Really though... WHEN do I tell my kids?

[speeb]

Well, I broke. I'm so weak. We told them last night. I thought the oldest was going to die, she kept asking if it was a dream. Took a little longer for the other two.

I think it was a good call. Until now, she's been mostly concerned with costs, but now she sees the kids' excitement and it's a little infectious!

 

[maranara]

We've been having the same discussion in my house! It's my daughter's first trip, and we're trying to find that sweet spot - not too far in advance but early enough that she can help plan. We're going the end of January...we figure we'll wait until at least November...maybe even December. We've been to Busch Gardens enough with her that we have a good sense of what kind of rides she likes to do FP+s, but I do want her to have some time to look at a guide book and to watch a few movies that we haven't seen yet so she'll know the characters!

 

[Thing 1]

Both of my boys, now 9 and 23 loved planing almost as much as the trip! I need their input on what FP they want and even when the older was little and there was no planning FP, he helped plan where we would eat which parks he wanted the most time in. We TRIED holding off on telling the little guy one trip when we was about four and we decided less than a month out to go New Years week, but that was a flop. I just could not wait and we were glad we let him in on the planning. I would tell them you are going next fall and that is far away but you need to start planning soon. You might want to firm up that time with your oldest child. They might ask a million times when you are going, but hey....they are just excited!

 

[eyeblaura]

Our last trip we had a 3 and 6 year old. We told them about 2 weeks before. My 3 year old didn't understand at all and my 6 year old devoured our mickey mail book and maps and anything else she could get her hands on to "research" the parks before we left.

This trip they are now 5 and 8 (soon to be 6 and 9) and we are going in September and told them when we booked it last month. My oldest is all about helping to plan, she has been scouring the disney site planning meals and park days etc. as well as checked out some books from the library, one a very cool trivia book for kids that she liked (facts like how many pairs of sunglasses get lost daily etc.) We've chosen magic band colors and everyone has put in for their favorites as far as attractions and restaurants that they want to make sure we do.

Totally different vibe from our last trip but just as fun!

 

[Lysha14]

Oh goodness so many wonderful ideas! I have been going back and forth between to tell my oldest now, or closer. Our youngest just turned 2 and she will go crazy to see her characters in person, but will not comprehend waiting and for that matter what Disneyland is. My oldest has been many times, she is 8, and she vividly remembers Disneyland. After reading everyones contributions I still don't know. I know she will be super excited and she will ask everyday how much longer. But I can't wait to share the excitement with her! Ohh the troubles of waiting for our disney vaca.

 

[Julylady]

It's nice to read that there are others whose kids would not appreciate a last minute trip surprise! I said on a thread a year ago that my 10 year old needs time to process big events and was told to "seek counseling for her." Umm. No.

Our girls always ask when we are going back. I generally give them some basic idea like "not until after you are 12." The sweet spot for telling them seems to be 3-4 months ahead. Long enough to participate in the planning fun, but not too long that it seems so distant in the future.

I always wonder about those who surprise their kids at the last minute. Don't the kids then anticipate that it might happen again and are disappointed multiple times? Like if you tell you kid you need to pick them up for a dentist appointment and then go to the airport instead, don't they build up their hopes every time they have a real dentist appointment from then on?

 

[speeb]

It's nice to read that there are others whose kids would not appreciate a last minute trip surprise! I said on a thread a year ago that my 10 year old needs time to process big events and was told to "seek counseling for her." Umm. No.?

Totally off topic and I obviously don't know you or your children, but sometimes kids do need counseling. My 9 year old has been going on and off for a year now because of how anxious she is about some things and it helps her tremendously. If it's just the time to process thing though, I agree. I wouldn't put my son in counseling just because he needs more time than the rest of the family to think things through and plan them.

 

[adennis0421]

I am HORRIBLE at keeping secrets. I told mine straight away. My youngest DS (3 now, 4 when we go) talks about Disney World everyday with such excitement. And then he'll add, "But noooot today, only in December". Poor kid has no clue how far away December is. But we are having fun planning it all together.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

My son hates surprises. He's only 3 at this point (4 in June) but what I've done this trip is told him "We're going to Disney but not for awhile!" once we booked. I plan on doing the "rip the circle off each day" countdown once we hit 30 days. We let him look at the trip planning book and YouTube videos last year to prepare him for his first trip. It really depends on if your kids enjoy being surprised or how long they'll need to know without driving you insane.

 

[speeb]

Now, I know there's a million YouTube videos of everything I could want, but how much do you actually show your kids? I don't want to ruin rides or anything.

 

[quagmire0]

My kids are 8, 6, 3, and 8mo. I told them when we booked as well. It's nice to be able to slowly build up the anticipation with videos and things like that.

 

[Tigerlily125]

My kids are 6 and 4 and April will be our third trip. We have always told them months ahead of time and I think that adds to the fun. They help with the planning, make lists of which characters they want to see, make their own autograph books, etc., etc. They also seem to get MORE enjoyment out of the rides and attractions that they have "previewed" on YouTube. I guess it's something about getting to see and experience something in real life that they had only seen through a video screen before. IMHO no matter what you do they will not be disappointed once you get there Enjoy the anticipation!

 

[MandiC]

How fun!
I know you already told but I think a month is perfect for young kids. I think that is what we will do but I'm not convinced either way just yet. First we have to book We told our kids a month in advance last time and it was great, the last few days they were getting really antsy. I may tell in advance next time since my older two will be 12 and 10...I think they'd appreciate being able to help plan, especially my type-a 10 year old

And I am totally with you, I'd never spring a trip on my kids the day before or the morning of. My kids would meltdown...and not in a good way. I can't blame them, I hate surprises like that as well.

 

[mjkacmom]

It's nice to read that there are others whose kids would not appreciate a last minute trip surprise! I said on a thread a year ago that my 10 year old needs time to process big events and was told to "seek counseling for her." Umm. No.

Our girls always ask when we are going back. I generally give them some basic idea like "not until after you are 12." The sweet spot for telling them seems to be 3-4 months ahead. Long enough to participate in the planning fun, but not too long that it seems so distant in the future.

I always wonder about those who surprise their kids at the last minute. Don't the kids then anticipate that it might happen again and are disappointed multiple times? Like if you tell you kid you need to pick them up for a dentist appointment and then go to the airport instead, don't they build up their hopes every time they have a real dentist appointment from then on?

We surprised our 5 kids the morning of with a week long trip, and then instead of going to the airport, we went to the cruise port. They loved every minute, and never expected it again. My kids are very easy going, go with the flow. We had the DDP, I made all of out FP's, and it was perfect. The grandparents came too (another surprise). I asked them if they would rather have known, and they all agreed that they were glad to be surprised.

 

[laughinplace199]

When my kids were little, we used to tell them when we were about a month out. Then we'd sit down and cut and decorate 30 or 31 strips of paper and make a paper chain.

They loved ripping a strip of paper off the chain each night and it really helped them visualize how many days were left until the trip.

 

[keepswimming76]

We did the surprise the morning of once, and it was really fun to surprise them! But looking back I think we actually missed some of the magic because they could not plan with us.

We just told our kids about 75 days out for our May trip. We did a little scavenger hunt for clues and it was a big hit! Now my daughter is helping me with the planning (as best she can). And they were able to pick the color for their Magicbands.

 

[Misha72683]

I told my kids about 6-7 months old. My 4 YO doesn't do well with surprises and he does do well with anticipation. He knows we're going back when he's 6 and he doesn't bug us about going back, but he's happy making a list of things he's going to do when we go back.