Your kids' reactions to a surprise WDW trip??? Update p. 2! It was GREAT!

[Keara'sMom]

Hi all,
We haven't yet told our dd (soon to be 11) that we're going to WDW this Jan 6-10 and are thinking about waiting until we're on the way to the airport! While we did not visit the world last year, we did go the previous two (1/05, 1/06), so it's not dd's first visit or anything. I think she'll be really excited, but I just read about a kid who was disappointed that he didn't get to be excited in anticipation of the trip.

For those of you who surprised your kids, what was their reaction? Was it worth it to wait and make the trip be a surprise, or would it have been better to let them in on it sooner?

TIA!!

 

[lynninpa]

We did both-surprised them and let them in on the excitement of the anticipation of the trip! We used fortune cookies to announce the surprise trip yet did it ahead of time so they could also enjoy some of the planning and excitement of going to Disney! All 7 of them were thrilled-ages 2 to 28!

 

[dairyqueenmom]

Hi all,
We haven't yet told our dd (soon to be 11) that we're going to WDW this Jan 6-10 and are thinking about waiting until we're on the way to the airport! While we did not visit the world last year, we did go the previous two (1/05, 1/06), so it's not dd's first visit or anything. I think she'll be really excited, but I just read about a kid who was disappointed that he didn't get to be excited in anticipation of the trip.

For those of you who surprised your kids, what was their reaction? Was it worth it to wait and make the trip be a surprise, or would it have been better to let them in on it sooner?

TIA!!

We surprised our 5 and 7 year old a few years ago. I packed in secret, kept it from them totally. We packed the car and woke them up to go to the airport. Basically they didn't figure it out until we were in the rental car headed into Disney World. When we drove up to the big over the road sign welcoming you to Disney World, I turned around to see their faces... One was asleep and the other said, Oh! Disney great. Not the reaction I had been anticipating. They were both more excited to see their cousin, that was our other surprise. I think the anticipation of waiting and knowing is more fun for us now.

 

[mylilnikita]

I have never done a surprise to WDW, but last year, I surprised DD with a DCL cruise after WDW!. It was hard to do because she likes to help plan. The "Wonder" was in drydock near where we live, so we even went to Norfolk to go see it, and Iwas saying we couldn't do both.
We had been on the Wonder a coupel times before so she knew what the DCL bus looked like.
We went to WDW and I had hired a limo, because you can't see in front. Everyone knew but her, even the limo driver. I had him say we were getting close while DD thought we were going to the airport and I didn't want to take the ME bus.
We get close to the terminal, I start using my camcorder asking her what she would have liked to have done before we left Florida and she said go on the Mickey Boat, I rolled the window down and said You mean that one? I got her on tape, it was priceless. Of course I will never be able to surprise her like that again, because it was killing me not to tell her.
Good luck!

 

[Desnik]

We surprised the kids with our trip in Nov. The kids are 4 and 9 and it was so hard keeping it from them. Especially my DD(9). We go every year and had gone in April so they were told our annual Nov trip was cancelled because of the April trip. Everything was going great and they had no clue. Then the night before DD comes down with 103 fever!!! The plan was to take her out of school early on Fri because our flight was to leave at 2:50pm so that way she wouldn't miss a whole day of school but I could pack up the car without her knowing. We told her she had to go to a dentist appointment but as we were in the car we were going to surprise them. Well those plans were scratched and I was frantic! Luckily I was able to get her into the Dr. the day we were to leave and she had nothing wrong with her! The Dr said it was probably a 24hr bug and she would be OK to go just take it easy for a few days. I had to drop the dog off at the kennel and I just told them she was getting groomed, they still didn't catch on! Well when DH got home from work we sat them down on the couch and handed them disney theme wallets. Both were filled with Disney dollars. They still didn't get it. By this time DH had the video camera on them and DD said oh great Disney dollars to use at the Disney store, are we going there? I said no we can't because we are going to WDW instead, right now!!! OK, DD almost had a heart attack! She was shocked and the look on her face was priceless. Then she started crying hysterically with tears of joy!!! She was so shocked and it didn't really set in till we were there. She said it felt like a dream. DS really couldn't grasp that we were going to see Mickey right then and there. Once he was on the plane he was so happy. It ended up being a great way to tell them because they still had time to grab the 1 or 2 things they wanted to bring. I had already packed their Mickey ears, pins, and stuff to do on the plane. I gave DD some motrin and we were on our way. She was fine with no fever or anything by the next day! We had such a fantastic trip and I was so glad I kept it a surprise. It was definitely worth all the hard work. I don't think I will be able to top that again!

 

[Keara'sMom]

Thanks for all the replies so far! I think our dd will be thrilled, but it does nag at me a little that she might be disappointed that she didn't know in advance. Thus far, the surprise is still on!!

 

[GoinToDisney]

We are giving the surprise trip for Christmas. Wrapping a box with the stuff we will need, helium balloons to fly out, a countdown chain, etc.. Then Mikayla will be able to be surprised for Christmas, but still participate in getting ready. She is only 3 1/2 and I am not sure the OK we are going now would be much of a big deal to her. She wanted to go feed the dolphins yesterday and didn't understand that we can't just hop on a plane for and go. I think she will still be more surprised about the balloons on Christmas day, but she will have fun none the less.

 

[MissyDVC]

We just surprised DD7 & DS9 with a Holiday Disney trip. We actually woke them up at 3:30 am wearing our Disney clothes and told them get up and get dressed and that they had to put on these Disney santa hats we had for them because we were getting on the plane to WDW! They were so happy and excited that we had surprised them. We actually surprised them for their first trip about 5 years ago and have told them about all the other trips. Then they asked if we could surprise them again sometime so we did and it was wonderful. No matter what you do, enjoy every minute of it

 

[Kimmumum]

We have surprised our boys twice. Easter 2006 we told the boys that we were going to our family cottage (1 1/2 hours away). We always fly to Florida so they didn't think anything about driving to the cottage. I had packed everything and loaded the car. When we had been driving about 7 hours ( the boys had no clue ) we finally told them that we decided not to go to the cottage but to Disney. My oldest was speechless (which says something because that never happens). My youngest (8) didn't miss a beat and said "Aww do we have to????" He had been planning on fishing and was soooo excited that Disney didn't even faze him. He did end up having a great time.

This past 4th of July we surprised the boys again (9 and 13). We woke the boys up about 4 hours before we left for the airport and gave them a note from Mickey telling them that they needed to pack (and what to pack). They were truly surprised again!!!

 

[twoanddone]

We are sorta surprising. I've already packed their clothes up. DD4 has a birthday party tonight and will hopefully sleep really well. Tomorrow morning we figured we'd get up and go and see if she guesses. I think she will since we've slipped and mentioned a couple times and she told Santa she wanted to go to Disney for vacation ! HAHAH. DSD knows because she has to make sure it is okay with her mom and school and we still aren't 100% she can since today we've heard yes and no from her mom....... . DS 3 will have no clue until we get there. I think dd will be happier surprised ..... I couldn't handle her asking me everyday when we are going.

 

[liznboys]

We surprised our boys with the trip we took this past August. We got up that morning as usual, told them Daddy took off work for the day, and asked them what they'd like to do. They suggested a few fun things close to home, and then we said, "Well, how about we go to Disney World today?!" They didn't believe us at first! LOL My then 5 yr old kept asking, "Are you SERIOUS???" And when we were on the shuttle going from the parking lot to our airport, my then 7 yr old said, "Ok, I wasn't sure if it was true before, but NOW I believe you." LOL!!

Now, I will say that we had just gone to Disney in March, and we also already had a trip planned for October-which they knew about. So they had plenty of other times to help plan the trip and join in on the anticipation.

If your trip is a once in a lifetime kind of thing, I would think twice about it. But if you've already been, and you know you'll go back, then I'd say go for it!

Good luck!!

 

[tchrrx]

For our second trip, we told DD7 that we were going back, but wouldn't tell her when. I did 'accidently' slip a few times that it would probably be in July. Lo and behold, the first day after school was out, we woke her up about 3:30 am. She didn't want to get up until we told her we were getting on a plane & heading to Disney. She was thrilled! (although, I did get in trouble for telling her July b/c that's lying. )

Anyhow, she was able to be in on the planning and help with the packing and such (I got suitcases out in early April!), but still enjoyed the surprise element too.

This year we're surprising her by taking her aunt with us. She thinks aunt is driving us to the airport. She'll be thrilled when she finds out she's coming along!

 

[Tink-aholic]

I surprised my son (then 10) by telling him pretty far in advance that he would have to get his braces on the Friday before Memorial Day. I told him that the appointment takes a long time and we want him to go to school on time, so he had to get up EARLY.

That morning, DH drove us to the airport instead. DS looked at me and asked if we were going anywhere, and I asked him if he really wanted to know. He told me he didn't and everyone at the airport helped by not declaring our destination out loud and not letting him see the tickets. He didn't know where we were going until they announced our flight boarding to Orlando!

For the entire 3 hour trip, he kept saying things like "I forgot my bathing suit" or "I don't have my pins with me"...but I had packed them all, of course. We had a fabulous time and the best part is now DS knows what I am capable of if he is good.

The only wrinkle was when we got back and he really DID have to get his braces on. He didn't believe me until he was sitting in the chair!

 

[solferino]

DD's trips have been surprises- the first one we told her the morning of when we got her up at 4am. She was only 5 at the time. I just packed her stuff and she was totally into the idea.

The last trip (06) we told her a week before, on Christmas. She got a little disney backpack and a fairy-godmailer sent a postcard from Stitch inviting her to breakfast on her birthday.


This next trip we aren't sure how we're going to spill the beans. We're giving DH's parents a Segway tour for their Christmas gift, and likely will see if she can figure it out when they get their gift. If she doesn't connect the dots then we'll tell her I think, because I think she'd like to have some input. ADR's are made, so she won't have any say with that, but I don't think she'll care much. I did make arrangements this year for another fairy-godmailer to send a postcard from the Fairy Godmother inviting her to lunch at CRT on her birthday.

 

[noahdove]

I am giving my step-granddaughter a sweatshirt that Pat on the design board did that says, Surprise we are going to Walt Disney World and the date..That will probably be her first gift to open, as there are serveral other ones related to the trip I am sooooo excited to see her face, I will have the camera ready as I did with my 8 year great nephew when I gave him his bag of surprise Disney things...

 

[glass slipper girl]

We've done two surprises and are in the midst of a semi-surprise.

The kids first trip was a surprise. We had been planning one for May but around Thanksgiving the year before my parents told us they had to go to Kissimmee for something and asked if they could take us as a Christmas gift. My oldest son had been watching the planning video CONSTANTLY and was SO excited about going in May. Because of the last minute planning and the fact that it was the week between Christmas and New Years, we couldn't get in to Ft. Wilderness so we were staying at a campground off site. We told DSs we were going to "Sherwood Forrest" (which is the name of the campground) but they thought it was just a camping trip. The plan was not to tell them until we arrived at the BC for a character breakfast (they are easily distracted so we thought we could get through "the sign" without them noticing). The night before my mother wanted to tell them. We were already at the campground. We sat them down and gave them Disney sweatshirts and Disney Dollars. We had the camcorder running and asked our oldest "where do you think you could use those?" He said DIsney World. We told him that was right and that we were right down the street from Disney World and would be there the next morning! I expected excitement. I got "Disney World? OK. (((pause))) Can we go swimming now?" The next morning he was beyond excited and the look on his face when he got his first glimpse of the castle was priceless!

Our second surprise was my mother and I taking the boys for Star Wars Weekends. We left for the airport right from DSs last day of kindergarten. I picked him up and the boys and I met DH for lunch. DH gave each of the boys a $20 bill. They were a bit surprised by that. DH said "I figured you could spend it at Disney World later today." Oldest DS laughed and said "you're silly! We're not going to Disney World today." I said "OH yes we are! We have to go get Grammy because our plan leaves in 4 hours so we have to get to the airport right away!" They didn't believe me til they saw the luggage in the back of the van. They were beside themselves they were so excited.

Our semisurprise is that they think we are leaving Friday morning. We are actually leaving Tuesday morning. OUr oldest tends to get in to vacation mode a bit early and check out mentally at school before a trip. After last year we decided that we would not tell him in advance of a trip. I had to give in because I wanted him to be prepared that he would miss his class Christmas party. He was disappointed by that for a few days but I kept saying "you can stay here and go to the party, or you can come to WDW with us...your choice." Guess which he picked? We have to leave for the airport at the same time as we usually have to leave for school in the morning so we are just going to see how long it takes for them to figure it out. The first clue will be that they don't have to put on their uniforms but I've already said that I have a meeting to go to Monday afternoon so they might get a NUT pass (NUT = no uniform today these passes are given out for attendance at PTA meetings. If you go, your kid gets a pass to wear street clothes the following Friday). So they know we are going, we're just leaving a few days earlier than they expect.

 

[Keara'sMom]

It's been really fun reading these responses! We're going to go with the surprise, if I can keep quiet 'til then! We'll be in NYC the weekend of our WDW trip, since my dh has a conference there. We're taking dd to Mary Poppins as a Christmas present Fri. night and then spending time in the city on Sat. before flying out on Sunday morning to WDW, so I don't think our dd will suspect ANYTHING. I believe she'll react with the same "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" that liznboys' child did! Here's hoping.....

 

[twoanddone]

We surprised our 4yo....... the morning of she seen luggage but I told her we were packing that away....... Then we passed her preschool and she got to questioning (I swear my kids have a better GPS system than the Tomtom I just bought) and we told her! She was so happy she even had tears lol!
DS finally said Mickey when we got to SSR!

 

[pskorf]

For my DD first trip to WDW four years ago (when she was 6) we gave it to her as a Christmas present for our February trip. I bought her a new swimsuit and cover up for the trip and made her a "certificate" for her trip. Then I wrapped them all up. When she opened that gift and pulled out the swimsuit she was very puzzled and I will never forget her confused little face looking at the swimsuit in Dec (we live in N. Illinois and it was snowy and very cold) and said "Oh.....a swimsuit......thanks.....) Then I had to tell her to keep looking in the box. She looked and looked at the "certificate" and then it finally dawned on her what it said....she let out the loudest squeal and started jumping up and down all exicted. It was great! I also made a paper chain and decorated it with Disney stickers as our count down and wrapped that as well. This way she was totally surprised but yet got to count down and build that anticipation.

Since then we have gone to WDW a couple more times and each time I have made her a countdown calendar - she loves it. We are currenly working on a countdown for our upcoming trip in April.....only 102 more days!!!

 

[blondinkaya]

I'm currently planning our very first WDW trip, and I'm determined to keep it a secret. So secret, in fact, that dh doesn't know the details. He knows that we'll "spend some time" at Disney, but that's it. Little does he know!

We already decided to visit Sea World on 3 Mar (not too far a drive--we're in central GA). I'm going to pack separate suitcases, a small one/overnight bag for the hotel near Sea World and then the "real" luggage. The boys (ages 12 and 4--a month away from 13 and 5 when the time comes) will never notice any missing clothes, and all their toiletries will be new. Anyway, the plan is for us to keep the WDW luggage in the car and take just the overnight bag into the hotel room the night before we go to Sea World. We'll eat at the hotel and checkout, and then visit Sea World. We should finish up between 3 and 4 (we went last year and were done by that time). As we get into the car, dh and I will have a conversation to the effect that we're not ready to go back home yet, we wish we could see more sights in the area, yada yada, and then drive to Pop. I'm wondering how soon oldest ds will catch on. Anyway, we'll spend three days (one at Epcot, one at Hollywood Studios, and the last at Magic Kingdom) and hit Downtown Disney the morning we check out and head home.

It's so hard for me to not let on to ds. I homeschool, so we're together almost ALL the time. I still need to make the ADRs, between the time dh leaves for work (it's a surprise to him, too) and the boys get up. I have about half an hour to do it safely. I finally decided on restaurants, so tomorrow's the big day to make those ressies happen. Anyway, I've been such a nervous wreck since deciding to go last week. I'm the world's lousiest secret keeper; in fact, to keep myself from blabbing about the trip to ds and the details to dh, I emailed my dh's mother!