Surprising Children with Disney Trip

[Raegansmommy]

Anyone ever kept your Disney Trip a secret from your children? It is so hard! We are surprising our daughter's (8 & 5) for Christmas (early present) and taking a vacation to Disney! I am beyond excited as we haven't been since our oldest was 2 1/2. If you managed to keep it a secret, how did you surprise them?

I am thinking about getting them each a shirt and having them unwrap it either that day on the way to the airport, or the day before at home. We are 60 days out today and this was a completely last minute trip for us!

 

[Flippin'Flounder]

I've had this done to me twice before. The first time I woke up one morning and my parents were getting ready. I asked them why they were up and getting ready so early, and they told me. The second time was for my birthday and about a week before they gave me card with a Disney gift card in it that said something along the the lines of "will you buy us lunch next weekend". Whatever you do, I hope you have fun!

 

[Goofyernmost]

I've never actually held off as a secret, but, I did hold off until I was sure that we had the money and I had the time to go. Not a long time ahead, maybe two weeks, before we let them know and then got them involved in the planning. That included sharing that we were on a very strict budget and we needed them to be self disciplined in trying to understand that we couldn't afford to buy everything they saw. We told them about how we were going to budget and how much we had to spend per day and that any extra that we didn't spend on one day carried over to the next. I was amazed at how responsive that they were. As a family we all worked together to make it a good trip and even came home with some extra cash that we didn't spend on the trip (party time for all of us).

They were really excited and they got a little time to have that excited anticipation feeling. That anxious wonderful feeling that just telling them on the day of departure takes away. That, understand, is my opinion and not necessarily a requirement for anyone else, but, for us, at least, it added to the depth.

 

[danyoung56]

You may not have this kind of luck, but it's a funny clip anyway -

 

[James Norrie]

We made them open the Magic Band Box, Gift-Wrapped with the little pamphlet they send separately inside...

Needless to say, they were confused. They thought they were Mickey FitBits...

 

[KraftServices]

When we lived in Sarasota, my mom would surprise me with trips. I suppose it's way easier to surprise a kid when it's just a two hour drive to the parks and can be more spontaneous because of that and it being the 90s, but anyway it was so great.

I like the idea of surprising them on the way to the airport. Maybe tell them you're going somewhere specific and wait to see if they point out they should've gotten to that place by now or something, then pass back the Disney shirts for them.

 

[Bairstow]

I've never understood the reasoning behind surprising kids with a vacation rather than telling them well in advance.

Growing up, we always knew about the trips months in advance, and my parents used the impending trip as reinforcement. I can't remember their ever threatening to cancel the trip to coerce good behavior, but I definitely remember their pointing to the trip as a reason we needed to stay ahead in our schoolwork, and as an explanation for why they couldn't afford to treat us to movies or ice cream whenever we wanted. Most importantly, when things got hard or tight the trip was often something happy to look forward to.

By going to surprise route, sure you might get a fun YouTube video out of it (assuming your kids wouldn't rather go to Dik's house), but you give up some significant tactical parenting advantages.

 

[Courtney6682]

In May of 2015 we waited until walking out the door to go the airport to tell my then 8 yr old step-daughter that we were going to Disney. We went so far as to have her get dressed in her school uniform and all lol...it was great!

 

[JillC LI]

Yes, we've surprised our kids several times! It gets harder and harder to keep the secret as the trip gets closer because you are just bursting with excitement. The first time we surprised the kids was when they were 13 and 11. On the first night of Hanukah we gave them a box weighed down with rocks to open together, and inside was a piece of paper. When they unfolded it and read it, it said something along the lines of "Pack your bags. . . we're leaving for Disney World in 4 days!" The jubilation and celebration was hard to describe. Then when the kids were 15 and 13, we once again surprised them over the holidays with a family trip to Europe including a day at Disneyland Paris. We broke the news via a scavenger hunt with hints about each of the places we would be visiting. Once again, excitement galore! And we plan to surprise them yet again at ages 17 and 15 this holiday season although I'm not quite sure how yet (I'm also thinking of wrapping Disney gift cards and matching family shirts). They have no idea that we booked a trip to WDW this coming January. They are going to flip out when we tell them because we previously told them that the only trips we would be going on this year are to visit potential colleges for DS. However, you decide to surprise them, try to videotape it. The big reveal is so incredible. And they never outgrow it!

 

[Brad Bishop]

The best way to do it:

"Kids! We're going to Disney World.. ... and by "we", I specifically mean your mother and I.. Money's tight and you didn't make the cut. I was going to drop you two off at the kennel but your mom stopped me and insisted that we spare no expense so Grandma's it is! The important thing to remember is we're going. Not you! Just us. You'll get to spend some quality time eating hard candy and bonding with Grandma!"

The whole "Grandma's instead of kennel" really puts a positive spin on it so they won't feel like they're missing out.

This is pretty much Parenting 101.

 

[Rsj88]

We try go to Disney every year or every other year. We always surprise our kids. It's about a ten hour drive. We have done it several ways. Sometimes we tell them we are going to their grandparents house and about half way their we give them a box with Disney stuff to keep them occupied in the car and say surprise! One time we checked our oldest out of school for an apt and when we got in the car we said surprise we are going to Disney! Our oldest son is now 7 and he still wants to be surprised. This year he knows we are going in the fall so he can help plan but he still doesn't want to know the exact day. He would rather be surprised because he would be too excited about the trip and not be able to focus on school LOL.

 

[JIMINYCR]

You may not have this kind of luck, but it's a funny clip anyway -

Yes great clip. Seen others like this one. Unbelievable that any kid wouldnt want to go. My response to crying son.... We're going to Disneyland and we're dropping you off at the adoption agency. No way can you be my child...

To OP... Second trip we gave DS a dozen clues to follow throughout the house which led him to the final clue, an envelope with a Disney card announcing the trip. Third trip we had him open a series of boxes within boxes with the last smallest box which held the trip envelope.
Third trip we had an envelope on the Christmas tree that he hadnt noticed. After all the presents were opened we told him there was a last gift Santa must have put on the tree for him.

 

[Courtney6682]

Christmas of 2012 my daughter was 6 weeks away from turning 13. I got her a new set of luggage and inside I put this poem...

This gift is a clue to a bigger surprise. You'll use it once packed to fly in the skies!
In just a few weeks on football's big day, you'll celebrate 13 in a MAGICAL way!

(Her b-day fell on super bowl Sunday that year)

 

[Ricky Spanish]

We surprised our 14 yr old with a trip this past spring break.
Kept it a secret for 7 months.
Drove there from Chicago.
Told her the morning that we left, that we were driving to see our friends in South Carolina.
She had no clue, even when we drove through Florida for 2 1/2 hrs!
Finally told her when we were on property.
The kicker- she was upset we weren't going to see our friends in S.C.!!!

 

[BrianV]

One year my DW was in Florida at the Dolphin for a conference. In secret I had her take luggage for us all down. As usual I picked the kids up from school on Friday, told they to put on their seatbelt because we were going to Disney World! We went directly to the airport. They had no idea and were so excited and surprised.

 

[parkhopper1213]

When my son was in kindergarten I surprised him with his first trip to Walt Disney World. (We visited Disneyland when he was a toddler but he didn't remember it.) I waited until we boarded the airplane to tell him where we were going. I don't think it registered until we got there. We went for Christmas Break and it was insanely crowded, but very magical. He is a high school senior now, and we've been going every Christmas since then. This will be the first one without the Osborne Lights and its going to feel very weird..

 

[maroonmol]

My parents surprised me once, actually. When I was 6 they gave me a birthday card that said, 'Better start packing, we're seeing Mickey in 3 days.'

That was my first trip to WDW!

 

[21stamps]

My surprise trip got ruined yesterday.
Make sure to check your mail!!!

I switched dates and have had so much going on that I completely forgot that a new booklet would be arriving. I hid the first one, and the cruise package. Then yesterday my son got the mail and comes in screaming "We're going to Disney World!!!" . So much for the surprise. I'm not going to tell him about MVMCP.. So maybe that will be something?!

 

[jsrausch22]

We surprised DS and it was an epic fail. We live in NC and drive overnight for our trips. We packed in secret and loaded the car while he was in school. We put him in his jammies and loaded him in the minivan and put a movie on and told him we were going for a drive. He woke up in the parking lot of which ever hotel we were staying at (I think it might have been Coronado) and so "oh, we're at Disney." No excitement whatsoever. We are DVC so we go to Disney yearly. DH surprised me with a 40th birthday trip by booking a weekend at VGF. There was no way to wait until my birthday to surprise me because I handle our points and reservations and the confirmations come to my email account. So 7 months before the trip at 8am I got a reservation confirmation and was totally confused. GF was my dream hotel and he was willing to pay cash if we couldn't book on points. He got out of planning the trip by the confirmation being sent to me. He did surprise me with airline tickets so we could stay an extra day.

 

[Incomudro]

I would be completely unable to make a Disney trip a surprise to my kids.
Part of me wishes that I could do it, or could have done it - but that's just not me.
When I took my kids for the first time, I primed them for the trip.
Showed them the Disney Planning DVD, talked to them about the parks, showed them where we would be staying etc.