Will I regret telling the kids we are planning to go?

[KrisM]

I've never meant it to be a surprise trip, but figured we would wait until we were a month or two out to let them know. But, it's really hard to plan with them around. They can read, so clearly know what books I have, or websites, etc. We aren't going until April and I fear that it'll be constant "when are we going" until then. But, maybe they are old enough to not do that?

Plus, I could get their opinions on where to stay, what they want to do, etc. DD and DS2 will be super excited. DS1 does not want to go :). So, I could get him excited, too.

[Fairy]

I really would not tell them till maybe the week before. Taht's just me, but the constant obsession with is it time yet and what should I pack and where will we go and what will we do first is INSANITY. Hey, up to you. But for me, 2 weeks out is my limit now. Last time we told him with a few months to go, he packed at the 4 week mark.

[kristenk]

I'm planning to tell DD that we're going and get her involved in the planning process. Actually, she already knows that I'm looking into it, but I'm not sure when we're going.

While I think surprising kids with a Disney vacation is totally fabulous, I didn't think it would work for DD. We took her when she was almost 3yo and she only remembers the things that she DIDN'T like! When asked if she wants to go to Disneyworld for summer vacation or a nearby hotel with lazy river, she picks the hotel every time. We talked about WDW and found out that she was under the impression that WDW was like Six Flags with a hotel. When she finally understood what WDW actually entailed, she was very excited.

I'd just say that we're not going to WDW until after ____________. And stress that we're planning a trip that won't happen for a very long time.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My kids wouldn't care if they knew early. I'm the only one who'd be really excited. No one else would be like, "wow! Disney!". So, which end of the spectrum would your kids be on? You are the best judge there. I'd want their input and to chat about it too.

[KrisM]

DS1 doesn't care, so that's easy. But, I think he'll be excited when he realizes WDW isn't just princesses and Mickey Mouse :). He would enjoy checking out You Tube about it.

DD asks about going every few months. A lot of her friends went this past year, it seems. She would be very excited. But, I think she would really enjoy the planning. And, a lot of things I'm wondering about are based on her - which princesses she still likes a lot, etc.

DS2 can be quite annoying about anything. His birthday is next month and he's very impatient about it. He's really crazy. He'd be excited, because he wants to meet Jake!

[TwinFoxes]

We told our DDs at the two week mark. I think it's depends on your kids. My kids do not have a grasp of time AT ALL. They have been talking about their birthday since Christmas (it's this week). They have made plans for Halloween that they bring up once a week or so. There's no way I'd tell them.

But maybe your kids wouldn't pester you like my DDs would.

[hillview]

we've done 30 days out and done a paper chain where they tear off a loop every day to count down. I wouldn't do longer than that in our house

[hellokitty]

Yeah, one to two wks prior to the trip is about right. The paper chain is a good idea so they have a visual idea of the countdown. If you tell them too early, then you deal with the constant, "are we going today" type of questions.

[lalasmama]

I've told DD the night before, and 6 months before.

The night before one went smoother, overall. We had her birthday party, and that was her "big present". I already had packed for her. She had helped plan plenty--"DD, when we go to Disneyland one day, what would you like to do there?" She just thought we were preparing for a trip a year away :)

When she knew 6 months ahead, even at 8yo, she still did the "is it time yet?" thing... or would want to go through a timeline list--"First is Halloween. Then Thanksgiving. Then Daddy's birthday. Then Christmas. Then New Years. Then Valentine's Day. Then Packing Day [we pack a week ahead], and then I will go to school Monday and Tuesday, and on Wednesday, I will miss school. We will walk to the bus stop, then ride the bus to the light-rail, then ride the light-rail to the airport. Then we will ride on the airplane. Then another bus to the hotel. Then we will eat dinner, and wait for Daddy's taxi to get there. Then we will go to bed. Then when we wake up, we will eat breakfast and go to Disneyland." And we had to go over this whole rigamaroll just about every single day for 6 months. She didn't get as excited with the 6-month wait, but maybe that was because the wait was over so many months, instead of the one night when we did the trip as her b-day present.

She's well-aware of our future vacation plans, Disney or otherwise, but I think I'm going to attempt to be tight-lipped about most of the trips so there's some excitement about them again!

[Mommaof3]

I think it depends on your kid's ages and only you know best what reaction they will have. We told my DD's but they are older (12 & 10) and I like to talk to them about it and include them in the planning. My youngest is clueless which I prefer :)

[jjordan]

My kids (ages 6 and 4) knew a few months ahead of time and the anticipation was fun for all of us. I don't know if our kids are less annoying than usual when talking about something they're excited about, or if dh and I have a higher tolerance level, but we didn't find it annoying when they talked about going or asked how much longer. Knowing so far ahead meant that it wasn't constantly on their minds, just if something reminded them of it, they might talk about it for a while. So it's possible that telling them this far ahead will actually lower the "annoying questions" quotient because they'll be excited for a little bit, then realize it's a long way off and back off, and be pretty used to the idea by the time the trip is closer.

[almostmom]

We went when my kids had just turned 5 and 7. We told them a few months in advance, though we thought about waiting and telling them the week before.

I am SO glad we told them in advance. The build up and excitement was so much fun! We looked at rides on You Tube, they had it to look forward to through the December holidays (we went in January), and it was just a good time overall. I love having a trip to look forward to, and now I know they do too.

They have always had a good grasp of time, so there was no, "Are we going next week?" But that's just my kids. It would have been fun to surprise them, but we would have missed out on a couple of months of fun and playful anticipation from all of us.

[Twoboos]

We told our kids (5 and 7 at the time) a week in advance. Any earlier would have meant constant, "arewegoingyet? isittomorrow? howmanymoredays?" questions.

[egoldber]

I usually tell my kids a few months in advance.

Older DD now looks to do on-line research for our upcoming trips. We are going on a Disney cruise in a few weeks and she has been researching for months. :)

I have talked to younger DD about it and shown her video clips of the boat and of the kids clubs. In part, I wanted to build her enthusiasm for spending time in the clubs. ;)

But I have found that once my kids have been to WDW, they ask about when they are going/going back whether we have a trip planned or not!

[123LuckyMom]

Don't do it!!! Wait, wait, wait! I told DS about our trip when we made our reservations, and EVERY NIGHT I had to tell him multiple stories about Disney World. EVERY NIGHT I had to go through the list of rides, information about the hotel, descriptions of the parades. Aaaaargh! Also, though he had a spectacular time, I think it would have been even more magical if he had known less and been a bit more surprised by the unexpected. Next time, I won't tell until the trip is a week or two away, maybe even less!

[AnnieW625]

The only time I knew I was going to Disneyland prior was when I was in the 7th grade and we went for a band trip. Every other trip (about once every 2 years while on vacation) we were told either the day before or the day of. We only did day trips then though. We never told DD1 we were going either when we had passes although by the time she was 5 we couldn't get away with telling her as we pulled up.

When and if we plan our Disney Cruise or the WDW vacation I am not sure if we are going to be able to get away from not doing it because we'd have to tell DD1 why she isn't going to X for camp or what not, but we could honestly try, it is fun and it cuts out all of the annoying questions.

[BayGirl2]

Both trips we told our kids as soon as we confirmed the trip, which was months in advance. It was fine and my kids are much younger than yours. In fact I thought it was better to prepare them for the trip, specifically my DS who seems to want to know what is happening in advance. We also used it as motivation for certain things - like "when we're at Disney we all hold hands while walking and listen to directions". Plus we watched a lot of YouTube videos to figure out what was and wasn't scary for him.

We got maybe 1 "are we going yet" per week so that's really not that annoying. It actually was a good way to talk about time and the calendar. I was way more excited and into planning than they were. I think the surprise thing is cute, but I really don't seen any reason to wait to share with them as long as you know the trip is for sure.

[Gracemom]

Totally depends on the kid's personality. My DS needs a lot of time to prepare for something. He does not like surprises. I'm like that too. I'm a planner. We love reading the planning books together, looking at pics online, deciding what we want to try, etc. I gave him a calendar and let him check off the days. He is 6.

[inmypjs]

We are going in the fall and my kids, 6 and 8, have known about it for several months. It isn't creating any problems IMO. I just didn't think I could hide my planning. They both read and I would have had to hide my guidebooks, web sites, etc. Plus my Dad is taking us, so they hear us talking about plans. Neither obsesses about it or asks excessively but we are excited as a family. We watched the DVD together which was a lot of fun, and I was surprised to learn what activities my kids were interested in.

[KrisM]

We are going in the fall and my kids, 6 and 8, have known about it for several months. It isn't creating any problems IMO. I just didn't think I could hide my planning. They both read and I would have had to hide my guidebooks, web sites, etc. Plus my Dad is taking us, so they hear us talking about plans. Neither obsesses about it or asks excessively but we are excited as a family. We watched the DVD together which was a lot of fun, and I was surprised to learn what activities my kids were interested in.

We are going to tell them fairly soon. I want to do something fun to tell them, so it's not just like "oh, by the way we might go to Disney". And, I'm putting it that we are planning it, but nothing is confirmed yet. I was thinking maybe I'd tell them we are watching a new movie and put the Disney planning DVD in instead. I have it, but haven't watched it yet.

The more I try to pick a hotel or restaurant, etc, the more I wish they knew. I would ask them questions about where they want to stay, etc. Plus, they are up until 9pm, so I can't even ask DH about it most nights because they are always around!

I am thinking it won't be too difficult. In the car, they bug us "are we there yet" for trips to my parents of about an hour. But, when we drive to NH, they just know it's forever (15 hours) and don't even ask if we are there. So, they all seem to be okay with that a bit.

Or, I'll regret it :)

[Still-in-Shock]

I'm thinking that your oldest is actually old enough to help with the planning! When I was 10, I was in charge of mailing away for brochures for our vacation (I was already sending away for stuff anyway...).

With the internet and the library, your son can help you decide with days are busiest at which parks (from the easy WDW charts) and can help make a checklist of places to see.

So I'm in favor of telling at least the older kids and ask for opinions, etc. ANd then they can have fun having a secret from the youngest.