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!

 

[Ghostdog]

When our kids were 10 and 8 I made a countdown to Disney calendar and wrapped it. We took the kids out to breakfast with my in-laws who would be joining us in the trio. Our trip was the first week of December that year. After everyone finished eating we gave the gift to the kids and they unwrapped it. Our son was overjoyed, even more so that his grandparents were coming too. Our daughter in the other hand burst into tears and said “But I don’t like the airplane ride, I’m NOT going!!” .
We also were in a beach vacation on Siesta Key Fl one year and on the way back home to Michigan decided to call and book one day overnight stay at Disney...that was the beat surprise. The kids were preoccupied in the back seat when we got close to the WDW entry arch and the kids saw it...that was priceless.
Whatever you decide to do as the surprise it’ll be awesome and great memories to look back

 

[Tinkswishes28jen]

When my daughter was 4 we planned a trip to DLRP . We made a hunt in our garden which ended with a carry on case and a ticket that we made her . We then had themed doughnuts .

 

[DryerLintFan]

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!

I'm planning on doing this next month for my daughter's fifth birthday. I'm glad you remembered it. Hopefully she will too

She's already been a couple times and constantly plans out her "next Disney trip" so I'm not too worried about her feeling like part of the planning.

 

[BeanCounterBob]

I think I figured out the best way to surprise her. Her birthday is 6 weeks before we want to go. We want to give her a big gift box full of maps, ears, some Mickey candy, maybe a few pins, and who knows what else. Then we can go over what to expect and what we are loosely doing on the trip. I really wanted to wake her up on the day we were going and then leave. After reading these comments, and knowing what the parks are like, I feel like it would be too much for her. Even at 2 years old she responds very well to us explaining what we are doing. To the point where we took her to see Frozen 2 and she sat there like a champ and enjoyed the movie!

 

[Monty]

I surprized my son in his teens. Picked him up from school and said I had an errand to run. As we were approaching the airport he got a call from his best friend wanting to make plans that evening... I said "tell him you'd love to, but will be in Disney World". I got a bemused "side-eye" from him and he relayed to his friend that "Dad's spoiling me again"...

An underwhelming response, but when we got home he said that that was the best surprise of his life!

 

[gmgfarrand]

Yeah... We wanted to surprise our girls (ages 10 and 4)
First trip ever and all...
For several weeks up to the reveal, we did Disney Puzzles, legos, watched movies.
Did the reveal and it fell flat, the older one didn't believe us and the younger was too involved in her Disney Jellybeans and the fact she tooted.

BUT....
What pulled it all together was a Voce Message from Princess Anna (YES THE REAL KRISTEN BELL) wishing the older one a Happy Birthday and talking about Disney before running off to play with Olaf.
THEN, they were excited.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

We stayed at the Contemporary for a week during Spring Break a few years ago. We didn't tell the kids about it until we rolled up to the building. We had told them that we were "going to a Braves game." We were leaving from Macon, and they assumed we were going to Atlanta. Sitting there at the Wide World of Sports baseball stadium, the PA guy announces something between innings regarding Orlando, and my 10 year old son says, "Wait - ARE WE IN ORLANDO?!?" It was awesome. He's 18 now, and we still give him a hard time about it. I said "Yeah, the Braves do Spring Training here." He says - "Oh ok. (pause) Can we at least go by Downtown Disney on our way back?"

They were thrilled with the Contemporary - especially once we got the upgrade for the corner room close to the MK from a Bay Lake view.

 

[JillC LI]

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!

We did a scavenger hunt with clues about Disney with the final prize being an announcement of the trip itself.