How to reveal surprise to kids?

[Stacey Krull]

We have two children: 3 yr old daughter and 5 yr old son
They have been to Disney three times and now we are going to do a Disney Cruise (our very first cruise!) in October.

One of my greatest memories was when my parents surprised my bro and I with our first Disney vacation when we were kids. They led us to believe that we were going camping, but then pulled over on the way to the airport and revealed that we were going to Disney instead- best picture ever they captured!

So my husband and I want to surprise our own kids. Any creative ideas of how to do this? We only live 5 minutes from the small airport that we will be flying out of and with everyone's Disney apparel in the gate they will definitely know upon arrival so will probably do before departing.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

I love surprising kids with trips We pulled one off this summer to Disneyland by telling the kids we were going on a trip to the Grand Canyon. Got em loaded up, drove to Williams, AZ (from Texas), spent the night, swam at the hotel, had a fun time, got up early the next morning to arrive at the GC visitor center as soon as it opened (and to beat the heat). Spent all day at the GC. Picnicked there. Had a blast. My sweet kids were completely fine with that being the entirety of the trip, but instead we got back in the car and headed into LA. They were little, so they didn't know the difference between heading East for home and going further West. When we stopped for dinner, we told them we were in California, and I surprised them all with t-shirts that said Disneyland 2015. My kiddos still didn't get it, but once it clicked, they freaked out. My eldest (6 at the time) cried because he was so excited! I'm telling you my story because 1. I love it, and 2. it's not extravagant or out there. It wasn't a huge reveal. We didn't put it on Youtube. But our whole family will never forget it.

If you live that close to the airport, you could do what your parents did and reveal when you pull up, handing them their own Disney apparel to wear on the plane. With them being so little, I bet seeing the Disney apparel at the gate still wouldn't raise suspicions. When we pulled up at an In and Out Burger in California for dinner (something we do not have in West TX), my eldest son said, "I remember this place from when we went to LA when I was little. I like their fries..." He still had no idea and didn't make the connection. He's a smarty, but a Disney trip was so far from his radar that it just never occurred to him that he would be ON one.

You could also tell them before you load up to go to the airport in a similar fashion as your parents.

You could say nothing, but give them Disney themed things to do on the plane. I did this on our trip too. My kids got small Disney character puzzles, Disney coloring books with Disney stickers, Disney car games (Disney version of "Spot it" and stuff like that). I downloaded Disney songs on my iPhone and made a "travel playlist" full of their favorite songs from their favorite movies, and we listened to it on the way. Again, they had no idea. When the big reveal was made, my kids thought it was very clever. You could pack an airplane bag for them of stuff like that and then when you land, reveal what the plan is.

Do they have any idea that a trip is happening right now, or have you led them to believe it's a different kind of trip, like we did with the Grand Canyon? That might award you some time for a bigger reveal once you land.

Just tossing out some ideas.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

Also, I bought some Disney souvenirs off of Ebay before we left. They were new with park tags on them, and each kiddo got a stuffed character- one got Mickey, one got Minnie, and one got Donald. By the time we pulled up to the hotel, they were all asleep in the car, so I slipped into the room before we got them out and put the stuffed animals out on their beds. They still don't realize that Mickey didn't leave those for them in the room. I thought about telling them the truth, but that just added to the magical memories of it all for them, and I don't want to wreck that.

 

[Pesky]

Before we waited to see how long it would take them upon arrival to figure it out. We asked them "do you know where you are?" (DS's response: "The hotel!") This time we are doing a scavenger hunt with the last clue being at the airport gate. First, it will get them out of the house fast and for an early morning flight, that's great. Second, we like to extend the torture.

 

[hswillia07]

When you go on a cruise, you can have a character call your kids to tell them that they're going! We had Mickey call, and then when he hung up the door bell rang and we had this huge wrapped present waiting for them on the doorstep - it was from Mickey Inside were all the princesses dresses they could want (most purchased at 40% off at Halloween). We then made a countdown calendar. It was a really fun way to surprise them

 

[Srbright]

You have to be careful. We convinced DS (5, almost 6) that we were going to Frankenmuth and that Nanny and Grandpa were driving us to the train station.

The meltdown that ensued at the airport lasted until about 15 minutes into the flight.

Stacy

 

[MouseMama11]

My DD5 likes to do the paper chain (and DH is a very impatient person lol!) so we surprised our kids early (before the 100 day mark)... I made a postcard from my own printer on heavy paper and typed a special message from "Minnie Mouse" that read "Hi Joyce Family! Oh boy! I just heard the news that you are coming to visit me in Disney World! My friends and I are so excited to meet you! We have some magical adventures planned for you. You're sure going to love it here. Make your paper chain and I'll see ya real soon! Your pal, Minnie Mouse"... I even put a stamp on it! My DH brought it in with the rest of the mail that day and announced to the girls (DD5 and DD2) that they got mail! I read them the message and their faces lit up and they started jumping up and down! We had wrapped 2 books for them to open after they read the post card too. DD5 got a Birnbaums Walt Disney World for Kids book and DD2 got a Mickey Mouse board book. I took pictures of the reveal to put in their scrapbooks. It was definitely more than magical