My biggest regret.

[ransam]

when we were kids my mom and dad would always take my sister and i to disney and it would always be a surprise. We would go eat, and suddenly we are at the airport and getting on a plane. Or they would say we were going camping (which we did a lot), and suddenly we were turning into the airport. you wake up in Shawnee, ks and go to sleep in Orlando, fl. how cool is that? It became a guessing game with us in the back seat "hey have you been missing any clothes"? we always looked for it, and they always got us. Back then it was harder because no intenet, they had to make calls, and get brochures. I really miss those times. I would highly recommend anyone to do that.

but my biggest regret is i always said that i wanted to do that to them. To take them out to dinner and suddenly we're on our way do disney. with our families and their grandchildren in tow. I waited too long. Just a couple years ago i could have, but My mom is really sick, she has alzheimers and arthritis all over her body. emotionally and phsycially she has an issue going down stairs to the dining hall at her elderly care center. My dad baby's her but it's tough on him. I really wish i had done that a few years ago.
So i guess what i'm saying, is surprise your kids, but surprise your parents too before it's too late. if you have memories of disney w/ your parents, take them too!

I understand you may have to move this another forum, but i wanted to just say, do it!

[Cinderelley]

I am sorry to hear about your mom. Perhaps you can still do it with your father? He may need the break. Caregiver burn out can be awful. Just a weekend trip away may be enough to help him.

On the flip side, it is easier to do it with your kids, because you know your schedule. It would be harder to do it with other grown adults, because you have no idea what they have planned.

[mom2morgan]

What a wonderful idea! I'm sorry this is a regret for you, but thank you so much for sharing this with the rest of us. I agree that it can be harder to do with an adult, but where there's a will, there's a way! :-)

[Isabella]

I'm so sorry that you're having to walk this road. What an amazing heart you have for your family! Such an amazing idea! Maybe you could have a surprise Disney themed party. It's not a vacation, but you could get some of your pictures from your trips with your parents and make a slide show. It could be a "Day at Disney". She might not remember all of it but I'm sure somewhere inside of her there would be a spark of memory.

[texas211]

But now you can make new memories, with new situations. Always different opportunities. Maybe not quite the one you wanted, but new ones on the horizon. We all have those things "we wish we could" and sometimes its too late. But, you look for the new ones in the future with those you can share them with.

[WDWdriver]

Great post. Thank you.

[whitney37354]

I understand the post! We invited our parents to join us on our June 2015 WDW trip for DD's 10th birthday. Both moms went with us & we paid for their trip. We had two character meals and each of them paid for one of the meals. Our dads didn't want to go: my dad has a heart condition and couldn't have walked that much & FIL doesn't like crowds. We had a blast & I made a scrapbook for each mom from our trip. Sweet memories!

[RavsRuleDisney!]

We have surprised our 2 DS' twice over the years - once several trips back when they were pre-teens and just this past year (18 & 16 yrs old now). Both times were funny, special and something the DW and I will always remember....actually recorded both times and the reactions were priceless. Back "in the day" my family of 6 made two trips down (1970's) and had a blast. Both my parents have passed and that opportunity you speak of never happened for me but the memories my parents provided for me and my siblings stay with me and hopefully one day my DS' will have the chance to do the same. Great thread starter BTW....