Tip #1: Don't lie or invent plans, because the child may become attached to the alibi and you will end up disappointed.
See what happened when these parents lied to their children with decoy plans thinking that the children wouldn't care once they knew the truth.
Or these kids...
Some children cannot handle a sudden change without warning, or let go of a decoy plan they have been looking forward to. No matter how magical Mickey and his friends are, to a child, a visit to Nana's house may be even more magical. The child would be far more excited about Disney if it wasn't portrayed as replacing some other plan.
Tip #2: Give your child at least a day or two notice of your upcoming trip so they can mentally prepare and you can have time to help them with any fears in a positive way if needed.
While Disney commercials may make it look like a fairytale full of happy endings, some children just can't handle the transition from "every day mode" to "Disney mode" without warning, as seen here...
and here...
Another risk with telling your child at the last minute is that you have no time to address any fears your child may develop at the news of taking an airplane for the first time like these parents soon discovered...
and these parents...
So, how should you surprise the kids?
Below are the 'how, when and why' details I used to tell my children of our upcoming visit and what I'm doing to help keep them excited until the big day arrives.
Plan the trip, and pick a holiday (or a special date) to tell them.
I decided that we would use Christmas to tell the kids. I wanted an interesting way to tell them since this is our first family vacation.
I came up with getting them each a Mickey Mouse suitcase with a shirt inside that says "I'm going to Disney World" that they opened Christmas morning.
This is the suitcase:
These were the iron-on transfers for their shirts:
When they know that a trip to Disney is in their future I want to ensure the excitement stays alive, and that they aren't asking me 20 times a day "how many more days til we leave". So, I made a countdown calendar that is personalized to the details of our trip.
The calendar provides them with a visual tool to see for themselves how many days are left. Each day contains a fun fact about Disney and/or a detail about our trip. I was careful not to give too much away but enough so that they can understand what they are looking forward to. Each day they move the marker to the number of days left until our trip and read the fun fact inside the pocket.
Here are a few sample fun facts I used:
"At Animal Kingdom there are 1000
real animals that we can see along
with favourites from movies like
Nemo and the Lion King"
"At all the Disney Parks you can find
mickey’s face hidden in everything;
like on doors, windows, the ground etc.
So be on the look out"
"At some restaurants characters come
out to greet you while you eat"
Some other things I am planning for the kids for our Disney trip are:
1. Having them bring a journal to write or draw memories in each evening of the vacation. This will provide them with something to do in the resort, and of course, be a great keepsake. It will also help them reflect on all the wonderful things they are experiencing on their vacation.
2. Giving them their own spending money. We all know that Disney is expensive and that there are things to buy at every turn. By giving the kids a set budget, this means that they can buy what they like but when their money is gone, their shopping is done.
3. Christmas Eve they opened new pajamas so that they could wear them for Christmas morning (as seen in video below).
I hope your Disney surprise leads to the fairytale vacation that it should be. Remember, the thing with surprises is everyone wants to keep them until the very last possible minute, but no matter when a person finds out about a surprise it was still a surprise until that moment. It doesn't matter if it's an hour before or a month before, you will still get the same surprised reaction.
After months of saving and planning for a fun family vacation, why risk a disappointing reaction to ruin everything?
Now, without further ado, Our Disney Surprise:
