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cfrith
01-14-2006, 09:21 AM
Hi! We have been thinking of going end of April. Our kids are almost 3 and 7. I'm not sure if we should surprise them or not. We last went in May 2004. In a way I want to tell them so they can get excited and help plan. What do you think the pros and cons are? Any good ideas? We are in Michigan so would be flying. Thanks!!!

Tinkermommy
01-14-2006, 10:04 AM
I vote for surprise!

If they were older, they'd probably have a lot of fun reading travel guides and planning ahead of time, but since they're still young, I think the surprise would be worth it.

My daughter is 9, and we've gone at least once a month for almost three years. We live 90 miles away, so a trip takes some planning.

Whenever we find ourselves in the area, though, I try to work in a surprise stop, even if it's just for an hour. And after all this time, and all those visits, she STILL gets that Disney-magic look on her face when she realizes where we're headed. It's priceless! It's wonderful! It's worth it!

The hard part will be explaining why you're getting on an airplane without giving away your secret...LOL.

mi_mous
01-14-2006, 10:22 AM
We like to surprise our son as well. He pretty much knows the freeway up to Disneyland though, so it makes it more dificult, but when I took the kids last night, he asked where we were going, even said, "this is the road to Disneyland".
Then, when I took the exit, he was so excited, and said, "YAY! We ARE at Disneyland!" (Then after about 3 hours in the car, due to traffic, "See, it didn't take THAT long!")
Either way, I'm sure your kids will have a great time!

disneyperson
01-14-2006, 10:23 AM
We surprised my daughter for her sixth birthday. My sister was visiting us and at breakfast she asked my daughter where she would want to go that day if she could go anywhere in the world that she wanted. Of course the answer was Disneyland. The look on my daughter's face when we said, "OK, let's go. The car's all packed and ready." was something I'll treasure in my memory forever.

kimbopotamus
01-14-2006, 10:52 AM
Oh, that is priceless! ^^^
I too, have been struggling over whether to keep our trip a secret from my 9 year old. We were going to go in June, but my Mom said she would like to take us in February. I couldn't decide if I wanted to let my daughter get excited, or surprise her.
Thank you, Disneyperson! I have made up my mind! I am going to join my daughter for lunch at school on the day we fly out and ask her that very question! I know her answer will be Disneyland!:D

hlbtimes2
01-14-2006, 01:07 PM
I vote for a surprise!

We went in Oct, with a 3 and 7 year old. We had been planning for about 6 month. I think the excitement was so built up, that the trip was almost a let down. It couldnt live up to the 6 months of anticipation.

We are considering going again in the next couple of months - because the last trip just didnt feel "complete". We might use part of our tax return to go. If we do, I'm not going to the kids until its time to go to the airport- might even wait until we get to the airport.

disneyperson
01-14-2006, 01:28 PM
I have made up my mind! I am going to join my daughter for lunch at school on the day we fly out and ask her that very question! I know her answer will be Disneyland!:D

Be sure and write to let us know about her reaction. :D I hope the trip is marvelous!

mi_mous
01-14-2006, 02:29 PM
I vote for a surprise!

We went in Oct, with a 3 and 7 year old. We had been planning for about 6 month. I think the excitement was so built up, that the trip was almost a let down. It couldnt live up to the 6 months of anticipation.

We are considering going again in the next couple of months - because the last trip just didnt feel "complete". We might use part of our tax return to go. If we do, I'm not going to the kids until its time to go to the airport- might even wait until we get to the airport.

You could do what they did on that Extreme Home Makeover wishes edition, where they were in the air, and they finally told them where they were going. The whole plane erupted in kids cheers and excitement!

Rhiannon8404
01-14-2006, 02:48 PM
If you think your kids will appreciate being surprised, by all means go for it!

I don't think my son would really appreciate it. He doesn't like sudden changes in schedule. He needs time to get phyched about stuff, even going to Disneyland. That's not to say he wouldn't come around if we did surprise him. He likes to pack his own stuff, he would be worried about things at home, etc. My poor little neurotic kid.

samkj
01-14-2006, 02:55 PM
We'll be surprising our kids in 2007. We aren't sure yet where we'll be going, but it will definitely be someplace Dinsey (DL, WDW or DCL) My daughters 7th b-day is the first day of a week break from school, so it'll be a b-day surprise for her.

kohl
01-14-2006, 04:32 PM
My mom and I are surprising my kids. They get out of school at noon next Thursday so we will just show up to pick them up. Instead of going home, we will go to Disneyland. It won't take them too long to figure out where we are going. Especially when we pass the stinky cows (as they call it)!:D

cfrith
01-14-2006, 06:19 PM
Sounds like a surprise it will be! Here's the thing- we are 2 hours from the airport so we will be leaving the night before to stay with my inlaws who are just a few minutes to the airport. Should we act like we're just going to visit the grandparents and the next day just show up at the airport and tell them as soon as they see the planes? Or, should we go into my daughter's school an hour before the end of the day and have them tell her she's leaving early and when she get's to the office tell her we're leaving right now for Disney? Now my husband threw in another idea- tell them we're going to Arizona to see a friend and then just show up in the next morning at DL. I don't know if there would be any clues to my 7 year old on the plane/airport that we were near DL. This would be sooooo hard for me to keep secret!!!!! What does everyone think? Thanks!

Crazy4DL
01-14-2006, 07:39 PM
My DD and I took her three kids to DL spring 04. We never said a thing to them, just got things packed and woke them up in the middle of the night and carried them to the van. At that point we told them we were heading to Seattle, which they love also, but doesn't generate quite as much excitement. They fell asleep until we got to the airport . . . .when they saw the airport, the older one (about 6 at the time) knew something was up. He kept saying, with a huge grin, "you tricked us!". It was so cute, we had a ball.

The good thing about surprising the kids is they sleep the night before and they don't get so overly excited way ahead of time.

Crazy4DL
01-14-2006, 07:42 PM
. My poor little neurotic kid.

LOL! how cute!

emilousmom
01-14-2006, 09:22 PM
My parents surprised my sister and me at about that age. I don't think she really understood what was going on, but man I did. We live in San Diego, and we were told we were going to Long Beach to see my dads ship(He was Navy and stationed there at the time). Piled in the car and drove FOREVER! I didn't realize we were even going there till we got off the freeway and I saw the sign that said Disneyland . I just remember screaming! LOL, I am getting kinda teary eyed thinking about it now! Okay, I am 28 now, so that was 20 years ago and look how much I still remember it! Surprise them! Remind me to thank my parents for that day!!!!!

Ang

cpeak
01-15-2006, 08:02 AM
Another upside to surprising them is if something happens and you can't make it they won't be disappointed. In November we were surprising our 3 and 5 year old with a trip. Two day before we were leaving the three year old broke her arm and required surgery. Since they didn't know we were going my they didn't get upset. We just kept the tickets and surprised them for Christmas. When my 5 year old opened the present with the tickets she yelled "We're going to Disneyland" and started laughing!

Enter The Mouse
01-15-2006, 08:37 AM
When I was little my parents suprised me and i loved it. It made my memories even more special. I can still remember it to this day.

ILovePoker
01-15-2006, 08:40 AM
One con is if the child is 7 and has to miss school, you should notify the school that you won't be there. The child may catch on when he's handed homework to do over his holiday.:~D

cfrith
01-15-2006, 12:45 PM
Yes, I will be talking to her teacher (1st grade) about homework.

PirateSmile
01-15-2006, 06:51 PM
Hm, I know in seventh grade one of my classmates told us about a time he was surprised by his parents. He said it was one of his favorite memories.

sixwoofys
01-15-2006, 10:44 PM
We go at least once a year and ALWAYS suprise our kids. They have no idea what is going on or where we are going.

Kids love surprises.

One year we told them we were going to Disneyland in advance. We loaded the car and I drove to an old burned down abandoned warehouse. I said "oh no, it looks like Disneyland burned down". They cried and cried but deep down I think they really enjoyed the surprise. I offered to take them to Knotts but by then it was getting kind of late.

Mark Mywords
01-16-2006, 12:57 AM
Oh, yeah. Totally go for the surprise. It's stuff like that that makes for the best memories...

jazzysmom
01-16-2006, 08:57 AM
We surprised our 5 year old. We had told her we were going to a Door Convention (my DH is a Architectural Project Manager) in LA and that we were staying at a hotel with no pool or T.V. (yes, we are evil). She was totally not excited at all. I had a shirt made from Disney that said, "Our Surprise Disneyland Trip September 2004".

When we got on the super shuttle I handed the driver a note telling him what we were up to so he didn't start talking to the kids about Disneyland. I also gave the note to the other passengers. Everybody played along.

I had the T-shirt all wrapped up and we gave it to her just a couple miles from the Disneyland exit. It took her a minute to read as she was still little. Seeing the realization across her face was fantastic. Best of all, the Grand California had a T.V. and a pool. LOL.

cfrith
01-16-2006, 03:13 PM
Does anyone know what they usually say on the plane into Anaheim? I'm just wondering if they will say the words Anaheim, Disneyland, California etc. We are coming from Michigan. I was going to tell the kids we're going to some other state to see a friend since they'd know if we were going to California that we'd have to be going to DL too. Also, when you get to that airport are there pictures of Mickey or anything? We want to keep it a secret until we get to the gate but it seems kind of hard to do. They will be 7 and 4 when we are there in April. Any ideas???? Thanks!
Cyndi

Andrew
01-16-2006, 03:16 PM
Does anyone know what they usually say on the plane into Anaheim? I'm just wondering if they will say the words Anaheim, Disneyland, California etc. We are coming from Michigan. I was going to tell the kids we're going to some other state to see a friend since they'd know if we were going to California that we'd have to be going to DL too. Also, when you get to that airport are there pictures of Mickey or anything? We want to keep it a secret until we get to the gate but it seems kind of hard to do.
If you're flying in to LAX, they probably won't mention Anaheim or Disneyland at all, but "Los Angeles" and "California" will be hard to avoid. I don't recall obvious Disney icons at LAX but again, "Welcome to Los Angeles" is everywhere.

Keeping the secret until you get to the departure gate is probably a more realistic goal. Perhaps you could surprise them just before getting on the plane with a Mickey plush holding their tickets, or something like that?