Ideas for surprising the kids

[Camden'smom]

We are planning a trip in November for our family of 4. We are trying to keep it a secret from the kids (boys ages 9 and 3). Please give me some ideas on how to surprise them. The oldest will go to school the day we are leaving and then we will go to the airport. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[gigi]

Love surprising the kids. On our first trip we woke them up by telling them we were going to Disney now. My 2 yr old was not impressed he went back to sleep. How about Mickey pancakes for breakfast before school? Or Disney sign on car when pick him up at school. Better just drive to airport have Disney music playing in car. Best surprise for my kids was a trip with Grandparents, aunts, uncle. Met in the food court of POR. The look on my kids faces was priceless. Have fun

[MaterializedHaunt]

I would go to youtube and check out 'Disney Surprise Trip' and mull over what others have done. Bring a box of tissues cause you WILL need them.

[mgmnut]

We woke the kids at 4am the day we were leaving and told them then. We didn't get the reaction we were looking for, it took a while to sink in. When we got to the airport, that's when the excitement grew. I like the sign on the car idea. How about designing cupcakes or cookies with "Going to Disney" or something along those lines. Give them to them when they get in the car as a special after school snack

[Wolf]

I saw a trip report one time where people ordered pizza the night before and intercepted the box and wrote a message from Mickey on the underside of the lid that was adorable. Another would be to have "Mickey" write them a letter inviting them to come visit, or the always popular wakeup suprise we are going to Mouseville! Oooh another one you could do would be to get those break cookies and make one big Mickey shape cookie for a suprise after dinner the night before?

There's no way they won't be extatic! I hope yall have an amazing time!!

[disneymomma2010]

Last year I surprised my boys. We were leaving the morning of their birthday. So the night before I told them I had them an early birthday present but they had to open it together. I had a large box and had it wrapped. I had balloons filled inside the box so when they opened it the balloons floated out of the box and hit them in the face! Under the balloons I had a letter that I typed with a picture of mickey and friends on it. It was a letter "from" mickey telling them that they were coming to see mickey in the morning and so forth. I also had them some new mickey shirts inside that I had ordered from the disney store. Also thier autograph books and thier mickey ears and some little red backpacks that I had gotten at the dollar store and painted mickey's head on them and thier names. It took them a few seconds to process it all but they were so excited and will probably never forget it.

[minnie04]

I can tell you one thing NOT to do. Don't tell them you are taking them to another place they like and then change it to Disney in the end. I have seen so many YouTube videos where kids get so mad/upset when they are told they aren’t going to so and so place they thought they were. Other then that I would check out YouTube there are some really cool ideas...

Good luck!!!

[goofynmd]

We are planning a trip in November for our family of 4. We are trying to keep it a secret from the kids (boys ages 9 and 3). Please give me some ideas on how to surprise them. The oldest will go to school the day we are leaving and then we will go to the airport. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Wow. I feel like I could have wrote this myself. Only difference is my oldest son is 7. But everything else is the same (leaving after school in November, younger son is 3). I never knew about the You Tube videos so I will have to check them out for fun ideas. I know my older son will start to quesiton things if he saw me packing. Some how I will have to pack after they go to bed and hide the suitcases. Happy planning.

[disneymom15]

Show up at your sons school with your 3yo (making arrangements in advance) and Maybe you could have the school do an announcement before the end of the school day stating your sons names and SURPRISE, you're going to Disney.

[joonyer]

One year we went "camping", which we did a lot of in those days. Picked up the kids from school with the car already loaded, told them we were going to Florida camping at the beach. They were only a little suspicious at first, but when we got to the Orlando area, our youngest age 7, started recognizing landmarks from previous trips. His older brother had fallen asleep in the car and when kid brother figured out we were pulling into WDW, he woke his brother up shouting: "We're going to Disney World, we're going to Disney World", he was so excited and his brother was just sort of dumbfounded, waking up and realizing where we were. It was great! We "camped" at Wilderness Lodge for a long weekend, and it made great memories. They still talk about the "surprise" to this day (now 19 & 16).

A couple of years later, we had a pop-up camper and tried the "camping" surprise again, going to Fort Wilderness but telling the boys we were just "going camping" somewhere in Florida. But they were older then, and too smart to be fooled again; as soon as we started heading south they figured it out.

[CMCTxMom]

We did the last-minute surprise think when my daughter was 4 1/2... I'm not sure I'd do it again. She had no idea - we made it all the way to the airpoirt before we told her what was going on. I thought her reaction would be bigger. DS was only 18 mo, so I wasn't excpecting much there. We're planning to go again in January, the kids are now 4 and 7 - we're going to tell them as part of Chrismas (If I can wait that long!). That will give them about three weeks to get excited and help plan our days, but not TOO long so that they go crazy waiting. I like the aspect of helping build their excitement, though. DD7 will be really excited to help plan rides and dining (even though ADRs are already made). Just something to think about... Good luck!

[BigRedDad]

There are so many ways to surprise them. We had Cinderella call my daughter to tell her. I don't remember the site to schedule it on Disney's website, but DD loved it.

This trip, we are flying out at 6AM. We will have to leave for the airport a little before 4:30AM. DD is going to know something is up when her grandma is spending the night and we are parking at the park and ride.

[the other micki]

We are surprising my kids with a December trip this year. They are a little older (17, 11, & 9, plus DD's friend, 17). I'm planning to invite DD's friend for dinner the night before we leave, and while we're eating, tell all of them to make sure and have everything packed by that night because we'll be leaving early the next morning. Of course, they'll have no idea what I'm talking about. Then, I'm going to say, "Oh! Did I forget to tell y'all? We're going to Disney World tomorrow!" They are gonna go nuts! I just know it!

[j2k]

We surprised my DD with our trip last week. She didn't know where we were going. We arrived Saturday evening and stayed in a hotel at Downtown Disney that night before checking in at CSR on Sunday morning. We told her we were going to Disneyworld when we were in the parking lot of CSR at 7am Sunday morning. Her eyes got huge and then she pointed at a bus and said "right now!?!" It was too cute.

[jimsgal05]

do a treasure hunt at the house 3 days before with clues that is what I just did and I had the personal maps made and that was the last clue...my DD loved it and My DH thought it was funny even had clue in the freezer..that was my dole whip clue... have fun on doing whatever to suprise them. So much fun doing a surprise!!