We're going to WDW on August 12th. I haven't yet told my boys (9 and 7) because I want to "surprise" them in some cool, exciting way. I haven't decided when or how but I have to do it sooner than I would like because we'll be there for my oldest's 10th birthday. He'll want to start planning a party ASAP. It's a tough decision because I also don't want to make a big production of it and then say, "We're going in 3 months." That will seem like an eternity to them.

Also, for those of you living in the SW, I was at the .99 store yesterday and actually found Disney autograph books (they called them journals, whatever) for .99 and the fat Disney pens 3 for .99. MUCH better than what we'd spend on autograph books and pens once we arrive. I also stocked up on Glo-products to avoid the ever-tempting "Glo-Carts" that stalk children every night.:D

Maybe set up a priate treasure hunt for them. Since the movie is coming out and they are boys they would probally like that. When they find the treasure fill it full of disney stuff like your reservations, the stuff you bought at the dollar store and disney dollars for the both of them to spend. Since they are older like my two oldest sons I don't think the wait will be as bad as a preschooler(my 4 year old is driving me crazy)Maybe you guys can make a calander for a countdown. That is always a fun way to pass the time. Have a great trip. Don't forget to get your son a birthday badge. Sometimes they do cool stuff for kids on their bithdays.

How funny. I had just thought of this exact idea. We have a projector and can show movies "large screen" style. I thought about doing a "Graduation Night" for them. My oldest is leaving elementary school. We could watch Dead Man's Chest which would also refresh their memory so they will be ready to see the third film. The customized Disney maps look very "piratey" so that would help. I have a Disney cookbook so I could do recipes from that. The boys would just think it was a pirate night to celebrate the movie until we did the treasure hunt at the end. Someone on here suggested making a paper chain where they tear off "links" each day. I really like this as a countdown method.

GREAT IDEA! Thank you.

The paper chain idea sounds great. I think I'll try that with my kids.

Here is a thread (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=63003&highlight=kids) from late last year on this topic.

On my last trip, just DD3 and me, I didn't tell her. We got from Modesto to Bakersfield before she asked where we were going and I said "Just for a drive" and then when we got to the Mickey and Friends parking garage, I convinced her we were at Target. Like, we drove 6 hours for Target! LOL

One time my daughter knew for months ahead of time...the next time we had her Grandma pick her up from school and bring her out to the airport to 'pick something up'. We were there waiting for her with her baby sister, suitcases and her favorite teddy bear. When we went this spring, she knew we were going but not the exact day- so we woke her up at 4:00 AM (we had to be at the airport at 5:00) and told her to get dressed. We asked her if she had anything special to do that day- and then revealed our surprise.
Of course, she's six, so she wasn't aware of a lot in the days leading up to this.

Yep. I'm BIG on the total surprise thing. Unfortunately, we can't do that this time as DS will be celebrating his 10th birthday. He's decided that he wants to take a few friends to the beach where his Grandpa lives to celebrate. Just yesterday, we heard him on the phone with his Grand Mother, telling her all of his plans. He's even started making plans with his buddies that he wants to go. We have to tell them....soon.

We've decided to have a "family party" to celebrate both Graduation (DS 9 is leaving elementary school and DS 7 is going to the second grade) and the release of the last Pirates movie.

I've designed a treasure hunt of our own with 10 items that will be scattered around town. They go from very vague to progressively more obvious but I really don't think they'll have a clue until the very end. I've written cleaver poems for each one that will lead to the next clue. Once we're back at the house and they've figured it out, we're going to have dinner with recipes from several of our ADRs and watch Dead Man's Chest projected onto a sheet on the wall.

I'm as excited about this as I am the trip itself!

I love all of these ideas for telling kids - it has giving me some great ideas for my DD6 come Christmas morning. However - what are the opinions out there on telling a DH? His b-day is in Nov (we're going Jan23) so I was debating telling him then so he can get in on the excitement and last minute planning - but I also think that coming up with something for both at Christmas would be better. Anyone??

You are planning a vacation without involving your husband? That seems odd to me. I certainly couldn't never imagine my wife nor I trying to plan a vacation without consulting the other...

-Jeff

You are planning a vacation without involving your husband? That seems odd to me. I certainly couldn't never imagine my wife nor I trying to plan a vacation without consulting the other...

-Jeff

I could understand if you were doing it as a surprise.

The second time we took our DS was for his 5th birthday. We woke him up and told him we had to "run an errand" and then we would take him to school (he was still in pre-school). We had a 6 AM flight, so we left for the airport at 3:30...he was so sleepy, he didn't question us at all. When we got to the airport, he looked up, and said "Hey...this is where we got the plane when we went to see Mickey!!! Are we going to see Mickey?" I know it will never work again, but it was a great birthday surprise. He got a birthday button at the hotel, and whenever anyone said "Happy Birthday AJ" he told them that Mommy and Daddy tricked him...really a fun memory for him, and for Mom and Dad, too!

You are planning a vacation without involving your husband? That seems odd to me. I certainly couldn't never imagine my wife nor I trying to plan a vacation without consulting the other...

-Jeff

I am totally doing this as a surprise. I have been saving on my own for a couple of years as I wanted our family to have a vacation together. As I stated earlier I wanted to give this trip to both my DH and my DD as a surprise at Christmas. (As I am paying for it all myself - hence the SURPRISE for my husband - no worries for him!!) The only debate I was having was whether to tell him on his birthday in November - which would still be a surprise for him - but will allow him to give me more input on what he wants to do. Neither my DH or DD have ever been to Disney so I was asking if others would agree to the birthday thing...or surprise them both together at Christmas (we are going Jan 23 so that would still give him a month for input!!) I think this is going to be a lot of fun and very exciting for my family, the only odd thing for us will be seeing palm trees and grass instead of snow in January.

I am totally doing this as a surprise.


I could see doing a "surprise" visit to a local park. A place where you can drive there in a minimum of time and where you are only doing a day trip. However, from your posts I'm guessing you are planning a surprise multi-day visit which I would never plan without consulting my husband.

So maybe this isn't as great of a surprise gift as I thought....thanks for the input.

So maybe this isn't as great of a surprise gift as I thought....thanks for the input.

It really is totally up to you. Only you know how your husband and family will react. I know someone who surprised their girlfriend with a trip but they were local and only went for a day. I have only posted what I know from my family.

Actually, I know in me heart my husband will be excited. There are a lot of people that would be thrilled to be whisked away on a surprise trip by their husband, and I know some men that would feel the same. I do agree with you though that it is a family situational thing. I have one friend who's husband said he would be ecstatic if his wife did the same thing....but I also have another friend who's husband would like the idea, but be upset that he did not partake in the planning. Thank you though, for pointing this out to me. I got caught up in the excitement of 'Disney' and didn't really think of some things. I do however think that I will tell him on his birthday, we'll see.

Kassandrasmom, it sounds like an absolutely wonderful suprise gift. My only concern with waiting until Christmas would have to do with the fact that you are planning the trip for January. I don't know what your husband's occupation is, but most people would have a hard time securing vacation time on that short of notice. Maybe you could wrap something Disney (like an autograph book, or the Disney Vacation DVD) in some Christmas wrapping paper and give it to your daughter as an "early Christmas gift." This way the trip is both a Christmas gift for your daughter and a birthday gift for your husband.

most people would have a hard time securing vacation time on that short of notice.

That was also a huge concern for me. Luckily we have a good relationship with my husbands boss (he is a mechanic in an independent shop) and I was able to talk to him about the trip. I made sure that DH taking the time off wouldn't be a problem - prior to making any arrangements.
But all of this is now water under the bridge. Unfortunately I let my fears get the best of me and when we were home for lunch I became a babbling idiot and ended up telling him (I tend to be a little emotional at times). Not the way I had planned to tell him, but I feel better. He was totally excited and thought it was the best idea ever. He's such an awesome man. But at least now I can share in all my excitement and he can be more a part of the planning process.

Are you still keeping it secret from your daughter? If so, you can plan together how to tell her at Christmas!!

Are you still keeping it secret from your daughter? If so, you can plan together how to tell her at Christmas!!

We will keep it a secret from Kass for sure. And that's one of the reasons I'm not sooo disappointed in telling DH. He is a very fun and creative man so I can't even imagine what he will come up with. Then using the ideas from this thread and previous ones, we are sure to have fun.