Would you surprise the kids?

We've surprised our kids for nearly every single one of their Disney trips, but the surprises have varied in terms of how I do the reveal. If i want to do a surprise but I also want them involved in planning I either...

a. surprise them early. Ex. right before the 60 day mark if you want them involved in planning FPs.
b. change the dates so that you end up traveling before they thought they'd be going.

But there are so many ways to do a surprise. Before mine could read, we drove them to FL and they had no idea what we were doing until the Main Gate was in view. We've done scavenger hunts, wake up bait and switches, school picks ups where we blindsided them, bags packed around the Christmas tree with big bows on them, etc. I think it's fun and adds to the excitement, but it also does add to the stress.
 
We just surprised our kids on May 1st with a WDW trip. This is the first time that we surprised them. My DD is 15 and my DS is 9. We just had a trip in December and we have one coming up in September, so they were never suspicious. My DW was able to pack for them ahead of time. We had a 5:10 AM flight, so we woke them up at 2:15 AM and said get dressed were going to Disney. They both had similar reactions and kept saying are you being serious over and over. They got dressed threw some things in their carry on and we were on our way to the airport by 2:45. I was really nervous with Day 1 because of the lack of sleep, but they were troopers and never complained once or showed signs of being tired the whole day. We checked into OKW and our room was ready. After a quick pit stop to check out the room we jumped on a bus and arrived at Blizzard Beach right at 10AM. We stayed their til 3PM then we headed to AK to use our FoP, EE & Dino FP's and eat dinner. We went back to OKW, unpacked and crashed before 9:30. It was a great trip and we are glad that we decided to surprise them.
 
I plan to surprise our 8 year old for a trip in April, just before her 9th birthday. While she doesn't know exactly when we will go, she knows we'll be going sometime in the near future. So I've been able to ask her things like what color magicband, what rides and characters she wants to see, etc. She'll miss 3 days of school and I plan to work with the teacher without her knowing to get any missed work. We'll wake up the morning of, get in the car, and drive to the airport. I figure about the time we arrive at the airport she'll figure it out because I've always told her her first flight would be to Disney :)
 
We just told our kids last week, the first day of summey vacay, about our trip in August. I've already had to keep it a secret since we booked in October so I was ready to tell them! We are driving down and there's just no way we would've been able to get packed and everything without them knowing. In the past week we've watched Disney movie after Disney movie and the planning dvd too. It's SO much fun, seeing how excited they are! I get wanting to surprise them but you'll have an easier time getting them out of bed if they know why!
 
Our two oldest have no clue. Santa ( ;) ) is giving them a gift to open early. I can't wait!
 
We are going to try and surprise our kids. They have special needs and are used to wake up at weird times for doctor visits and such, so if we tell them we have to get up early and drive, it won't be weird.

Leslie
 
WE could not really do a day of surprise for our DGD because she needs time to process things. WHen she was younger my DD and DSIL woudl often talk about just having a bag packed and heading for the airport, and how much fun that would be, so when she was 6, DD did something like that. She picked Kady up at school and they both took me to my PT appointment. When we got back home there was her suitcase all packed on her bed, ready to go the following morning. It was as close as what they always talked about as DD could get and still give her time to organize her little self.

That surprise was awesome and as close as a "surprise" as could be for Kady. SHe is 17 now and we still could not spring a trip on her, any more than we could for me.
 


We have done scavenger hunts before the trip to surprise the kids, but never day of. We like to get their thoughts on ADRs and FP and have them help with some of the planning. I think it would be really fun to show up on the very last day of school with their bags packed and tell them we are heading to WDW, but I am not good at keeping my excitement a secret. Maybe one day I will manage to do this.
 
I have not been one to surprise the kids with trips. They enjoy the planning and packing. I enjoy talking to them about what we are going to do. Kids are 7 and 10.

But this trip is a little different. For various reasons, I will have gone to Disney twice this year without them. We are taking them out of school for one day, so they will think they are going to school that day. I thought it would be fun and a cool parent moment to say "Let's ditch school and go to Disney!"

There are a couple reasons I'm hesitant. First, we had to change our original flight to one that is out of a farther airport. So, we will have to leave really early and get a car to take us. So, its not the same as getting in our car at their normal time and telling them. They will probably NOT want to get up and will not understand why they have to get up so early. I'm also worried that might just make them cranky and not a good start to the trip.

Also, I'm not sure we can pull it off successfully. We will have to tell the school they will be out for that day ahead of time and have to trust the teachers to keep the secret. We will have to pack and get everything ready without them knowing.

I would love some opinions either way and hear personal experiences with trip surprises.

I like the idea of it. Have even managed a couple of months without telling them. But that is the extent of it. I just get so excited and can't keep it in.
 
I would love to surprise my kids, but I would also love to hear their input for the planning part.
I guess it may depend on how involved your kids want to be in the planning. Some younger kids would probably get more our of the surprise, where as older kids would love to know that they can look ahead of time and pick their own adventure.
My one son is that way... always looking ahead and wanting to know what's happening next. I think I will get him the the unofficial kids guide to disney world and then he can see all the options in one place.
But I think I would like to surprise them at christmas saying we are going sometime in the next year. Then you still get the look of wow on their face.
 
We surprised our kids once for a Disney trip a few years ago. The rest of our visits they have known about. And knowing what I know now, we will probably not surprise them again. While they were excited to go to Disney, the anticipation and planning is just as much fun for them as it is for me, and they really missed out on that when we surprised them. We went earlier this month and they were very involved in the planning. They watched about a million youtube videos and chose restaurants where they wanted to eat and even planned for things they wanted to do at the hotel and what they wanted to do while in the parks. Some of their ideas were not what I would have planned, so it was great to have their input.
 
While I love the anticipation, we had to surprise our kids last time. My youngest of four has health issues, so we could only go if he was doing well at the time. So, I didn't want to make the promise only to cancel at the last minute.

We carefully started packing ahead of time at night while they were sleeping. It's tricky to hide the evidence. We started by collecting everything in bags and bins. Then we spread it out over a guest bed and organized it into suitcases in the last nights leading up to the trip. If our boys questioned anything suspicious, we just brushed it away with a bit about how dad sometimes has to travel overnight to go to meetings.

The night before, I packed the van so we would be ready in the morning. The morning of departure, we woke the kids at 5am telling them to get up because we are going on vacation. They were to stuff their favorite things (blanket, stuffed animal, book) into a backpack and meet in the van where they would learn where we were going. There was a moment of panic for my 6yo who stated with concern that we should have warned him because he didn't have anything packed. We had to reassure him that we packed clothes and toys for him and they were already in the van.

It was a great surprise. The benefit of the surprise is that you can enjoy the experiences without comparing them to expectations. That said, I prefer to tell them ahead of time and let them be involved in planning and packing.
 
We didn't tell our then 5 year old until the day before and she LOVED that. We are going again in December for her Make a Wish trip and she told her Wish Granters she doesn't want to know when, she just wants to know the day before again. This will make Thanksgiving a lot of fun since we are leaving on Black Friday!
 
We’ve never surprised our kids, we go every year the two weeks or so after thanksgiving, so they know we’ll be going. But I am surprising them with where we’re staying this upcoming trip, so I’m excited about that. They think we’re staying at OKW since we often stay there, but we’re staying at Poly (they’ve always wanted to stay there but our group is too big for 1 villa). We’re doing 3 nights in a bungalow and 9 nights split between 2 studios. It’s my oldest DDs grad present and I’m so excited to see the looks on their faces when we pull up to the Poly!
 
Part of me would like to surprise my kids (5 3 and 5 mo). I'm always teasing them when we get in the car and they ask where we're going I always say "we're going to Disney World". Even if we're just running errands.

It would be hilarious that if one day it was actually true. But part of me doesn't want to take away the anticipation of the whole thing. It's a great trip to look forward too for a few months.
 
Maybe tell the kids the same time as you tell school? OR I would tell them the night before so they know why they are waking up extra extra early since then they might be a little more willing to wake up! hehe
 
I have surprised my children in the past. They enjoyed it. My oldest is 15 now so I tell her before I book. The last time I surprised both they were 11 and 4. When we went again last year they were 14 and 7. I told my teenager a month ahead of time and she helped me surprise her little brother. I involve her now in choosing our vacation spot as I have no spouse. For the sake of everyone's sanity, my younger one will not have a clue until the day we leave. So my teen will help me plan how to surprise him again. We keep it simple. Last year, a note "from" Mickey and Donald. I wish they still did the character calls.

If it is going to involve them getting up hours prior to when they normally do it just depends on their personalities. I could wake my son up with that surprise at 4am. My daughter, no so much. The times we had to get up super early for a flight I told them the day before. Still a surprise and they were really excited and especially thrilled they only had one day to wait. It was early enough in the day that they weren't too excited to sleep.

It is still a surprise even if you tell them 3 days or a week prior.
 
We have a 7 year old, a 2 year old and a 1 year old and the 7 year old has no idea he is going to WDW for Halloween. He thinks we are flying to Chicago for work. When we land in Orlando, I'm going to tell him its a layover and then surprise him there just before boarding the Magical Express.
 
Such a fun thread! Always fun to read about people's surprise reveals, the reactions, and best of all is knowing that a trip to WDW is at the end of the rainbow, no matter how it is presented.

After several trips, our older DGS mentioned he would love a surprise trip. So we surprised him and his brother, with a trip to a weekend Balloon Festival. He even got a ride in a hot air balloon. Very special. It was a warmup...as we had a WDW surprise trip in the early planning stages. On the day, we used a common ploy... they were taking their father to the airport for an early flight for a business trip. DH and I were in place when they arrived, with all the luggage, including their Duffy bears. The Duffys were sporting great vacation clothes (Olaf Hawaiin-style shirts, straw hats!) and in little "travel seats" which attached to handles of the boys' carry-on suitcases. They had those little dollar store Mickey balloons. When the boys saw us, it was a true Kodak moment. Jaws literally dropped. The older guy caught on quickly, but his brother took a few more minutes to wrap his head around things.

His excitement was completely dampened by the thought that his father was going away for work. As soon as he understood that was just a cover story, he started to shake! All the way through checkin, security and customs, he shook like a leaf, but as the Customs officer wished us a nice trip, the biggest smile took over and I don't think he stopped smiling for the rest of the trip.

Later, we asked them which was more fun - getting a surprise or sharing in the months of planning and anticipation? They liked the surprise, but agreed they liked helping to plan and having our special "milestone" nights along the way.
 
My kids love being involved in the planning. My older daughter in particular loves sitting down for breakfast and saying "Lets talk Disney, mom."

So I would never surprise them and rob them of the fun of helping to plan.
 

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