Surprise trip/border crossing

[KCMA]

We have a trip planned for March and are planning on surprising our kids.. we plan on driving and want to keep the trip as a surprise for as long as we can (we have family in NY state we travel to quite often and figure we would be able to keep Disney off their radar for atleast 8 hours)....I was curious if anybody had done this and what they say when they cross the border .. we don’t want the kids to hear us say we are going to Florida .. is it wrong to pass a note and explain when we show our passports?.. just say we are going to see family in NY?.. just curious what everyone’s thoughts are

thanks!

 

[mort1331]

You can try, depending on the agent they could be great, or they can be like the dick we got a few years ago. Might as well try your luck. If anything you could just say going to Orlando, or Florida. I love suprises so good luck. The best I had for the family was told them we were going to Vero Beach, instead went on a Disney cruise.

 

[TammyLynn33]

We have a trip planned for March and are planning on surprising our kids.. we plan on driving and want to keep the trip as a surprise for as long as we can (we have family in NY state we travel to quite often and figure we would be able to keep Disney off their radar for atleast 8 hours)....I was curious if anybody had done this and what they say when they cross the border .. we don’t want the kids to hear us say we are going to Florida .. is it wrong to pass a note and explain when we show our passports?.. just say we are going to see family in NY?.. just curious what everyone’s thoughts are

thanks!

I wouldn’t say going to see family in NY if you aren’t . Especially if they opened your suitcase and clothes aren’t seasonally appropriate . You don’t want to be denied entry . You could try a note and best case scenario you get to keep your secret .
Good luck

 

[Polydweller]

I wouldn’t take chances at the border. The decision to allow you entry is strictly that of the agent you get. They can deny entry for any reason they choose and they don’t have to tell you. For sure, don’t say you are going to NY. You don’t want to get caught making a misleading statement. At first I’d try saying I’m going to Lake Buena Vista cause that is where Disney is and then be prepared to give more if you gave to. It might fool the kids.

 

[Tndnknin]

I wouldn’t chance it myself. I don’t think a note will work. I’ve had some pretty strict agents who I imagine would not be happy with it. They want to hear you verbally answer them and sometimes have questioned all of the adults in my car.

 

[Disneylover99]

I wouldn’t pass a note like this to a border agent.
Why risk it? A note seems suspicious to me.

I think I’d tell my kids where they’re going ahead of time, so they don’t freak out when they hear you tell the agent.

 

[MegaWoman]

I wouldn’t pass a note or lie about your destination. But I would make the border crossing the surprise! I’ve done that in the past. And the customs agent reacted to my kids’ surprised reactions... added to the excitement by exclaiming “surprise!!”.

 

[bookbabe626]

Personally, I’d surprise them at home that morning. I would not try to cross the border with the kids not knowing where they were going. More and more of the border agents these days have NO sense of humour, and you never know what might set them off and having them deny you entry would put a huge damper on this (and future) trips. It’s just not worth the risk.

 

[dish rag]

I wouldn't.

 

[mmmikey]

Had a note with our passports when we passed it to the border agent last December. Said the name and address of the resort we were going to stay at on our surprise trip to Disney World for the kids. He asked the other non specific questions and we were through.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Why don't you just call the office at the border crossing you will be using and ask if there is a way to go about this and try to keep the surprise.

Otherwise, find some creative way of telling the kids that morning. A friend of mine took their kids as a Christmas gift and woke them up Christmas morning at 1am and showed them notes that Santa left explaining that he was sending them to WDW and had already packed their car so they were to leave immediately. The kids were both under age 8 at that time.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Because you say you're crossing into NY, I am concerned that you're crossing at Niagara or Fort Erie, where I find the guards are grimmer, harsher in tone, AND, most importantly for you, FAR more likely to bypass you and directly question the kids than at other crossings we do (Michigan). Now, I've never had them ask the kids where we're headed, just if we're their parents and where do they live, but it just sounds like it could go rough if the you and the kids have different ideas about what is happening.

 

[Donald - my hero]

I agree with every one else who has said don't risk it! I still remember crossing the border when our kids were both very little (looong time ago!) and the agent woke up both kids to ask THEM who we were before he'd let us you thru. The youngest was under 2 and didn't speak much to strangers at that point and literally screamed the entire time he was grilling us. We were only cutting thru the top end of the states to avoid driving around the Great Lakes and we had to give an estimate of when we'd hit the border to cross back in and which crossing we'd be using. No idea who had peed in his corn flakes that morning but dang, that was unnerving. YES the border to come home was waiting for us BTW.

About 10 years ago we had a real jerk who wanted the exact address, including the zipcode of the resort we were staying at .. Disney World wasn't enough for him! These people are standing between you and what I imagine is a very expensive surprise. I think the suggestion of using Lake Buena Vista as you pass over you documents might be a work-around. You could also say here's the address of where we're staying and hand over a copy of your reservation to avoid the whole "hidden note"

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Dont create a situation where the kids dont know where they are going and the border guards start thinking you are human traffickers.

 

[deedubb]

Some great examples above of why you should not risk it. You might be lucky, you might have a significant delay while they pull you over and grill your whole family, or worst case scenario, you could be denied entry. You have to tell the kids eventually, so this will just be a few hours ahead of schedule. Never mess around at border. Just not worth it.

 

[michelb]

When I originally, read the question, I was all for the "don't try to hide it, don't pass the note" but after reading the responses, I think I would call the border crossing that you are planning on going through, ask the POE officer you speak to if this would be possible to keep it a secret with a letter, ask for their name or number and if they say yes, pass the letter upon entry clearly explaining that " ... although I said we are visiting relatives in NY, we are actually going to Florida and Disney but it's a surprise for the kids and we'd like to keep it a surprise if it's possible. We spoke to POE agent "so-and-so" on "date" and they said that passing you this note containing all the pertinent information may be acceptable. We will be flying from "airport" and staying at "resort" from "date" to "date". Obviously if you need more information, feel free to ask and we'll answer any questions you may have. ..."

Basically, I'd leave it in the hands of the POE officer you call to tell you if you should or shouldn't do this.

 

[KCMA]

Well I just wanted to give an update on our border crossing situation.. we decided to use the note method.. we figured atleast with the note it would be truthful and I could think of a couple of reasons people would use notes (speech issues etc) basically the note said we are surprising our kids and stated their names..where we were going.. dates/address/confirmation number. It also said it would be appreciated if you could keep it a surprise.. we handed four passports to the officer with the note folded in the middle.. he read the note.. swiped the passports.. confirmed the pictures and names with our children.. asked what we were bringing in.. gave a wink and smile and said have a good trip... I am so glad we decided to do this as we are able to keep our kids in the dark for a quite a while until we told them.