When did you tell your kindergarteners?

[TammyLynn33]

We are going for Easter my 16 yr old and 12 year old know as they understand it’s part of their Christmas bday gifts ..
I have a 4 and 6 year old ( autistic ) I don’t want to tell them too soon and listen to every day lol but I want to have enough excitement.. and when it gets down to the wire packing taking the pup to the kennel etc no way they wouldn’t know something is up..
I thought Valentine’s Day then 4 year old turns 5 in March but I don’t want 6 year old thinking he’s getting a Disney trio too lol
Then I thought April first ..is it a joke is it not a joke ? And then I only have two weeks to count down
Thoughts?

 

[Cajun23]

We have gone when the kids were 3 and 4. Ours turn 5 this year also. We will probably tell them about 1 month out. It gives them enough time to process it and be excited about the trip without a long period of time for questioning. The last 2 times we went they were good about it. We made a calendar so they could visually see how many days were left.

Hope this helps.

 

[unrequited23]

30 days out is a good amount of time to get used to the idea of going and get excited. We do a count down chain so the kids can visually see how many days are left. My kids really liked looking at the maps of the parks. Not sure if you are flying, but we watched a tsa cartoon on youtube and pretended to go through security a few times. We told them who was sitting with which parent on the plane ahead of time.

 

[siren0119]

We told our kids in the parking lot of the airport shuttle LOL.

In retrospect, I forgot to take into account that the kids had never flown before and my older DS (10 at the time, with some processing issues) could hyperfocus on the wrong thing...which he did for the first hour or so. He was so worried about the flight he had no mental bandwidth to get excited about Disney. If I could do it all over again, I'd have found a way to tell them about taking a flight ahead of time, to give him time to get comfortable with that idea, THEN sprung Disney on them. You know your kiddo best, so I'd tell them in whatever time frame would make sense to accommodate the mental gymnastics they will do while they're wrapping their brain around the whole idea.

 

[BLAZEY]

We told our 6 year old the morning we were leaving about 30 minutes before Grannie was to arrive to take us to the airport. DH & I were up and ready to go and then woke her up. We had her bathe and pick out her clothes the night before. She got dressed, ready and packed a few last minute things in her backpack for the plane and we were off. she was super excited once we were at the airport. She had flown a few time before, and loved flying so no issues there. If you have kids with issues that they need time to sort through to make the trip better for everyone it best to give them the time they need. Maybe a week before you leave? Long enough to process and get excited, but not "overthink".

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

We lived in CA for a few years, a few hours from DLR, and went a few times (you can see in my signature). Our first trip was when our kids were 5.5 and 3 years. We had gone to Downtown Disney once, so for our first actual trip, we just drove and let them figure it out when they started seeing the Disney signs. They asked, "Are we going on rides this time?!" "Yes!"

The next time we went, we made them Mickey pancakes for breakfast the morning we went. The third time, we put their mouse ears in their car seats, so when they opened the car doors, they saw them and knew where we were going. Telling them the day we went worked for us because 1) Our DLR trips were usually only planned a few weeks in advance, and 2) Our DLR trips weren't long adventures with lots of traveling.

For our WDW trip this summer, we knew we'd have to tell them beforehand, because there was no way I could've packed for a week and a half at Disney, plus four days on the road, without them knowing. Plus I needed to talk about it after keeping it secret for so long! They got out of school in June and they received a letter from Mickey Mouse in the mail the next day. We went in August, and I had the countdown app on my phone that they looked at every day. It was great, because they knew and were able to get excited, watch videos, etc, but it wasn't a crazy long amount of time with them asking "How many more days???"

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

My daughter who is 6 needs to be prepped for things, otherwise she becomes anxious. We do a run down weeks before when we are in the car or when we have free time of the whole trip. Surprises don’t work for us!

 

[MudQueen22]

When our older one was in kinder, we didn't tell her. We just told her we were going to Florida on vacation.
I got her face on camera when she saw the big sign welcoming us to WDW. I'm so glad that we did it that way, because she will no longer settle for "We're going to Florida." She now expects details.

We also surprised her with character meals. The first was Akershus, and I told her there would be a surprise at dinner. She met Belle as we entered, and she was beyond excited. She didn't suspect anymore princesses would emerge, but was so thankful to have met Belle.
THEN, the other three came out. Again, I got her face on camera, and it was priceless.

 

[Shanti]

A month out is a good idea. Do not make it a surprise.

 

[_Kristi_]

I'm definitely a supporter of telling the kids in advance so they get to experience planning and anticipation just like us. You didn't mention any exact needs for your 6 year old but I would probably think about how much time the 6 year old will need to prepare. There are so many youtube videos you can watch together to build excitement but also to prepare for the experience. Your kiddo can see what the crowds look like, see the fireworks, check out the hotel, and get a general idea what the trip will be like. We have a paper chain counting down the days until we go but our kids knew long before the chain went up.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

My almost 5 yos have been asking me when Halloween is since July! I know it'll be the same with Disney if I give them a specific time. Instead, they know we're going "soon" but that the exact time is a surprise. So far, it's worked well. We can talk about the trip around them, they know they're getting "Disney" for Christmas, but if they ask when, saying "It's a surprise," is enough for them to drop it.

We fly on a Monday, so we'll tell them the Friday before to say goodbye to their friends since they won't be in school the next week. It'll give them two days to get hyped and I won't have to hide the serious packing.

 

[daisy2013]

We told them in the car on the way to the airport. Kind of like - hey how about instead of school today we go to Disney world!
They burst into tears. One wanted to go to school to learn to read. The other wanted to say goodbye to her friends.
That was the last surprise we tried

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

We told them in the car on the way to the airport. Kind of like - hey how about instead of school today we go to Disney world!
They burst into tears. One wanted to go to school to learn to read. The other wanted to say goodbye to her friends.
That was the last surprise we tried

Oh my gosh, how sad! Obviously not the reaction you were expecting! This is why I'm a fan of telling kids - even if it's just the day before - sometimes they need time to process something as big and adventurous as WDW.

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

I just wanted to add, OP, that there were certain things we kept a secret so there would still be surprises. We didn't tell them about the character dining we went to (Bon Voyage breakfast and Garden Grill breakfast.) We just said, we're going to eat at the Boardwalk, here DD, why don't you wear your Rapunzel dress? Then while we were waiting for our table the characters started getting announced and the kids were amazed. Same thing with our GG breakfast, we didn't tell them about characters or the rotating restaurant. We also didn't tell them that my sister, who came with us, had some Mickey surprises for the kids. And she took them out one night to resort hop, but let it be a surprise as to where they went (ended up AKL, AS Movies, and AS Sports.) So, I think you can tell them about the trip, but don't have to share all the details.

 

[MomOTwins]

I would go ahead and tell them sooner rather than later. We looked at rides and park layouts on the app in advance and let them each choose a fastpass and a dining reservation. Getting in on the planning made them really happy.

 

[Beth33]

Gosh, I feel like an outlier here! We're going next May, and I told our kiddos (3 and 5) a couple of weeks ago. They're excited but understand that it won't be time for our trip for a loooong time. They rarely mention the trip. YMMV!

 

[Kathleen Zwally]

We like to do the planning process together....watch planning DVD, POV YouTube videos, etc. We tell about 6 mo out and then do a 30 day countdown. I thought of doing a surprise trip but half the fun is the planning!

 

[otten]

We do a 30 day activity countdown for most trips. I make a paper chain and each link has a Disney related activity. The activities are really simple things mostly. It helps them get excited while also being able to see how much time is left.

 

[Riles330]

We waited til the day we left to avoid the countdown!!

 

[tinkerjo]

I have never understood why people wait to tell their kids about big events. My brother and his family do it for everything!!! Even though it may be kind of a pain to explain often that we still have to wait, I feel it’s a good learning tool. They also need to learn timeframes and how to be patient. (even if they are young, have developmental delays or BH issues) It’s also important to let them have some say in the plans, what parks to go to and what rides they might want to go on. 1/2 of our fun is in the planning, and it can be for them too. I feel the big surprises put them in overload and they also expect every big event to be a surprise. Give them some credit. They can handle it.