I am so excited! We just got our Park Hoppers for our trip in November! :D We will be driving down from N. Cal. (about 6 hours) and wanted to surprise the kids. We aren't leaving until about 6pm, so we are hoping they will be asleep when we arrive at our hotel. We thought that we might fib as to where we are going that night, but then tell them where they are in the morning when they wake up. My hubby and I really want to make this a special surprise for them, though. However, it is hard to think of anything as my kids are 13, 10 and 9 so they are pretty clever. It isn't that easy to put one over on them!

Does anyone have any great stories/suggestions on how to surprise them? What to say or do? I am one of those people that love surprising others, but I am at a loss in this situation!

Thanks

I am so excited! We just got our Park Hoppers for our trip in November! :D We will be driving down from N. Cal. (about 6 hours) and wanted to surprise the kids. We aren't leaving until about 6pm, so we are hoping they will be asleep when we arrive at our hotel. We thought that we might fib as to where we are going that night, but then tell them where they are in the morning when they wake up. My hubby and I really want to make this a special surprise for them, though. However, it is hard to think of anything as my kids are 13, 10 and 9 so they are pretty clever. It isn't that easy to put one over on them!

Does anyone have any great stories/suggestions on how to surprise them? What to say or do? I am one of those people that love surprising others, but I am at a loss in this situation!

Thanks

One thing to do, is travel overnight. They'll be asleep, you'll hardly find any traffic at all, the trip will seem shorter (you're not seeing the open expanse in front of you, only darkness), and if they are awake, they may not see many landmarks because its dark outside.

Also, you can try telling them that you're heading to another destination. Perhaps, let them think you're going to the San Diego Zoo, Knott's Berry Farm, or somewhere else that will get them excited and hyped up for. Then watch that turn into complete surprise when they find out that they're really going to Disneyland.

No clue but would you be coming by here and pick me up?

Joking .. :)

I love suprises to!! Have a wonderful time!! I think its so great for you to suprise your kids like that. Best wishes!!

For our trip last Christmas (Dec. 19-26) I had typed a letter to the kids from Santa explaining that we would be going to Disneyland for Christmas. They were so excited. We told them that we were going to Vegas- we drive- and in the morning the letter was sitting on the ottoman in our hotel room. When we arrived I had a tree from Vacation Planning all set up and Santa delivered their gifts to them Christmas morning under the tree. I packed their stockings and fillers as well. It was so magical.


Have a great time and let us know how you chose to surprise them. :)

For our trip last Christmas (Dec. 19-26) I had typed a letter to the kids from Santa explaining that we would be going to Disneyland for Christmas. They were so excited. We told them that we were going to Vegas- we drive- and in the morning the letter was sitting on the ottoman in our hotel room. When we arrived I had a tree from Vacation Planning all set up and Santa delived their gifts to them Christmas morning under thh tree. I packed their stockings and fillers as well. It was so magical.


Have a great time and let us know how you chose to surprise them. :)

will you adopt me to??

Gee its hard to find some one to acually adopt me, what am I to old or something???

will you adopt me to??

Gee its hard to find some one to acually adopt me, what am I to old or something???


LOL! You've already been adopted. :p

I am one of those people that love surprising others, but I am at a loss in this situation! Thanks

Don't try to suprise them. You will be denying the kids one of the best aspects of the trip: anticipation. If you actually succeeded doing so, it would be much more for your benefit than it would be theirs.

At this point, you know something they don't. Pre-meditate a time and place to spring the news and a clever way of doing it. Use your imagination! They will be just as thrilled and YOU will have the opportunity to find out from each child what's most important to see and do. By the time you leave, you'll have a viable park(s) touring plan in hand before you get there. That will be a gift to yourself!

Good luck!

Never thought about it that way.

I have to agree with borcham..

The surprise should be spilled not too long after you head out.

I've picked up the kids from school before and just took off. When they saw the signs that we were headed toward "Los Angeles" they were stoked. The kids are 13, 10 and 9 so I don't think it can be pulled off going all the way down there anyway!

I've also taken them before not letting them know where, and we went to the airport.. once they saw our destination, they knew :)

Get some Disney music for the ride down, like the Official Music of Disneyland CD and you can have fun guessing which attraction they are from.

I have to agree with borcham..

The surprise should be spilled not too long after you head out.

Not if she does what I suggested and leave overnight.

Don't try to suprise them. You will be denying the kids one of the best aspects of the trip: anticipation. If you actually succeeded doing so, it would be much more for your benefit than it would be theirs.

At this point, you know something they don't. Pre-meditate a time and place to spring the news and a clever way of doing it. Use your imagination! They will be just as thrilled and YOU will have the opportunity to find out from each child what's most important to see and do. By the time you leave, you'll have a viable park(s) touring plan in hand before you get there. That will be a gift to yourself!

Good luck!

I have to agree with this one. With your kids being a bit older, they may likely figure it out on their own, or be disappointed if you tell them you're going elsewhere (Knott's or such) and then don't go. I'd find a really cool spot to tell them BEFORE, or maybe rent a disney movie (say haunted mansion), and lead into it with a "wouldn't it be cool to go do the HM ride?". Anticipation IS part of the fun, and at their age they should be able to handle the anticipation without driving you too nuts ;) .
Have fun!

Yeah, I'll admit and agree that telling them that they're going to Knotts and then not will be disappointing. Didn't quite think of that. But how about telling them you're going somewhere that they won't be disappointed when they find out that they're not going there?

LOL! You've already been adopted. :p

COOL!!!




Now can I send you my christmas wish list ....... ha ha ha

Just my .02, if you own a disney game like Haunted Mansion clue I'd play the game with the kids but then I'd have a note read to go in the envelope where the final clues are and at the end of the game when one of the kids does their 'final guess' I'd let them be the one to find the note and read it to the other 2...or I'd do a disney themed scavanger hunt telling them that you have a surprise for them but they have to figure out the clues...no way would I try to keep it a surprise until they were AT the hotel.

Don't try to suprise them. You will be denying the kids one of the best aspects of the trip: anticipation. If you actually succeeded doing so, it would be much more for your benefit than it would be theirs.

At this point, you know something they don't. Pre-meditate a time and place to spring the news and a clever way of doing it. Use your imagination! They will be just as thrilled and YOU will have the opportunity to find out from each child what's most important to see and do. By the time you leave, you'll have a viable park(s) touring plan in hand before you get there. That will be a gift to yourself!

Good luck!


I agree! The anticipation is great. The excitement will be building long before you arrive at Disneyland, which I think will make your arrival that much more awesome. You should let the kids experience as much excitement as you are.

Surprising the kids ahead of time in a fun way is a must. I'm sure you'll get some clever ideas from all these fun people. Something I would include in the surprise is a park map. You could call DL and I'm sure they'd mail one to you. I have a 7 and 12 y.o. and I know they would love to study the map beforehand and realize all the fun that's ahead.

Have a wonderful trip!!!

<throws my suggestion out the window, in utter defeat> :p

I would suggest that you prepare a scavenger-type game for the ride down for kids that age. We surprised our kids in April this past year. My kids are6 and 8. It was my eight year old's birthday--got in the car and told them we were heading to her grandma's in Stockton for a birthday surprise. She didn't suspect anything until after we passed Stockton. Said hey what about Grandma's house? I had a present prepared for her (and her younger sister) that contained Disney stuff (DVDs, etc.) with a card from Mickey telling her to come to DL for her birthday. She was soo excited and surprised. Still talks about how Mom and Dad surprised her! Most challenging part of that trip was to pack a week's worth of clothes without arousing any questions!

A treasure hunt or scavenger game would be fun to do in the car. First kid to discover where you're going, where you're staying etc.

We just got back lastnight from our surprise trip. My Neices are 10 and 8. We told them only to bring a bathing suit and a change of clothes we were going to the beach! Got to the stop right before the Grapevine and decided to tell them where we were going. Gave them a gift card and it said " spending money for Disneyland" They were so excited!!! Then wondered about clothes... My mom had bought them all new clothes, they couldnt wait to get to the hotel to look at what they had in the suit case. It was the best trip. They told us they were glad we didnt tell them, it was better it was a surprise.

Actually I think surprising them makes it the most fun. I recall my parents surprising my sister and me with a trip to Disneyland, often by being totally nonchalant and not even cracking a hinting smile about it, then just oh-so-casually driving up to the Disneyland main gate. It was always that little turn into the driveway that made us giddily panic, like, "Wh-wh-what? You made a wrong turn, we're....huh??? We're going to DISNEYLAND????" Followed by happy-happy-joy-joy bouncing around in the backseat of the station wagon, and thank yous and kisses to both parents. Trust me on this - a kid, no matter how old, gets a rush of excitement when you surprise Disneyland on them, one that's never forgotten.

Oh, by the way, I should add that I grew up in Orange County and we drove past Disneyland numerous times without going in (but we always wanted to!), so you might want to take a roundabout way to get there if you're driving all the way from NorCal. Like, bypass the Harbor Blvd. exit on the 5 Freeway - that's too obvious. Get off at Katella or Chapman and then drive up to the main entrance on Harbor from the south. That'll throw them off the scent until you're right there.

Oh, and if any of them asks if you're going to Disneyland, put on an act and pretend to be a grouch - "Nahh, we're not going to Disneyland this year, we wanted to do something different." (The "something different" being surprising them.) They'll be disappointed, but it'll make the looks of surprise on their faces that much sweeter.

Actually I think surprising them makes it the most fun. I recall my parents surprising my sister and me with a trip to Disneyland, often by being totally nonchalant and not even cracking a hinting smile about it, then just oh-so-casually driving up to the Disneyland main gate. It was always that little turn into the driveway that made us giddily panic, like, "Wh-wh-what? You made a wrong turn, we're....huh??? We're going to DISNEYLAND????"

I agree!! One of my favorite childhood memories was our trip to Disneyland the time my parents *didn't* tell us. We live in So Cal and I don't remember what they told us the destination was but we ended up in the line for the old Disneyland Parking lot and I remember telling my dad he made a wrong turn. he just calmly said "I guess we'll have to go to Disneyland" :D :D :D

Funny thing is I just said something about that trip to my parents and they don't remember suprising us. In my mind it is the Disneyland trip that stands out the MOST!

Does anyone have any great stories/suggestions on how to surprise them? What to say or do? I am one of those people that love surprising others, but I am at a loss in this situation!

Thanks[/QUOTE]

If you decide to tell them before you go this may be fun. I got a bunch of Disney / Universal type shows. I think there was Haunted Mansion/Toy Storey/Indianna/Back to the Future and left them stacked up by the TV. I put in one of the Disney promotional DVDs and told him it was family movie night. He couldn't figure out why we were watching the DVD but eventually he got it. He got the biggest silliest grin on his face.

In Feb of 03, my husband and I decided to surprise the kids with an impromptu trip to DL for the day. We left Sacramento at 9pm on Saturday and arrived at 4am on Sunday. We told the kids we were going to Portland. We pulled up to the offramp. My (then) 12 yr old was awake and woke up er 10 yr old sister. She said, " Pam, guess where we are." Pam took one look at the sign that read Disneyland Resort and said,
Portland. We died laughing. We then pulled up in front of the DLH and woke up my 6 yr old. She was soooooo excited to see the twinkling trees-she knew exactly where we were. We've done some impromptu trips since, but none as fun as that.

I find that if we tell our kids, they get extremely obsessive (gee, wonder where they get that from) and talk of nothing else-it even gets on MY nerves. ;)

My suggestion-wait until just before you are ready to leave. Pack the car the night before.(or that morning-if they aren't home). Put them in the car and tell them you are going on a road trip and aren't sure where you are going. Let them keep guessing, until they see you turn off the freeway or wake up in front of the hotel. They will always remember the trip and you will have an obssession free trip.

Have fun!!!!!!!!!

Because Im too lazy to type it out here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=32121&highlight=selfish+trip) is a link to a thread where we surprised two kidlets.

here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showpost.php?p=448135&postcount=25) is the actual post describing the surprise. I have no idea why there are some funky looking symbols throughout.... :confused: they didnt used to be there.....

Don't know if this helps, but here's my little surprise story.

I was 15 when my parents surpised me.

We were on vacation for a few days in L.A., but my dad swore we wouldn't be going to DL. We had advance tickets for a preview of the live action 101 Dalmatians in Santa Monica, in the morning. I had really built up the movie and was rather dissapointed, but trying not to show it, since they had been so nice to take me. I think I was also a little sleepy from getting up early (I'm not a morning person) and groggily asked where we were going next. I believe they said, "to a farmer's market." When we got to the first freeway sign that listed "Harbor Boulevard" I said, "(gasp) where are we going?"

That was such an insanely memorably happy moment :D . And I suddenly didn't care about whether or not I liked the live action 101 Dalmatians.

Actually, my first trip to DL (at age 5) was also kind of a surprise, though not a pre-planned one. We were going to go to Solvang, a Danish-themed village near here, when Mom suddenly said, "let's go to Disneyland instead!" We drove down that night and went the next day.

Thank you all so much for your input! I remember when my mom surprised my sister and I when we were younger...we were told that we had to take my step-dad to the airport for a business trip, but when we got there my mom told us the truth--we were going to DL! That was an awesome surprise!

My hubby and I talked about it last night and, after reading your posts, decided to tell them we are going on a road trip, but not tell them where. We will stop for dinner and then spring it on them then! I hope that as they grow older that they will remember this as fondly as I do the experience with my mom.

Now, I just need to figure out a clever way to tell them!