"We're going to Disney!" -favorite trip announcement ideas

[Mrs~Incredible]

Hi friends! We are planning a trip this September with 5 yo DD and thought I could start a thread with our favorite announcement ideas.

We definitely want to give her some advance notice (rather than a big reveal the day of). Thinking of something like a puzzle or a scavenger hunt...

Last trip we had her write a letter to her favorite character (A and E at the time), and we wrote a letter back (from A and E) inviting her to come down for a visit.

Would love any and all ideas!

Thanks!

 

[Clairracuda]

I was surprised with a trip as a kid and was given a hint every day for a week. It's been a looooong time, but one was "it's a real trip!" and "it's goofy".

I saw a video once of a little girl who received a backpack with little Disney gifts in it for the reveal. It was super adorable!

 

[TeamH5]

My then 5 yr old needed advance warning too, so we did the call from Mickey to 'announce' it, then we just showed her pictures of the ship (we did the cruise), all the activities, etc.. She was still over the top excited and almost hyperventilated when we drove up and saw the big ship in person. Lol

 

[AussieDisneyMum]

How about an outfit puzzle? i.e. character shoes Day 1, character socks Day 2, then underwear, shorts/skirt, shirt, and culminate in Mickey ears in a travel bag. Ask her to put on all the gifts and then ask, Well, you're all dressed up. Where could you go wearing all this? WDW, of course! You could use stuff she already has or new stuff, or dress a doll (there are WDW Barbies that might work).

Or a pass the parcel type deal with a pic of her at WDW as puzzle pieces in the layers. Have the piece with her face on it as the last one in the final parcel with the message, "The piece that's been missing is you!" in the hands of her favourite character.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

How about an outfit puzzle? i.e. character shoes Day 1, character socks Day 2, then underwear, shorts/skirt, shirt, and culminate in Mickey ears in a travel bag. Ask her to put on all the gifts and then ask, Well, you're all dressed up. Where could you go wearing all this? WDW, of course! You could use stuff she already has or new stuff, or dress a doll (there are WDW Barbies that might work).

Or a pass the parcel type deal with a pic of her at WDW as puzzle pieces in the layers. Have the piece with her face on it as the last one in the final parcel with the message, "The piece that's been missing is you!" in the hands of her favourite character.

Love that!

 

[EvilQueen2018]

Our trip isn't for a while but I'm doing research well in advance. My oldest already knows and he's an adult so it isn't a big deal. My step daughters will be 14 and 16, and our daughter will be 5.

The bigger girls will be here for their summer visit and we will give them a box with an envelope on top. The letter will make the reveal and I will buy some mylar balloons to float out of the box when opened. The box will have some park supplies, the DVD, book, and my travel binder. We will leave 2 days later. We need time to get stuff for the girls before we leave, like clothes and shoes, just what I can't get ahead of time.

I have all sorts of surprises in store for everyone for each day of our trip. My son and I have been there but the others haven't. I want to make it as special and magical as possible for everyone.

 

[tinkerbell1112]

We've only made "big" announcements twice. The rest of the times it was more of an agreement for vacation.

the first time, we wrapped up "themed" gifts - Buzz Lightyear at the time - as well as a little card that said he was going (he was 3 and I'm not sure he "got it" LOL)

Second time my son was 5 and dd was 3. We did this vacation very last minute so announced it in the van on the way to the airport. It was great. We had Mickey call and when they heard the call, my son looked at me like "really? we're going to Disneyworld now" and I said yes and he didn't believe me until he saw the luggage in the back of the van.

 

[EvilQueen2018]

I was watching some reveals on youtube and I think I'm changing my mind and telling everyone when its time that we are going and we can leave as soon as they are packed, then hand them a packing list so they dont bring everything but dont forget anything either. We wont have our first park day until 2 days after we get there so I dont want them to have to wait even longer.

I wish we to afford to go sooner, the wait is hard.

 

[AussieDisneyMum]

I was watching some reveals on youtube and I think I'm changing my mind and telling everyone when its time that we are going and we can leave as soon as they are packed, then hand them a packing list so they dont bring everything but dont forget anything either. We wont have our first park day until 2 days after we get there so I dont want them to have to wait even longer.

I wish we to afford to go sooner, the wait is hard.

I hear you. If it weren't so darned far, we might go sooner, but a 14-hour flight with 2 in nappies (diapers to you in the USA) with airplane toilet change tables is my personal definition of the third tier of hell.

5 years and much time to save and plan. And spend time living vicariously on Disboards.

 

[EvilQueen2018]

I hear you. If it weren't so darned far, we might go sooner, but a 14-hour flight with 2 in nappies (diapers to you in the USA) with airplane toilet change tables is my personal definition of the third tier of hell.

5 years and much time to save and plan. And spend time living vicariously on Disboards.

My only issue with doing this is I keep adding in new little touches. New things that essentially add more work for me. Of course my 5 year old will want autographs, what happens if the teens want to collect them too? I cant handle $60+ for books, better make my own. They stamp passports you buy in Epcot for World Showcase? Those will add up, better make my own! We can't wear our normal clothes, we need to match now. We can't buy the same shirts everyone else in matching shirts will have on, better make my own. At least I'll stay busy.

I can't even use a vacation planner because we aren't staying in the bubble and will have military tickets. So many different things to keep track of so that I don't miss an important booking date and skip a very important detail.

 

[AussieDisneyMum]

We must be twins, EvilQueen2018. I am doing the exact same stuff as you! Every month or so I add another project to the ever growing list. Sigh. We will likely only get 1 trip to WDW in our kids' childhoods, so I am really going all out on the DIY to make everything personalised. We should compare DIY lists! Nope. Bad idea, on second thoughts. If you have any I don't. I will end up adding them, thinking, why didn't I think of that?

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I am planning on making an advent calendar for December 2017 using the Disney Mini Lego Figures in little red solo cups. Each cup will have one (or two) of the figures with the 25th being Micky and Minnie, of course. I will likely have a Disney Gift with an autograph book, sharpie, a t-shirt, etc.

 

[kcarp36]

I have a daughter who is 4 1/2, we have been twice and both times we told her but she was too young to really grasp time/future. I am starting to plan a trip now for the winter and I am thinking of not telling her until we go. She will drive my batty asking every single day if today is the day.

I think part of the fun is going to be hiding it from her and then springing it on her.

 

[miracledaughter]

We've only made "big" announcements twice. The rest of the times it was more of an agreement for vacation.

the first time, we wrapped up "themed" gifts - Buzz Lightyear at the time - as well as a little card that said he was going (he was 3 and I'm not sure he "got it" LOL)

Second time my son was 5 and dd was 3. We did this vacation very last minute so announced it in the van on the way to the airport. It was great. We had Mickey call and when they heard the call, my son looked at me like "really? we're going to Disneyworld now" and I said yes and he didn't believe me until he saw the luggage in the back of the van.

How do you get Mickey to call you?

 

[Denita]

How do you get mickey to call you?

 

[keepswimming76]

The first time we surprised the kids with maps wrapped in a box. It was a few weeks before Christmas and we put it under the tree. They opened it about an hour before we left for the airport. It look them about 10 minutes to fully grasp that we were actually leaving on a trip, lol!

The last time we went, we told them about 8 weeks before the trip by doing a scavenger hunt. We left clues and at the end were a couple of backpacks full of items for the trip.

I personally love the idea of the last minute surprise, but I did enjoy also having time to talk with the kids about the trip and have them discuss all the things they wanted to do. It really helped build on the magic!

 

[jlee003]

we have a combo planned. I have to daughters ages 8 and 6. We told them we plan on going to DW next summer since we just went last year. By doing this we were able to get all kinds of information about what they wanted to do. It will still be a surprise when we wake them up early on the morning we head to the airport (this August), but we get to do all the pre talk as well.

 

[tinkerbell1112]

How do you get Mickey to call you?

it used to be an option through my disneymovie reward login. Last time I looked I didn't think they offered it any more. I did a quick google search now and I can only come up with a UK website. sorry! that call was done in 2010. You could choose which character you wanted to have call and choose from a couple different options for them to say

 

[EvilQueen2018]

I was going to tell them a few days in advance but I've changed my mind. My adult son knows because he will have to make arrangements to go and my daughter has heard us talking about going though she isnt 3 yet and the planned date is her 5th birthday. I have been telling her we will go when she is 6 in case she happens to mention it to her sisters when they come see us during our summer visitation. She is a very well spoken toddler so she would easily be understood.

The plan is to get the decisions on the big stuff out of the way with dh and then I will take to scheduling in seceret so it can be forgotten by everyone else. When our travel day comes, dh will get everything but the big girls' stuff loaded up (the neighbor will hold it all so the kids don't get clued in)and then he will bring in the note and box I have prepared. The box will have my binder, our travel shirts, and the Disney dvd. The note will contain our golden ticket stating how long we will be there and the parks we will be attending. This is a first for all except my son and I so no one knows what all the possibilities are. Even my son will be surprised because he has only had a sample of Disney many years ago and wants no park of having to make any plans. He knows this is my thing and I enjoy doing it. He prefers to just be entertained and will go with whatever. He trusts that I will consider his interests in my plans. They will be told that we can leave as soon as they are packed and I will have packing lists for them. Our little will only have to run around grabbing the toys she will take that I couldn't pack ahead of time.

Its a long drive so the kids will have plenty of time to look over the materials I have prepared and watch the video to start to see what a Disney vacation means. Plenty of time to be excited but not enough time for that excitement to fade. We will arrive on a Saturday and wont get to the parks until Monday so there is lots of time to study it all many times before we actually get there, I wish there was less but that can't be changed.

Every night, before we go to the park the next day, I will present everyone with the next shirt of the day as well as any necessities needed for that day and the schedule so that there is something special before the day starts. I will surprise everyone nightly with the glowies I intend to bring. I'll pull them out around the same time the cms pull out theirs.

My point to all of this is, I'll tell them when its time to go but no one will know about everything at any point. I'm even planning to buy surprise souvenirs for everyone and pull them out on the drive back home. Reveals and Surprises at every turn. Magic everywhere. I may not be able to impress Houdini with my level of magic skills but I think Walt could be proud of me.

 

[AussieDisneyMum]

Every night, before we go to the park the next day, I will present everyone with the next shirt of the day as well as any necessities needed for that day and the schedule so that there is something special before the day starts. I will surprise everyone nightly with the glowies I intend to bring. I'll pull them out around the same time the cms pull out theirs.

My point to all of this is, I'll tell them when its time to go but no one will know about everything at any point. I'm even planning to buy surprise souvenirs for everyone and pull them out on the drive back home. Reveals and Surprises at every turn. Magic everywhere. I may not be able to impress Houdini with my level of magic skills but I think Walt could be proud of me.

This. All of this.