Tips for a Disney surprise

Is this someone a child? Adult/ have they ever been there before? I need some information first!

I'd want to know more, too, but while I don't, I'll say that I would definitely try to figure out what hotel they'd like best. That's huge!

Also, get some trustworthy friends in on the surprise so that you have helpers when you need them (to keep the "someone" busy if necessary!).

I'm assuming it's an Adult since it was Life is for Living who started the idea, but there's got to be a lot of fun ideas for surprising kids too. What do you think is the longest you can keep them in the dark? Is there any way to fly them somewhere without them knowing where they're going? Unless you turn their I-Pod way up they're probably going to hear on the plane where they're going.

For me, the important part is really focusing on the 'surprisee'. A lot of times, people get so mired in finding the "biggest and best" things to do, they forget to consider what might be best for that particular person. One of the hardest things I've found is keeping it from them for long periods of time (especially if they're real savvy:) ). I do manage to keep my sweetie in the dark though, until we're there often times. That said, I'm not sure how feasible a mystery plane trip would be. I think there are ways you could pull it off, but that would be a huge undertaking. What I would do in that case, is convince the person you were going to that area for something entirely different. Like maybe a ho-hum business trip. If that's not an option (because the you/they don't take business trips), see if you can't find something entirely different in FL. Maybe fly into an airport other than MCO, then drive to the World.

That's a great idea; especially if you're going to be renting a car anyway

That is brilliant. I never would have thought of that.

A lady I work with and her sister took their two kids on a Disney Cruise a couple of years ago. Both kids were about 7 at the time.

They told them they were going to the lake for a long weekend, and they didn't know they were flying until the morning of the trip.

Likewise, they didn't tell them about the cruise until they actually got on the shuttle bus to Canaveral.

I think I get my pension for things like this from my mom. I remember her doing things like this for us when we were kids. Wasn't often because she's always worked two jobs. I remember times when she had to take off a day of work for a doctor's appointment or something, and would call in sick to our school so she could take us somewhere fun (because she wouldn't be able to on the weekend). So, most of my sick days as a youngster were spent at the arcade or some such:)

p.s. I still did quite well in school, and this was only before school became more important as we got older.

That sounds really fun LifeIsForLiving. It's interesting how much things like that stick out in your memory. Neither of you probably thought it was "important" at the time, but now they're fond and vivid memories.

Yeah, my mom did a lot of things like that. She always went out of her way to show us the value of fun. We only had one parent growing up, but I feel like we were really blessed. I couldn't have asked for more.

What a great lesson to share with your kiddos!

My mom always stressed that we take "mental health days" when we were in school. Made a big impression on me as it really made me think whether or not I NEEDED a day off.

Great idea!

You could even plan some kind of first day Tampa event to throw them off the trail.

There you go, you guys are on the right track! Sometimes it's best to not even let on that there is a "surprise" coming. There are various ways to achieve this, but one simple one is to 'get lost' or take a 'wrong turn' and end up at your surprise. Would be harder with WDW given all the signage, but it could be done. There are lots of other things to do and places to go in close proximity, so you could get close then 'whoops' into the World. The purpose of all of this is to keep the surprisee from expecting anything. Surprises lose some of their effect when they have a good idea what you're up to.
Best part about big surprises like this is that they take a lot of planning on your part. That means, if you've done a good job of keeping the surprisee in the dark, they won't be expecting any 'spur of the moment' suprises.

Speaking of the dark! That's a great way to "take a wrong turn" in Orlando! I've gotten mega-lost in the dark...you could easily end up on Disney property.

Also, I have to say, revealing the surprise by driving through those big purple gates would be great!

Yep, to me that's the perfect outcome for a surprise; when they don't know they're going...until they're there!

You can pull it off, will just take a bit more work.

Maybe you can pay off the pilot and all the passengers to pretend you're going to Atlanta or Charlotte or something!

Seriously, though, surprises are so much fun. DW and I are AWFUL at them, though. We always end up too excited and spilling the beans.

I think that might not go over too well with the other passengers.

Maybe you could just blindfold them and make them listen to their Ipod.