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

[TheDizMom]

I vote for giving them more warning to enjoy the anticipation. We really beef up the anticipation by doing count down charts, special pre-trip meals and going to pick some new items to take on the plane for entertainment. We will DVR any good Disney travel shows or Food Network show too and watch them together. We actually still have one of the Disney trip planning DVD's that had a quiz show on it with trivia and my kids still like to play that. For me we all just enjoy doing things to ramp up the excitement and get so in to it that I would hate to miss out on it.

 

[emma'smom]

We've done the surprise approach twice with dd5 and dd2. Once we picked dd5 up from school and headed to the closest city to "go out for dinner". Along the way she started saying (predictably) "I don't want to go to Cleveland.....I wish we could go out for dinner in Disney." So...I said..."We'll, if you really want to...and we took the exit toward the airport. She wasn't sure we were serious until we were on the plane.

We did the same thing last summer and she bought it again. She is convinced she talked us into going to Disney for five days instead of going shopping "in the city".

The only problem--now everytime we drive to Cleveland they think there is a chance that we might end up in Florida.

 

[mnasmom3]

I was disappointed in the reaction we got from our 5, 7, and 9 yr old when we took our surprise trip this past September. We told them when we got to the airport and they all basically said "WDW? Woohoo!" and then turned back into their normal selves again. I was hoping for more of a reaction.

 

[my3squeals]

I was disappointed in the reaction we got from our 5, 7, and 9 yr old when we took our surprise trip this past September. We told them when we got to the airport and they all basically said "WDW? Woohoo!" and then turned back into their normal selves again. I was hoping for more of a reaction.

Same here..... We surprised our girls 7,4,2 with an upcoming trip in 2weeks. We wrapped a huge box and had their park tickets inside. They unwrapped it Christmas morning. I had bought a singing card and attatched it to the box so that when they opened the box it sang! I was so proud..... Anyway they open the box get their tickets, my oldest DD reads them and catches on we are going to WDW, they are all like OK. I had been so excited, maybe it was the fact that the surprise wasn't something immediate, but their reaction so deflated my bubble.
If I ever did a surprise trip again it would definitely be wake up we are going to Disney, nothing long term (like 3 weeks) 'cuz they sure didn't get it

 

[stepnut]

The way I told my kids (ages 7&8) was with a scavenger hunt through the house on Christmas morning. They had clues that led them to index cards hidden around the house. Each card had a letter, and the final clue told them how to arrange the cards to spell out the final clue: "Disney World".

We caught it all on video. I had a blast creating the hunt, and they had a blast doing it. But thier reaction at the end was "You mean, we're going to Disney World instead of Dayton?" (Dayton is where my sister lives and we always go there on Christmas day to stay for a few days. It's always a fun visit.) We had to explain that we were going to Dayton AND Disney World, and then they were a lot more excited. But not the bouncing off the walls reaction I expected.

However, we didn't tell them exactly when we'd be leaving fo WDW. I've already started packing, so they know it's fairly soon, but they don't know when. We leave in a week, and if I told them exactly when, they'd be driving me nuts, and I know they wouldn't get enough sleep the night before. As it is, we have to drag them out of bed at 5am to catch our 7am flight. I think it's going to be a lot of fun to wake them up at 5 am and tell them "Get moving! We leave NOW!"

So, was it worth it to wait? I think so. I love holding back surprises from my kids. Maybe not a thrill for them, but it is for me!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[fan_of_small_world]

For those hoping to have the best of both worlds, here's what we did.

All summer of '06 the kids knew we were planning their first WDW trip for "sometime next spring." I bought them the Kids Guide to WDW and had them watch the planning DVD with me, etc. We talked a lot about the rides, restaurants, where we were going to stay (POP), the characters, etc. They really got excited.

What they DIDN'T know, though, was that the trip was really scheduled for the end of October. The day before we were scheduled to leave I had the car all packed, but that evening I had to drive them to a birthday party. I couldn't believe that neither kid even noticed all of the suitcases in the back of the minivan (and they were pretty much in plain sight, lol!).

Anyway, the only hitch was that we had to wake them up at about 4 am to head to the airport. Since they had been up a bit late because of the b-day party the night before, they were too sleepy to really get into it. DD didn't even believe us when we told her. I, of course, was so excited I was practically bouncing off the walls!

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

We did a surprise trip 11/27-12/1 for the little ones, DD4.5 and DS(almost 3 at the time).

We packed the truck while they were in bed and woke them up and dressed them in the morning, put them in their seats, all set. (even better because our luggage was in the back and they never saw it).

We start driving. DS starts saying "we go to da airport." DD told him "no, we are not going to Disney until May!!!"

Stopped at the bank ATM, picked up some coffee. We get to the airport, DH leaves me and DD with all the luggage and goes to park the truck with DS. While we waited for them, DD was like, "Johnnie was right!"

I told her "Surprise, we are going to MICHIGAN!!!"

THen we checked in and whatnot. As the plane taxies into MCO, DD looked out the window and says "Mommy, this airport looks just like the one at Disney!" I said "Yeah, and I didn't know Michigan had palm trees"

Even getting on ME, the poor kid told DH "Daddy, this is going to be a long trip on the bus to Florida" DH told her "mom was kidding, we ARE IN FLORIDA"

When we pulled into WL, though, she hugged me and said "mommy I LOVE the Wilderness Lodge!"


DH still kids her about our trip to Michigan.

 

[KadysMom]

We have done a semi surprise, a full surprise and letting our DD know about the trip.

Her first trip to the world was in January of 06. We told her two days before so she could get excited. She was so excited and that is the reason we did not tell her earlier. She would have been packed and in the car 2 weeks before the trip.

The next two trips she knew about the whole time. She helped with the planning, she told us what parks she was looking forward to and everything.

We had decided in June of this year to surprise her for her 6th birthday and make it a total surprise. We wanted to wake her up in the morning and tell her. We decided to tell her the night before so she could pack and get her special toys she wanted to bring. (plus she is a little OCD and could go over the edge if we did not tell her). She was so excited and the look on her face along with her reaction was worth it. We will always remember that.

 

[C&M&C&M]

We surprised DD 3.5 and DS 5.5 with a surprise trip in September.

I had everything all packed including carryon bags. We woke them at 4:30 am and told them we were going to school early. My son kept saying but Mum it is so dark out.....

About half way to the airport, my son goes "Are we going to Disney World ?"
They were both really excited and surprised. We called my parents from the airport and let the kids tell them where they were. It was great to hear them explain what was happening to my parents.

So we have now done it both ways, surprise and with the kids helping to plan it all. And the better way was the surprise !!

 

[Keara'sMom]

Well, we surprised her! We had been playing in NYC for the weekend, and we woke up dd11 EARLY (our flight out of Newark was at 8:45), telling her that her dad had a meeting that he had to return for. Well, she was grumpy and wouldn't get up, so my dh said, "Ok, we have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that we're not going home today. The good news is that we're going to Disney World!" She started at him and said, "You're not serious." She repeated this several times, then changing it to, "Are you SERIOUS??!!" Finally, when she realized we were, she started bouncing around the room, smiling from ear to ear!! It was great!

Now, of course, since we're home from our trip, she said it was "annoying" to be surprised (she's 11, what can I say?!), but really, she loved it and so did we!

 

[DAPford]

We have a land and sea trip planned for Dec17-23 that we as a family have voted on and been planning but what dd12 ( will be 13 then ) doesn't know is that instead of coming home after the cruise on Christmas eve we are heading back to POP till the 26. Its so funny cause she keeps telling people we know that we'll be home for Christmas eve service and all I want to do is giggle We've shared with a select few (grandparents and family )to just agree so hopefully the surprise will last My DH is working on his temper tantrum act for when we get off the ship " NO I WON"T GO HOME YOU CAN"T MAKE ME !" before we clue her in