~need Suggestions On How To Surprise My Kids The Morning Of Departure~

[sapsorrow]

That was going to be my suggestion. I set up a phone call for my entire family for our trip this past december, the trip wasn't a surprise but my mom getting a call from Mickey on her way to the airport and DD and DW getting wake up calls from princesses were surprises.

Oh my gosh, that's an adorable idea! I just looked over the website, and I think I'll have to do that for the members of my group trip this January! No kids, just a bunch of crazy grownups who would think a call from Mickey Mouse is pretty dang awesome.

Here's a question for those of you who have used the phone thing before: It says on the website that you need to press 1 when you pick up the phone to engage the call. Is there an automated thingamajig that tells you to press 1? Something like "Hey, you've got a message from a special friend, please press 1 to hear it!" Or do they just assume the person answering the phone would know beforehand?

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I would tell them the place your going to had to shut down (fire, whatever) then give out some really boring place your going instead (museum of barbed wire or somethin). So then they wont' know where they are going anymore and showing up at Disney can be a complete surprise.

Ok...so I like to make people unhappy right before I reveal a big, good surprise...is that bad? Haha.

 

[hygienejean]

What fun! I have had a trip planned for next April for a month now. I have kept quiet so far..... I really would like to surprise my kids too. I love reading how other Dissers have done it!

 

[Microcell]

I have never surprised my kids, because I get sooo excited, but I hope to someday!

I would love the idea of not saying anything till you get to Orlando or Disney, but on Southwest, they make announcements about going to "Mickey's house" first thing..

I think I would say you are flying to Hershey once you get to the airport, then when you go to your gate, before they can read "Orlando' I would say "You know what, how about we just go to Disney instead?"

 

[Microcell]

I would tell them the place your going to had to shut down (fire, whatever) then give out some really boring place your going instead (museum of barbed wire or somethin). So then they wont' know where they are going anymore and showing up at Disney can be a complete surprise.

Ok...so I like to make people unhappy right before I reveal a big, good surprise...is that bad? Haha.

Miserable you mean! I could only imagine being on a flight to Orlando and telling my kids "Oh no, we aren't going to Disney.. We are gonna see some barbed wire instead!"

You are EVIL.....EVIL!!

 

[Schminston-Mo]

Since you're telling them you are going to Hershey maybe you could give them each a Hershey bar for a snack. Under the outer wrapper, put a "We're going to Disney" ticket.

 

[joenan88]

Since you're telling them you are going to Hershey maybe you could give them each a Hershey bar for a snack. Under the outer wrapper, put a "We're going to Disney" ticket.

WHAT A FANTASTIC IDEA! I LOVE IT! It has been quite a challenge to keep this secret from them..trust me..my 6 year old daughter was in the hospital with the flu/pneumonia in February and my hubby and I didn't spill the beans! I think because we took them in November it is easier to keep the secret...packing won't be hard because they do think they are going away...I will have tons of Disney info for them to look through on the plane to keep them busy for 2 1/2 hours.

I really like this idea...I can give it to them in the terminal before they see the Orlando signs..so we can video it! Thanks so much! and I would love to hear more stories and ideas they are all great!

 

[MomofKatie]

I did the Enchanted Call, too- DD was surprised!!

I planned a "Girls Only" Mother's Day weekend trip for DD and I. Since I am a big Disney freak, DD wasn't suspicious at all seeing me on the DIS and writing down itineraries, etc. My planning went on for 4 months- I bought new clothes for DD and packed them away, so she wouldn't miss any of her things.

On the day of the trip, I picked her up from school at 10am, telling her I had made a doctor appt with a new doctor, and his office was far away. I also said that I couldn't get an appointment early enough to be home when she got off the bus, so I had to take her with me.

We drove for almost 2 hours (of the 8 it takes to get to WDW from our house), and I kept her occupied by having her read to me from a book she was interested in. I stopped the car for gas (I had timed it so we'd stop when her call was due) and told her to get the phone when it rang. She answered, listened, smiled, and hung up. I asked who called, and she told me it was Mickey Mouse (she still didn't get it yet). I asked WHY Mickey called- she said he told her to have a good day. I said, "What ELSE did he tell you??!!??" Just then, I put in my Disney's Greatest Hits CD set to "When You Wish Upon A Star". DD said that Mickey said something about a trip- then she heard the song on the stereo.

She gasped and said, "Are we- are we- GOING TO DISNEY WORLD??!!" I said "YES!!!!", and she started crying. She told me I was the best Mom in the world and jumped around, screaming and crying. I started crying, too- I'm sure we looked silly, screaming and crying next to our car at the gas station!!

I will probably never be able to pull off another surprise trip like that, but it was awesome to do it once. We had a wonderful long weekend trip.

 

[jennytablina]

Never had a trip to Orlando sprung on me, but we sure have had surprises

On our second trip in 1999 we went in December but were supposedly only going for 10 days and would be back home for Christmas we also thought dads best friend who always comes with us would be joining us a little later

On the first day we went to Downtown Disney and mom asked me and my brother to build some lego stuff. Dads friend was the other side of the lagoon and snuck over, with the camera rolling the whole time. Dad was recording this too. I had some issue with my lego model and by this point dads friend was right behind us and dad asked us to ask the guy behind us and we were like "woah awesome".

Also on the same trip I believe a few days before the announced leaving day. We walked into World Showcase in Epcot and sat on a bench in the area leading to Millenium Village at the time, where mom announced that actually it was a whole 2 weeks and we would be in Disney for Christmas. Was fairly simple but it did the trick for me and my brother.

Not quite WDW but they did eventually pull a whole trip surprise on me to Disneyland Paris for my 16th. I knew my mom had been looking at DLP but didnt think she was serious about booking a trip. Dad declared he had work stuff to do in Folkstone and we were up there for the day. I was just happy to be going out and staying in a nice hotel for the night I think XDDD me, mom and brother were supposedly going to the mall the next day.

So next morning we all get in the car and set off. I still had no idea, even when seeing the Eurostar signs. Dad even spun a story about why he was dropping us off at the Eurostar Carpark because we could easilly get to the mall by bus there or something. We got out the car and they gave me a black trip organiser thingy with DLP tickets and then it hit me, I think I was too shocked to say anything at first.

 

[MaxsDad]

Oh my gosh, that's an adorable idea! I just looked over the website, and I think I'll have to do that for the members of my group trip this January! No kids, just a bunch of crazy grownups who would think a call from Mickey Mouse is pretty dang awesome.

Here's a question for those of you who have used the phone thing before: It says on the website that you need to press 1 when you pick up the phone to engage the call. Is there an automated thingamajig that tells you to press 1? Something like "Hey, you've got a message from a special friend, please press 1 to hear it!" Or do they just assume the person answering the phone would know beforehand?

I don't exactly remember, but I believe it did say something like you have a message from someone, press 1. Also if I remember correctly it is pretty cheap imo, so you could always set up a "test call" to yourself.

 

[minnie2]

What great surprise stories! I am so impressed!
I had a hard enough time keeping from my kids 2 yrs ago we were getting a puppy! We told the kids that Daddy wanted to go to this really big Guitar center and it was far away. So they moaned and groaned. Then we pull up to this little tiny house and out comes a bunch of baby Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies. Then the breeder handed us our new puppy who was only 3 wks old. We couldn't take her yet but we got to meet her. DD who was 6 at the time was in love. DS 3 at the time could care less. When we left we explained we could get her in a few weeks. So we get back in the car and my kids ask 'So where is the big Guitar Center Daddy' wants to go to?'

I would love to be able to keep a WDW trip secret but I don't think I could do it! I get to excited myself.

I will say I love the idea of not saying a word until you get to the airport.

 

[joenan88]

The puppy story is really cute..I am just worried my kids are going to be upset about not actually going to Hershey! can you imagine?????

 

[DeblovesPoohbear]

I love all these stories
We are so going to surprise our kids the next time

We are going this July and I really wanted to surprise them but my DS8 heard me on the phone with the travel agent
I had no idea he was there, me and my big mouth!

 

[Teacher510]

Back in 2001 I took my sister and her then 8 year old daughter to WDW. We were going in August but her birthday is in April. As part of her present DD and I got her the Birnbaum WDW kids book. She was very confused when she opened it and then we told her that we were going. She was so overcome with emotion that she started crying and had to have some "alone time" to process it. This gave her a surprise but she still got to anticipate the trip.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Ok Ok I am really not as mean as my last post suggests, but I am tricky. This Christmas I plan on taking me, my BF, my little sister and her BF, my mom and dad, and my older sister her husband and their two little kids. I am not planning on telling the kids at all. My older sister has a van, so I am going to set it up so that they think they are giving us a ride to the airport so that we can go to Disney (without them). Their suitcases will be secretly packed in the back (they will be 6 and 8, so hopefully their stuff can be packed without them), and when we get to the airport we are going to tell them that they are coming too.

 

[BarbieGal457]

I remember as a little girl, playing with my cousin Francesca downstairs as my mom was upstairs packing for her "weekend getaway" with my dad. He came home from working at the airport and said he had to walk Francesca home, because we had to leave. This confused me as I thought I wasn't going away..until I saw my mom with the video camera! I got suspicious and then finally they told me we were goingto WDW!! I ran upstairs and saw my little suitcase all packed and ready to go...still in shocked we drove a few blocks to say goodbye to my grandmom and tell her of the surprise..only when I went in to hug her, all her stuff was packed on the couch, and she was coming too!! It was a great double surprise, enough to make the 18 hour drive fly by!!

What about doing something along the lines of a small Easter egg hunt? Tell them there's a surprise at the end of the hunt, then leave a few clues around the house and have them search together, and have them end up finding a park map or description of the hotels? I've always loved egg hunts!