Creative Minds - Disney World "Gift"

odusgolp
odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
Hey creative people...

My family is taking a trip to Disney in 2014. It's still in the planning phase, but certain things have already been purchased. Anyhow, we'd like to reveal to the kids on Christmas that we'll be going.

Any creative ideas for a gift they can open to get them excited & fill them in that we're going?

Kids are 5 & 7...
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Replies

  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Would they be up for costumes to wear in the park?

    How about a personal invitation from Micky or something?
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    Mickey/Minnie ornaments with a note saying "I can't wait to meet you next year!"
  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
    A signed letter from one of the characters would be awesome...

    Maybe a bunch of the shows on DVD so they can watch them.

    Mickey mouse hats?
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    Would they be up for costumes to wear in the park?

    How about a personal invitation from Micky or something?

    Nope. My kid is officially "too cool for that." :P

    Invites we can easily do.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    A signed letter from one of the characters would be awesome...

    Maybe a bunch of the shows on DVD so they can watch them.

    Mickey mouse hats?

    Shouldn't you be wearing your glove before handling those donuts??


    Sorry... off topic...
  • Vain_Witch
    Vain_Witch Posts: 476 Member
    My dad gave us Disney for Christmas last year. He sent my daughter a printed out brochure of the parks and the resort we were staying at and turned it into a book called Bella's Trip to Disney with the date on it. She loved it because she got to keep looking at it over and over to decide what she wanted to see most. :smile:
  • kowajenn
    kowajenn Posts: 274 Member
    Duh, personalized mouse ears!
  • homerjspartan
    homerjspartan Posts: 1,893 Member
    I bought the 3 kids, at the time 10,7,4, each their favorite character stuffed animal, told them this was their only present this year, and had them open it from youngest to oldest. When the oldest opened his also had a letter at the bottom which was the welcome letter from DisneyWorld from the booking.

    He read it aloud.

    There was screaming.

    And crying.

    And most of it was me.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    I bought the 3 kids, at the time 10,7,4, each their favorite character stuffed animal, told them this was their only present this year, and had them open it from youngest to oldest. When the oldest opened his also had a letter at the bottom which was the welcome letter from DisneyWorld from the booking.

    He read it aloud.

    There was screaming.

    And crying.

    And most of it was me.

    Of COURSE it was you *LOL* Well done, Homer ;)
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
    I bought the 3 kids, at the time 10,7,4, each their favorite character stuffed animal, told them this was their only present this year, and had them open it from youngest to oldest. When the oldest opened his also had a letter at the bottom which was the welcome letter from DisneyWorld from the booking.

    He read it aloud.

    There was screaming.

    And crying.

    And most of it was me.

    I LOVE this

    and you Homer

    :heart:
  • gymboreejunkie
    gymboreejunkie Posts: 25 Member
    I wrote a poem to my kids and had my son (who is older) read it to my daughter.

    A Wonderful surprise
    is only moments away
    keeping it a secret
    wasn’t easy

    Mommy and Daddy
    love you so...
    And we know where
    you always ask to go

    Our coach is ready,
    so hurry, get dressed...
    We’re visiting Mickey, Minnie
    and all of the rest.

    Where the magic never ends
    Oh what sights you will see!
    ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’
    You can only be at Disney!

    You can order FREE personalized maps from disney (not sure if you'll get them in time), but it will have your family name on it and pinpoint all the rides you want to go on. That would be nice to include as well.

    Have a wonderful time! :)
  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
    A signed letter from one of the characters would be awesome...

    Maybe a bunch of the shows on DVD so they can watch them.

    Mickey mouse hats?

    Shouldn't you be wearing your glove before handling those donuts??


    Sorry... off topic...

    I only wear a glove when I don't know the donuts personally...
  • Miss_Meliss86
    Miss_Meliss86 Posts: 372 Member
    I bought the 3 kids, at the time 10,7,4, each their favorite character stuffed animal, told them this was their only present this year, and had them open it from youngest to oldest. When the oldest opened his also had a letter at the bottom which was the welcome letter from DisneyWorld from the booking.

    He read it aloud.

    There was screaming.

    And crying.

    And most of it was me.

    OMG cutest thing EVER
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    I wrote a poem to my kids and had my son (who is older) read it to my daughter.

    A Wonderful surprise
    is only moments away
    keeping it a secret
    wasn’t easy

    Mommy and Daddy
    love you so...
    And we know where
    you always ask to go

    Our coach is ready,
    so hurry, get dressed...
    We’re visiting Mickey, Minnie
    and all of the rest.

    Where the magic never ends
    Oh what sights you will see!
    ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’
    You can only be at Disney!

    You can order FREE personalized maps from disney (not sure if you'll get them in time), but it will have your family name on it and pinpoint all the rides you want to go on. That would be nice to include as well.

    Have a wonderful time! :)


    Awesome! Well done ;)
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    Mickey/Minnie ornaments with a note saying "I can't wait to meet you next year!"

    I like this one, or something along those lines. And I liked Homer's, too. I'm drawing a complete blank. My imagination took a hike.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    A signed letter from one of the characters would be awesome...

    Maybe a bunch of the shows on DVD so they can watch them.

    Mickey mouse hats?

    Shouldn't you be wearing your glove before handling those donuts??


    Sorry... off topic...

    I only wear a glove when I don't know the donuts personally...

    Safety first!
  • gymboreejunkie
    gymboreejunkie Posts: 25 Member
    Sorry, one more idea because we are taking our kids to Disney next year as well...

    Shutterfly is offering free 8"x10" personalized calendars. Have it printed with the date you're leaving with a picture of the magic kingdom on the date.

    That way they have the calendar and can count the days until you go. That's what we're going to do. :)
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    Sorry, one more idea because we are taking our kids to Disney next year as well...

    Shutterfly is offering free 8"x10" personalized calendars. Have it printed with the date you're leaving with a picture of the magic kingdom on the date.

    That way they have the calendar and can count the days until you go. That's what we're going to do. :)

    You are GOOD!!!
  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
    A signed letter from one of the characters would be awesome...

    Maybe a bunch of the shows on DVD so they can watch them.

    Mickey mouse hats?

    Shouldn't you be wearing your glove before handling those donuts??


    Sorry... off topic...

    I only wear a glove when I don't know the donuts personally...

    Safety first!

    Too many sloots... :laugh:
  • Cliffslosinit
    Cliffslosinit Posts: 5,044 Member
    Contact Disney World see if they will call Christmas morning with a personal invite.
  • jojopel
    jojopel Posts: 348 Member
    My kids were tweens when we told them at Christmas that we were going to Disney. My husband and I organized a treasure hunt which eventually led them to a suitcase which contained Disney flyers. Took them a few minutes to fully catch on, but the screams! :laugh:
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    Personalized printed tshirts? _______ Family Vacation 2014 type of deal?
  • samammay
    samammay Posts: 468
    I dont know if the parks will do it, but with the cruise line, you can have one of the characters call with a recorded mesage.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    Sorry, one more idea because we are taking our kids to Disney next year as well...

    Shutterfly is offering free 8"x10" personalized calendars. Have it printed with the date you're leaving with a picture of the magic kingdom on the date.

    That way they have the calendar and can count the days until you go. That's what we're going to do. :)

    was gonna suggest calendars, then saw this. So, yeah. ^^^ this.
  • phyl303
    phyl303 Posts: 74 Member
    Mickey/Minnie ornaments with a note saying "I can't wait to meet you next year!"

    That's my favorite so far.

    When mine were that age we took that trip but didn't bundle the announcement at Christmas. But we did two things I recommend:

    1. we bought them clear plastic piggybanks which they decorated with Disney themes of their choice. They were encouraged to save their own money to buy extras at the parks. We helped by promising to double their savings when the trip started. This helped them channel there anticipation and encouraged goal oriented savings. Also, we found they made better purchasing decisions since it was their own money and they understood the limits.

    2 we bought them simple scrapbook/photo albums. We saved brochures and such for them to use to cut and paste along with their photos once we were back home.

    I also highly recommend the land/sea cruise package. I was leery due to their ages but they enjoyed the cruise as much if not more than the parks. Disney knows their customer base and are really on their game.
  • RunWinterGarden
    RunWinterGarden Posts: 428 Member
    Complete the Customized Maps and have them open that

    http://customizedmaps.disney.go.com
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    My kids were tweens when we told them at Christmas that we were going to Disney. My husband and I organized a treasure hunt which eventually led them to a suitcase which contained Disney flyers. Took them a few minutes to fully catch on, but the screams! :laugh:

    I like it!
  • tomomatic
    tomomatic Posts: 1,794 Member
    Bake a cake. Insert figurines into cake. Cover with frosting or whipped cream. Tell them that the surprise is in the cake and let them tear it apart. Underneath the cake, leave a piece of paper that says "We're going to Disney World!"

    You could try this with layers and layers of gift wraps and boxes and let them put the clues together like a puzzle.

    btw, I like the personalized ears idea, too!
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member



    1. we bought them clear plastic piggybanks which they decorated with Disney themes of their choice. They were encouraged to save their own money to buy extras at the parks. We helped by promising to double their savings when the trip started. This helped them channel there anticipation and encouraged goal oriented savings. Also, we found they made better purchasing decisions since it was their own money and they understood the limits.

    Totally want to hug the *kitten* out of you for this one.

    219-hug.gif
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    Bake a cake. Insert figurines into cake. Cover with frosting or whipped cream. Tell them that the surprise is in the cake and let them tear it apart. Underneath the cake, leave a piece of paper that says "We're going to Disney World!"

    You could try this with layers and layers of gift wraps and boxes and let them put the clues together like a puzzle.

    btw, I like the personalized ears idea, too!

    Nice Tom!