Surpise the Kids with News of Trip ???

We are planners and love to look forward to travel. I could never wait a day or week before the trip, plus I could NEVER keep secrets like that.

I don't think I will ever do a big reveal with my son. I am not the squeal with delight and freak out upon exciting news, kind of person. My parents always seemed a little disappointing by my lack of outward enthusiasm, and I always felt bad for it. I really don't want myself or my son to experience that.

I haven't taken my kids to Disney or tried to surprise them with something so exciting... so take this with a grain of salt... but...

My friends who have surprised their kids with trips to Disney or cruises have been sooooooo disappointed that their kids weren't more excited. They all expected the huge eyes and squeals of delight and got more of the "oh - that's nice" reaction. So the parents ended up being totally disappointed. The actual vacations were great and everyone had fun, but the actual surprise didn't go over the way the parents had hoped.

Hi Lillym,

If it were me, I'd wait until about a week before the trip, *just in case*. So many things in life can happen. It's an awesome surprise, but if something happens, you also don't want to have super disappointed kids. I'm a keep-it-under-my-hat sort of mom and find that my son does better knowing things much closer to the actual date of events-- too much earlier and he has a harder time with it.

How: I'd buy them each a Disney themed card (or make one with your printer) and give them each a $20 bill for spending money when they get there. That will be surprise enough.:)

We surprised our kids with a cruise for their big Christmas gift this past year. We started planning and paying for it last February, but didn't tell them until Christmas morning. They each got a new piece of luggage (carry-on size, really nice ones), we also had some new ornaments on the tree (Santa on a beach, Santa on a surfboard, and a palm tree). The kids opened their suitcases at the same time and had formal wear for the formal dinners, new bathing suits, new flip flops, hats, etc for the cruise. At the bottom, I had made them their own sheets of paper with the information and pictures. My oldest child (9) read the paper outloud. It had a big picture of our cruise ship, a plane for our flight, and different pictures of each port plus two of the fun things to do on the ship for our days at sea. It was AWESOME!

We told them on Christmas morning because it was their Christmas gift. I think if it wasn't, I would have told them the day we were leaving. We leaft 9 days after Christmas.

Have fun!!

I tend to agree with Everley, don't set yourself up for the big WOW. My nephew and grandson (11 and 14) are getting to go to Disneyland tomorrow, a spur of the moment splurge and they're like, "Can we do it next week when school's back in session?" :-/

If you can find the mouse ear balloons and fill the car up with them the day before you go that would be cute. Just be prepared for a loooooong night, they're going to have question after question and not want to sleep. Personally, I'd tell them you're going on a trip and not disclose where, then make Mickey shaped pancakes or waffles the morning you're leaving right before you leave. Trust me, they will be excited every moment of your vacation no matter what.

Have they always wanted to go to Disneyland?

At 8 and 10 years old, I wouldn't fill up the car with balloons when you pick them up from school. School would be on break then, anyway, right? At that age, surprises are different....

My daughter who is 10, has a friend that just went to Disneyland... but she said it was mostly funner for her younger sibling, who is in 1st grade.

I dunno.

We are going in June and our kiddos already know. They are most excited about riding on a plane lol. My friend took her two sons and surprised them with stuffed mickeys in their carryons. That was exciting for them.

You really have to know and understand your kids. We once planned a weekend getaway to a resort hotel, with 2 other families (with kids who were friends with our kids, and all the families got along great). We packed, and didn't tell the kids until we picked them up at school. Well, one kid was so excited and was jumping up and down with joy. The other: she was so upset, and frightened, and hysterical (not in a good way). My husband ended up taking the older kid and I stayed behind for more than 4 hours calming the other kid down, unpacking and re-packing the suitcase, talking and going over what the weekend would be like. So, I'd encourage you to think about the personalities of your children. Are they spontaneous, or planners, or thinkers or the kind to eagerly take on a new adventure? In retrospect, we realized the frightened kid was not the kind to take to a surprise and we really learned our lesson.

I don't know your kids personalities, but I do know I would not be cool with that kind of surprise, without notice, nor would my kids. I know I would need time to prepare, so would my kids. My kids would want time to tell their friends, rearrange any plans that they may have made, research the destination and think about what they want to do and see there, think about what they would like to pack etc. I would give them at least a weeks notice. If I found out my husband was taking me on a trip tomorrow I suppose I would still enjoy it, but I would enjoy it more if I had time to prepare.

I kind of agree with the "don't confuse marketing tactics with real life" advice already given.
NEVER have seen a Disney reveal commercial where the kids say "Oh wow! Great! Can I have more fries?" :)

We surprised my kids when they were 8 & 10. Everyone knew we were going, but them. Christmas morning, they got to open one present before breakfast as many other gifts went along with the trip.
There was a lanyard and pin for each, a Disney ornament with the year, scrapbooks, some Disney dollars and a certificate that said, good for a trip to Disneyworld you must leave in 4 hours! They were so excited! And still 7 years later say it was the best surprise and present they have ever gotten. I would absolutely do a surprise trip like that again. Also, I got some awesome pictures of their faces.

Thank you for this question. we took are going to disneyworld in june with our two kids ( 8 and 10 as well) and we are surprising them as well.
I think i am more excited over the surprise.
I hope yours goes awesome.
Many blessings

I've done it both ways. We've been to Disney land many times...but one time I did a trip with just my boys for 2 days. I woke them up at 4am and told them to get in the car...we are going to DL! One of them wanted to go back to sleep...the other two thought I was lying...but when I realized I wasn't they were so excited. but I was a total wreck....so anxious and packing in secret kind of sucked.

When we went to world...they knew because I wanted their imput in where to eat and what parks first. Maybe down the line if we get to go to world a few more times I will surprise them...but if they've never been planning and the excitement leading up to the trip is great too.

We went through this just a few weeks ago. My daughters, 11 and 15, had never been to Disneyland. We decided back in Sept of last year that we were going to go and I started to make plans. It was very hard not to spill the beans, especially around Christmas time. We booked it for spring break (mid March) and decided that more than a couple weeks notice would be too much but we wanted to have to have enough time to get their input on what else we wanted to do while we were down on southern Ca. We decided to tell them at Valentines day by giving them valentines day cards with a gift card to Disney (good at the store at at the park). They were surprised but both seemed not so super excited. My 10 year old later said she wanted to scream because she was so excited but didn't. And my 15 year old, well, she is obviously too cool to get that excited about Disneyland, lol. I was a little annoyed because my 15 year old kept telling me that her friends were telling her that DL wasn't all that (because they had all been there before).

Once we got there we had a TOTAL BLAST!!! It had been 18 years since I had been there and so much had changed, like the addition of CA Adventure!

So no matter how you tell them, and whether they are so excited they can't stand it, or not, you are going to have SO MUCH FIN!!'

Depends on the child!

Did a surprise for my youngest a few years back. Had all info sent to either my work address or my PObox. Packed one nite after he was asleep and hid the bags. Took off work a bit early one day to get the dog to the kennel, but got home near the usual time. My parents showed up to take us to the airport, and we snuck our bags into their trunk while I sent him on a fictious errand. Then told him we were taking my parents to the airport - which we had done before! He knew nothing of any of it - until we got to the airport and he noticed the bags as we got them out of the trunk. He didn't know anything then except that "we" were the ones flying out! The guy at the ticket counter mentioned "Orlando" - kid's eyes got real big! The guy at the counter realized he'd spilled the beans just a bit early, but told him it was ok - he had no idea I'd kept it secret that long! Kid about ran down the airport! (we did Disney and SeaWorld)

What Hazel said works in our house. My son gets so anxious, he counts the weeks, days and hours until the next exciting event. It's not worth it to stress him out until plans are absolutely certain. Do your kids get super excited? It depends on whether their friends have been there, and/or talked about it. Whatever you decide, good luck and have fun! Take lots of pictures, that will help them remember the fun they had.

We live in California and have gone several times. When the kids were younger we wrapped up their stuffed disney characters for a Christmas present in a huge box, with the tickets at the very bottom. That was fun because we got to film the whole thing.
Another time we planned a trip with another family and told the kids we were going to a medical conference (the other parents were doctors) and hang out in a neat hotel with a pool. We pulled off the freeway in Anaheim and pretended we need to stop at a gas station right next to Disneyland for a bathroom break before we finally told them. That was fun. We told our 6 year old first and he was so excited he could not remember what to say to tell the older kids. We are going in a week or so because my oldest is going to the California Science Fair and a quick trip to Disney is his reward (and the rest of the family) for working so hard.
You are going to have a great time no matter how you tell them!

I wouldn't tell them until right before. Things can happen and I'd hate to have to tell them that a cancellation were required.