I spent a lot of time planning our surprise Disney vacation. Maybe too much time. Especially since a lot of our plans weren’t realized due to time constraints of the trip being a surprise…which meant no working on Disney projects when the oldest was home!
That being said, I really wanted to continue the element of surprise while we were at Disney World. Once the kids found out that we were going they had no clue about any of the details. Well, except for where we were staying because we spilled the beans later that night of the video. I had three things I wanted to surprise the kids with while we were at Disney: welcome gifts, dining
Dining & Illuminations Invite
reservations and our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tickets.
Thanks to my friends at the Dis boards I was able to easily surprise the kids with the Dining reservations. Kind souls created invites for me for each dining reservation we had except for my birthday date night dinner. They were phenomenal and so much fun. Each morning the kids opened the dining invitations for that day. I had quite a few, but I’ll share one just for fun!
Festive & fun Christmas Party Invite!
Marion at the Disboards made license plate stroller tags for me and also made our MVMCP invite. It was so fun, even if it may have used the last of my green ink! I cannot express how grateful I am for the extra pixie dust that these ladies sprinkled on our trip!
Easy & fun way to identify our stroller
Last, but not least, are our welcome gifts! I have received so many questions about these and am more than happy to share! I had been inspired by Pinterest and creating them was very simple.
First, I bought red, $1 buckets at Michaels. I made these over the summer so the pails were easy to find, but red seemed a harder color than bright summer ones. Second, I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the Mickey heads and the boys names onto adhesive vinyl. I then transferred these to the buckets so that they were labeled for each boy. (If you don’t have a Silhouette or a Cricut you could go to any place that makes vinyl transfers for you to put them on a bucket, etc…or ask your travel agent for help!) Super easy, fairly quick and since I own the Cameo, relatively cheap!
Welcome letters for each boy
Last, I filled them with goodies for the boys to use during their trip including home-made autograph books, Mickey light-up spinners, water toys for the pool, coloring packets, temporary tattoos and other goodies. I found most of these items at the Dollar Store. For a buck it was easy to fill the buckets. The autograph books took a lot of time and love. The Mickey spinners, which are available at the parks, were purchased in advance through the Disney store online when they had a sale on Disney Parks merchandise. Oh, and I can’t forget the fabulous Welcome letter by Marion on the Disboards!
Don’t have the time to put a gift together yourself? You can always seek the help of Disney Florist. For a fee they will come in and leave a gift, decorate a room for an occasion and leave magic waiting for you when you return to your room! They do a fabulous job, I just prefer to add the personal touches and do it myself! (Plus, it’s a little easier on my pocketbook!)
Have you surprised your kids or partner with a trip or special gift? What did you find was the best surprise they received? Share your stories with us by leaving a comment below!
And remember, we’re happy to help you plan a magical vacation and the perfect surprise! You can find us on Facebook or by emailing us at gretchen@destinationsinflorida.com! Have a magical day!
You could even add in games and activities if you wanted. (With a toddler there is only so much I can do, but I hope to incorporate games/activities beyond coloring sheets as he gets older!)![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AHRmZJP8e2I/UFfCoL_GfII/AAAAAAAADgo/ljR6xsQuV6I/s1600/Tiggerific+Tuesday+Trivia.jpg" /></a> "Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia")
Ginger & The Three Bears 