess" and DS's were blue and said "Prince". On top of the box was their last clue

CLUE FIFTEEN:

Bring your treasure back inside,
before you open the lid up wide.
For all that you are and all that you do,
Mommy and Daddy really love you!

THANKS FOR BEING SUCH GREAT KIDS!!!

After they opened up the last clue, they opened up the box. The balloons flew up and on the sting was a silver envelope with their name stenciled in black letters. The box was also filled with presents.



In the envelop was an invitation with a picture of Captain Mickey asking them to come on the cruise. I printed it on photo paper.



And that's the end of the big reveal!!We had a great time and so did the kids. They still talk about it all of the time and it will be something that they always remember

 

[LWatson]

Okay, so I think I have figured out how we are going to tell our kids. Instead of taking 2 days to get down there we are only taking one. We will be leaving around 5am, so that means we have to get the kids up at 4:30/4:45 to load them up in the car. I figured that a good way to wake them up would be to play the video we have of the "Opening Show" of the Magic Kingdom...then after its over bring out the Ear hats they got their first trip (so we dont buy anymore) and a Disney themed shirt. My kids love that video and the 2yr old always screams "HI MICKEY" over and over.

 

[jngwright]

I did!!

I decided not to tell the boys about the trip. I considered waking them up the morning we leave and telling them "We're going to Disney World!!" but decided that since daddy isn't coming I should give them a little time to acclimate. My friend made a great advent style countdown calendar, which ends the day before we leave. Each door has a clue behind it, with a corresponding treasure in their treasure box.

Well, here it is

They opened the last door today, that says "We're going to Disney World!" The looks on their faces crack me up! Alex is like "" and Evan is "" They are so excited! Greg has convinced them to give Expedition Everest a second chance-in honor of him! They asked "When are we going" and were thrilled when I said "TOMORROW!" Evan ran a couple laps around the house.

 

[liz827]

This is what I'm doing now! It's nothing extravagant, not telling her until we arrive to get off the exit to check in at the Hotel At that point I don't think she'll even know we're going to see Mickey and the gang... i don't know if she knows MK exists But it'll be great! I'll give her a binder with scrapbook type stuff in it to tell her what we're doing each day.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I surprised my boys with a trip last year. I did a scavenger hunt for the oldest, who was almost 7 at the time, and just let him tell his brother (barely 3 at the time) when he figured it out. We were leaving on the next-to-last day of school and I wanted him to be able to tell his friends good-bye so when he woke up, there was a card on the back of his door with a clue. He was really into Encyclopedia Brown mysteries at the time, so I made it like he was a detective.

The clues were designed to make him get ready as fast as possible, so I wouldn't let him go for the next clue until he'd finished whatever the task was. After he got the first one, it pointed to him getting dressed, so he did that. The next one was about growing big and strong, and it was by the milk, so he had to eat breakfast. Then, it was by the toothpaste, so he had to brush his teeth. Then, the next one was in his (empty) lunchbox, and said something like "why is my lunchbox empty? We'll eat on the road!" Then his backpack was empty except for a new DS game, and the clue pointed to his suitcase in his closet, which I'd packed the day before. Then the last clue sent him to his seat in the car, where I'd left a little poem about "All your WISHES have come true!" and it had a little picture of Mickey on it, so he figured it out. Then he said, "when?" and I got to say, "TODAY!!!"

It was great fun! But it was also great to see his face when we were walking around DTD that night and someone called his name and it was my sister and her family! And then we went to check into our hotel and my best friend's family met us in the lobby! Priceless!!

I'd do another surprise trip in an instant. But, what I'd really like is for my husband to surprise ME with one!