Surprise!! We're Going to Disney!

If your kids are anything like my kids you can’t tell them ANYTHING a long time in advance. The number of times you may hear, ‘Is it time yet?’, ‘Are we going today?’, ‘Is it time to go to Disney yet?’ and other equally annoying variations of these questions can be as grating to a parent’s nerves as nails on a chalkboard to a kid in school!

Last year my husband and I decided to surprise our kids with a trip. We thought of different ways to drop hints along the way and other things to do to make ‘the big reveal’ something that we would remember for a LONG time. As the time got closer and we were planning our dining, itinerary for park touring and all of our other ‘magical touches’ we decided to just wait until the morning of our departure, wake the kids EARLY for our flight and surprise them with packed bags waiting for them with all sorts of Disney touches. Yes, those are all dolls that our kiddies have had at home that we had to sneak out of rooms in the middle of the night and thanks to a friend, those Mickey Ears hats were all embroidered with our names! 

We knew that our oldest daughter, who was 9 at the time, had pretty much figured it out by about  a week before the trip and our youngest son (who was just about 17 months old) didn’t really get it. You know who did get it? Our 5 year old! He LOVED it and was so thrilled that we put his Muppet Friends and his Disney friends with the bags that we had to pack them all and bring them with us! lol To be honest, I was surprised he was so excited… I expected a little hesitation given how he reacts to change! That’s always something to keep in mind if you decide to surprise your kids with a ‘same day Disney vacation’!

Here are a few other ways to SURPRISE your kiddies (or anyone!) with a trip to one of Disney’s MAGICAL Destinations!!

**Have a friend, relative, co-worker that’s going to a Disney Destination before you pick up a postcard, write a note about how excited everyone is to have you visit,  have it autographed by a favorite character and drop it in the mail in Disney so that the postmark is Lake Buena Vista, FL!  If they are going a REALLY long time in advance of your trip and you don’t want to share the secret that early just make sure you collect the mail so that you get to it first and hide it until you’re ready to share! Drop it in that day’s mail pile and SURPRISE! 

**This next one can take a lot of planning but can be SO much fun! When you’re ready for the kids to find out, set up a scavenger hunt! Set up clues that all lead to a hidden Mickey Mouse doll, a Disney Autograph book a packed suitcase or some other Disney surprise with a sign saying “We’re going to Disney on…. “

**Order the FREE Disney Vacation Planning DVD!  This is a simple, free way to let the person you are trying to surprise in on the MAGICAL secret! 

**Get a Mickey Mouse Balloon, a Tinkerbell balloon or any other Disney balloons from a local party store. Have them inflated and when you get home tape a sign that says, ‘We’re going to Disney on (the date you’re traveling)!’ and put them in a box. Seal the box! (For even more fun, put that sealed box in another sealed box and then in another sealed box… you know what I mean… lol It’s fun for them to open and even more fun for you to watch their anticipation as they open box after box!! )  When your kids open the box the balloon and sign announcing your trip will fly to the ceiling! 

Those are my ‘Surprise! We’re going to Disney!’ ideas!! I hope you get to use them to surprise someone you love!

Have a MAGICAL day!
~~Chrissie