Surprising kids with a trip

[BeanCounterBob]

What has everyone done to surprise their kids with a trip to WDW? We are not going for 4 more years, although I am really into planning what I can now, and thinking of different ideas to surprise her with. She will be 6 when we go. I thought about waking her up and telling her that way, but I don't think she will really enjoy that. I read something on here about making a box for her to unwrap, which I do think she would like. However, I am looking for other ideas. I do not want to tell her until the morning of though. I really want her to be blown away by this trip. We are really holding nothing back on this trip for her.

Thanks!

 

[John park hopper]

When my sons were young we told them we were driving to my sisters in FL never told them we were going to WDW pulled in the EPCOT parking lot and they got out of the van and they screamed "we are at Disney world" in May my son and daughterinlaw never told the 4 and 6 year old granddaughters they were going to WDW . We stayed at POFQ they woke up and realized they were at WDW and screamed we are at Disney world -----priceless

 

[Tessaf]

We did 2 different surprises. The first trip (girls ages 7 & 5), we had to leave the night before for the airport so went out to dinner and when back, each had a gift at the front door. It had all sorts of Disney stuff in their boxes (like ears, magic band, autograph book, travel to Disney outfit) and at the very bottom a book/card telling them they are going to Disney tomorrow.
The second time we surprised them we had Disney shirts made that said Disney bound on them. And we waited to see how long it would take for them to notice.
I personally love the box idea since we were able to add whatever we wanted to it! We had it sound as if Mickey and Minnie sent it and when they got to Disney we had done and in-room welcome celebration that we had included a note from Mickey that tied into the gift box we had given at our house.

 

[Schneewittchen]

Years ago, we took our kids on a surprise DLR trip. (They couldn't really read yet and were probably 4 and 6).

Packed the night before while they were asleep. Picked them up from school and drove to the airport, got through security, boarded a plane, etc. They had never been on a plane before (we have an RV and usually took road trips). Whenever they asked, we said we were going to Cleveland. No hints whatsoever.

When we checked into our hotel late that night, DS noticed a Mickey statue in the lobby and brochures and just flipped out. It was the best. The next morning, dressed them in Captain Hook and Sleeping Beauty costumes and walked from our hotel to DL and had a Minnie & Friends character breakfast at the Plaza Inn.

That trip was a dream, so we did it again the next year. Now we have planned WDW weekend getaways all the time and APs. The kids might still think we're the best parents ever.

 

[BeanCounterBob]

I am really liking the gift box idea more and more. I was already thinking of adding ears, magic band, maps, a few pins, a picture that we have of Mickey that's signed and then maybe a note saying that we are going. I also like the shirt idea....We may have to do that

 

[Weather_Lady]

For our kids, we had a box "delivered" on our side porch that, when opened, had two helium Mickey ear balloons that floated up (tethered to the bottom of the box so they wouldn't get lost on accident), a postcard/invitation from Mickey and the gang, and "Guide To the Magic For Kids," a picture book all about the WDW attractions that are of greatest interest to kids. (The most recent edition was 2016, if I look on Amazon, so anyone purchasing it would need to be prepared to update it to reflect discontinued attractions. There are also a number of other kid-geared WDW books out there that are probably more current.)

We made our "announcement" a couple of months ahead of time, for several reasons. First, our kids love to be a part of planning family trips, and we wanted them to have a chance to learn about what WDW had to offer before we went. (How could we expect them to get all excited about going to Disney World when they have no idea what's at Disney World to get excited about!??!) We wanted time to "educate" them with bedtime stories and films about what they'd see. (For example, at ages 4 and 6, they knew nothing about the Swiss Family Robinson, Tom Sawyer, Dumbo, Pinocchio, The Three Caballeros, etc.) We also gave them a little "training" about what to expect when flying for the first time -- we read Richard Scarry's Busy Busy Airport, and The Noisy Airplane, and talked about what to do when going through security. (It worked amazingly well -- our kids breezed through the TSA lines with all of the efficiency and speed of seasoned business travelers!)

The day we left, we surprised them each with a "care package" to take on the plane with them. They had headphones (we were flying JetBlue, with seatback screens), Disney activity books and washable markers, Chapstick, sunglasses, gummy treats and granola bars. If we had it to do over again, I'd have included autograph books and markers for use on the trip, as well: that was one thing we didn't think we'd bother with, but once the kids saw some of the meet-and-greets, they were all about it. We didn't want to spend tons of time in line for characters, so we let each child choose 3 characters that were "must-meets," and made sure those were on the schedule, with other meet-and-greets added in only if the lines were short.

 

[BeanCounterBob]

We have both gone back and forth on telling her in advance. We have started doing a monthly Disney movie night that she is really enjoying. Last night we actually watched A Bugs Life. She is really into Mickey and Minnie right now. We do know that it will change though. I had not considered making her part of the planning process. That is a different take on it. It would be nice for her to understand what the parks are about and have some idea of what to expect. I guess we could give her that info, check out the websites and all of that without telling her. That way she will know a little bit of what to expect, but not that we are actually going

 

[Marianm]

We’ve never surprised our kids before. But this time we are. We just went in March, but recently booked a trip over Halloween and we plan to surprise them this time. We’re just waking them up before we go to the airport that morning. They won’t be expecting it since I’m pregnant and I don’t think they expected to go back so soon.

 

[Marianm]

When my sons were young we told them we were driving to my sisters in FL never told them we were going to WDW pulled in the EPCOT parking lot and they got out of the van and they screamed "we are at Disney world" in May my son and daughterinlaw never told the 4 and 6 year old granddaughters they were going to WDW . We stayed at POFQ they woke up and realized they were at WDW and screened we are at Disney world -----priceless

I love this

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Um 4 years?
I'd say you need to wait a while to decide how is best to surprise her.
She will be much different in 4 years lol.
What I would not do is tell her the day of.
Tell her a good few months prior so she really gets excited to go.

 

[Marianm]

Um 4 years?
I'd say you need to wait a while to decide how is best to surprise her.
She will be much different in 4 years lol.
What I would not do is tell her the day of.
Tell her a good few months prior so she really gets excited to go.

the other times we’ve gone I’ve made a countdown calendar, with a Mickey magnet and each morning my kids would take turns moving the magnet. It was fun for them to count down the days!

 

[Weather_Lady]

the other times we’ve gone I’ve made a countdown calendar, with a Mickey magnet and each morning my kids would take turns moving the magnet. It was fun for them to count down the days!

Great tip! I love the magnet idea.

For our first trip, we did the same, only with a little blurb on each date of the countdown calendar that the kids could tear off, that told them a fun fact about a WDW attraction, our hotel, etc. (I clearly had way too much crafting time on my hands in those days.) For subsequent trips, we've just used a countdown clipboard of numbered sheets, where the kids rip off the top number each day.

 

[Mainahman]

Were taking my niece and nephew next year. Although they know now, thanks to my sister inlaw... were still sending them a box with the essentials etc. I love the box idea, that just screams SURPRISE your going to see the mouse!

 

[m3000]

I remember my parents surprising me on the morning of my 5th birthday that we were going to fly to Disneyland that morning and I needed to hurry up and get dressed so we could make our flight. That was awesome. For our other Disney trips I was definitely more involved and knew ahead of time though.

I think for young kids (<6) it can make sense to surprise them the day of or even at the resort. For my kids that are a little older, we plan on telling them a few months ahead of time so they can be involved in the planning and prep them with all the movies on Disney+. People on here talk all the time on how the planning is half the fun of a Disney trip, and I think my kids would feel the same. I love the ideas in this thread on how to surprise them, the box idea is great!

 

[RememberWhen]

We did a surprise with a puzzle that said “We’re going to Disney in 10 days!” And had DS (6.5 at the time) put the puzzle together and read it. He didn’t believe us, but then was sooo excited. It was pretty good.

 

[Tinkerfan4ever]

Another vote for telling her in advance. I have 2 sisters and both of their families have gone on a trip with us.

Sister #1 - her kids were saving pennies and quarters and when they had enough they would go to Disney. They took all the money into the bank and my sister told them they had enough. Lots of happy kids until she says they leave tomorrow. Lots of tears. What about school? The dogs? etc etc. Of course all of this was taken care of well in advance, but the kids didn't have any time to process or adjust. They were so nervous getting on the plane, and even during the trip that we wished they could have looked at videos ahead of time.

Sister #2 - learning from sister #1 - she told the kids about a month ahead of time. Surprised them with a gift package. We had included park maps, Disney pjs, etc. The kids created a count down calendar and could not wait. I see the kids about once a week and each week they had new questions about rides or shows or even the airplane. They were much more relaxed and excited when the trip time came around.

I am all about surprises, but for a first trip, I would definitely surprise about a month early!

 

[Ted Daggett]

I suggest you tell the kids in advance. This allows the trip to "last" longer. You have months to get excited and talk about the trip. If you surprise them the day of, they only have excitement during the trip, instead of a month of excitement build up plus the excitement on the trip.

One year we woke our kids up at 5:30 am to tell them to get ready we are flying to Disney at 8 am. One of my daughters was mad that we woke her up, and my son started crying. Eventually they realized what was happening, and were excited, but my wife was videoing the wake up process, and it was very disappointing...

Another time on my daughter's birthday, my wife told my daughter that she had a doctor appointment, and needed to be picked up from school. My wife went in to the school to get her, and when they emerged outside of the school, I pulled up in my car and took her (and her friend who also mysteriously had a "doctor appointment" on the same day) directly to the airport and Disney world instead. This was exciting for me and my wife for a while, but didn't give my daughter time for excitement to build...

 

[nickys]

I would tell her in advance, but maybe only a few weeks. The waiting is part of the excitement.

Why not try a scavenger hunt? Have some Disney things, maybe even some of her own. Hide them around the house and leave clues leading her from one to another. Ending up with maybe her magic band or a Disney tee shirt, with a message from her favourite character inviting her to WDW.

 

[hanwill]

I have surprised my kids several times... The best was when the kids were 7 and 9. My parents had been on a cruise (my kids knew this). We told them when we picked them up from school that we had to go help them because they had car trouble in Florida. Well younger kid kept asking question after question.... where are they? I kept saying we would know when we got closer.... Finally we stopped to eat at a restaurant and I told them I had a present for them- I gave them a "we're going to WDW" shirt. they loved it! We met my parents at the hotel to go on the trip! It was a great trip!

 

[ELG13]

We did the wake up for school but "surprise you aren't going to school we are going to Disney for a week!!!" Thing and it was pretty underwhelming...she was 6. I think had we let her wake up a little first and then told her maybe it would have been better.....maybe. we had the car, bags , everything ready. My mom was their already wearing her magic band and it was just meh. Once we were in the car driving she got excited. But having kept it a secret for a few months for that reaction was kind of a bummer...I can't imagine 4 years but kids all react differently.