Should I tell him???

[mwitkus]

OK - I'm having second thoughts and need your help...

Really long story made short..

Hubby and I go to WDW every 2 years:sohappy: . Last year, after 9/11, I was scared to fly and insisted we skip this coming year . (Hubby is really really dissapointed but is good enough to humor me.)

Since then, I have calmed down and am OK with flying but already sold hubby on "boring" driving vacation to Williamsburg VA.

Hubby puts up w/ a lot of stuff with my family, including my aunt who lives with us so wanted to do something nice for him. Booked the land/sea trip instead of the Williamsburg trip.:sohappy:

Decided to not tell hubby until the day we leave, kind of as a "Thanks for being wonderful" surprise. (He already scheduled vacation time w/ work so this is not a problem. I can pack his clothes, papers, etc. for him, so that also should not be a problem.) My plan is to have a limo pick us up in the morning (instead of the rental car he thinks we are taking to VA) and take us to the airport and spring it on him then.

So, my question is... Should I continue with my plan to not tell him until the day we leave or should I tell him in advance so that he can be excited about it before hand? I've been planning this, and keeping it a secret for 7 months now, and it's now only a few weeks away.

What would you do?

 

[wannabeBelle]

That is just so AWESOME!!!! I say go with the surprise thing!!! Maybe even plan a nice couples massage in the Grand Floridian Spa for the two of you!!! Nice and relaxing for what sounds like a great guy!!! Good luck!! Belle

 

[ACE]

What about any reservations that he already made? Have those been cancelled? I wouldn't wait till the last minute, there may be some issues that may need to be taken care of. I also think seven months of keeping it a secret is long enough. I think alot of the fun is the anticipation of going to WDW. I'm sure he's really excited about the VA trip.:hurl: :lol: :lol:

Just my .02.

:wave: ACE

 

[Erika]

I would tell him, b/c I would be way too excited to keep my mouth shut :lol:
But you can obviously do it. I think this would make a very nice surprise!

 

[mwitkus]

Originally posted by wannabeBelle
That is just so AWESOME!!!! I say go with the surprise thing!!! Maybe even plan a nice couples massage in the Grand Floridian Spa for the two of you!!! Nice and relaxing for what sounds like a great guy!!! Good luck!! Belle

That's a great idea, but he has real issues with strange people invading his personal space and touching him so he may not like that too much... me on the other hand.. i might need one to help me unwind from all of my planning stress!!! :lol:

 

[mwitkus]

Originally posted by acellis_99
What about any reservations that he already made? Have those been cancelled? I wouldn't wait till the last minute, there may be some issues that may need to be taken care of. I also think seven months of keeping it a secret is long enough. I think alot of the fun is the anticipation of going to WDW. I'm sure he's really excited about the VA trip.:hurl: :lol: :lol:

Just my .02.

:wave: ACE

Definitely no need to worry about him making reservations. Much as I love him, he's not a planner or a doer. He leaves everything to the last minute and thinks I have everything booked/planned.

On the other hand, I'm concerned about the point you make on the anticipation. It's the one thing that I think may make him upset/dissapointed would be missing out on the fun of looking forward to going. On the other hand though, I think as soon as he knows we are flying to Disney and not driving to VA he is going to just be thrilled and forget everything else, I hope..

I guess my biggest problem is, would it be a better surprise a few weeks in advance or the day of when it is time to go?

 

[celticdog]

original quote

"I'm sure he's really excited about the VA trip."

I live about one hour from Williamsburg, i've been going there for years, it's been there for over 200 years, it will be there for another 200 years, trust me when i say this, take the WDW trip. You have plenty of time to come to Virginia.

I would, as "acellis_99" said, let him know, that way existing reservations can be cancelled without any financial penalties.

 

[goofymom]

I say surprise him and don't tell him ahead of time. I am sure you will go on many other WDW trips in which you can both lead up to the excitement for many weeks before but this situation may only happen once and I think it is a wonderful surprise. Especially if your husband is like mine and doesn't do any of the planning before going. Mine doesn't get excited before trips-I plan everything-that is how he wants it. We leave in less than a week and he could care less. He will however be excited when we are there. I am surprising him with two nights at AKL (he knows about the other nights prior to my surprise.) I know he will love the surprise. I guess it just depends on you husband. You know best what he would like but I think the surprise is awesome-something to further add to your memories. Have a great time what ever you decide.

 

[Sherm00]

I would tell him like a week in advance. surprise him some way with a T-shirt that says Disney Vacation 2003 and see if he notices. if you have a computer you can get iron-on print outs that you can iron on to any shirt. it will double the anticipation, don't give him any other details though.

 

[dreamer]

I like Sherm's idea. Let him "find out" about the trip. Drop some hints. Since he's not a planner, knowing about the trip may not be such a big deal for him. However, you don't have anyone to share your excitement with. That's the hard part.

 

[Juggler]

NO DON'T TELL HIM!! Just imagine the look on his face! It will be priceless.:sohappy: Have a camera ready and send us the photo!


I did something similar for my wife. We stayed at WL for New Year back in 2000/2001. I didn't tell her until 2 days before at which point I had no choice as I worked away from home and would not have time to pack etc. It was 2am when I was setting off to work... "Oh by the way you'd better pack were going to Disney on Friday" It's the quickest I've ever got my wife out of bed. It was great and I saved lots of money because she didn't have 6 months to go out spending money on new outfits for the vacation! :lol:

Have a great time!

 

[Erika]

Juggler, that is a GREAT atory!

We have a few patients who have surprised their children with trips to WDW. My favorite story is one where the parents picked the kids up from school (last day before spring break, I think) and the bags were in the trunk. Instead of going home, as the kids expected, they drove right to the airport!!!

Sherm, I like your idea too. Too bad you can't get a Mickey wake-up call at home! That would be a GREAT way to let him know.

 

[Maria]

Wow... you have kept it a secret for 7 months??! Congrats for that!! Great idea!

I´m not sure what I would do though... does your husband like surprises? I know that I like little ones, but not very big ones like yours... I like to know where I´m going, what to pack, what I´m going to see, etc. but that´s me. What about budget? He might be planning to spend some other amount maybe a lot less than in Disney. I´d be concerned about the cancellations for the other trip, so make sure you know all the details about that one.... what if he is planning to surprise you too with a Disney vacation?

Just make sure you know everything he has planned for that trip or tell someone he knows about it so it´s all safe and if he likes surprises, go for it!

:sohappy:

 

[Married@WDW]

I say tell him you've made big changes to the trip and tell him he'll be thrilled with the changes, but don't tell him ANYTHING else! He'll be very excited, just like you, but won't have a clue where he'll end up!

This way, you can give him little hints, but telling him what to pack, but nothing that will give it all away.

Wow! I'd love to do that for my husband, but we plan all our vacations together.

 

[Jedi Osborn]

That's awesome. I've often wondered what we'll do with our daughter later on. The Disney surprise has got to be an awesome feeling, but then there's a whole lot to be said for anticipation.
But if I were in your shoes, and you'll be going again in a couple years, I'd go for the surprise.
Just think how amazing that would be if you woke up one morning and he told you that you were going to Disney. It'd be something you'd remember forever. As he will too.

Let us know what you decide!!!

 

[westie]

I am so in love with you! What a magnificent thing to do. I just booked a land/sea, took 2 credit cards to do it and my wife acts like we should do this every month. Thats what I get for telling her. If you do tell him, wait till the morning of your departure and no matter what you do, take some pictures...priceless!

 

[hockeymom]

Originally posted by Married@WDW
I say tell him you've made big changes to the trip and tell him he'll be thrilled with the changes, but don't tell him ANYTHING else! He'll be very excited, just like you, but won't have a clue where he'll end up!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's a tough call, but I kinda like Married@WDW's idea of just hinting that you've made some big changes w/o giving any of the details away.

when we took our kids to Disneyland in 98 we were not going to tell them until the morning that we were leaving, which I think would have been cool, but we decided 1 week before we were leaving that we were going to tell them, we just thought that for their first trip to Disney that they should have an opportunity to let some excitement build up before they got to go, and I'm glad we did that. I don't have any regrets about doing that. Maybe for the next trip, we'll try to surprise them since they've already been there.

I think you have done an incredible job of keeping it quiet for so long!! I have seen many people at the airport who have been "surprised" with trips somewhere (usually Hawaii) and the look on their faces is incredible. One woman actually thought she was taking her best friend to the airport, but it turned out that her hubby made all the arrangements, packed her suitcase, booked her time off work, etc. to give her that surprise. It was priceless!

have a great time! you're going to WDW, no matter whether you tell him in advance or not, you will have a wonderful trip!!

:sohappy:

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Go for the surprise, my cover was blown by the arrival of a yellow envellope marked Reservations. However my mate has just booked for a 10 night stay from the 15th, his wife thinks hes on leave awaiting to join his new ship and that thier having a few days in London, a cover to get to Gatwick, and after my failure hes taken the precaution of having the tickets delivered to his mum.

I like a good surprise.

 

[David]

I vote for waiting untill the last minute to tell him.
A couple of years ago, I booked a cruise for my wife's birthday and she knew nothing about it. I arranged for her to be off, took notes of what clothes/ outfits she liked to wear, packed everything she might need, and the night before we were to leave, I set up the video camera and had a small birthday cake, decoractions, etc. in place when she got home. She was so excited, but I think I did the right thing by letting her know the night before. That way, she could phone some co-workers if she needed to.
I also video taped close friends wishing her a happy birthday, and arranged for flowers, streamers, champagne to be in the cabin when we arrived. During our party in the cabin, I played the video tape for her and it was a great vacation.

 

[RogueHabit]

Surprise Him!!!

I did a similar thing with my wife for out 6th wedding anniversary, though it was DLP, not WDW.

I eventually told her when we arrived at Ashford train station to board the Eurostar, she was thrilled.

I say wait until the day and watch his face light up!