Shortly after discovering that our family was going on a trip to the happiest place on Earth, Jason and I started making plans to surprise our two girls.

We came up with some pretty elaborate schemes one evening while Molly, 7, and Zoe, 5, were sound asleep — everything from waking them up the day of our vacation to see us dressed as Disney characters and serving them Mickey Mouse pancakes, topped with fruit smiles and butter bow-ties, to telling them we were all going to get our flu shots en route to the airport.

Okay, the latter would have been a pretty mean trick, and the whole waking up at 4 a.m. to put on a princess dress and makeup seemed like way too much work.

Instead we kept it simple AND sneaky.

I’ll tell you how it unfolded, but first — the lead-up.

The downside to doing a big Disneyland surprise trip, which is super popular these days  (just visit Youtube for the countless videos), is not being able to count down the days and enjoy all the pre-excitement with your kids. It can also be tough to keep such a big juicy secret.

However, we found a way around this since our girls are still so young.

“If we were to ever go to Disneyland, which rides would you want to go on first?” I asked them one night at dinner (just a few days before the big reveal).

[button link=”https://disneyland.disney.go.com/tickets/?multiAffls=CANADA_RESIDENT” color=”red”] See Disneyland Deal for Canadians [/button]

“ALL OF THEM,” they both said in unison, dropping their forks filled with spaghetti to tell us which ones they had seen on Youtube and which they thought was the coolest.

After dishes and cleanup, we all viewed some of the rides online together as a family.

“Wow, it looks so beautiful during the holiday season… would be a dream to visit Disneyland around Christmas,” I said, avoiding eye contact with my wee ladies.

Neither seemed to clue in.

“Will we ever get to go Mum?” asked Molly, raising an inquisitive little eyebrow. “Everyone in my class has gone but me.”

Do you know how hard it was not to reveal our secret then and there???

Fastforward to the surprise.

Jason came up with the idea of telling our girls that Mommy had to go on an airplane to Calgary for work. Grandma would be picking us all up to say goodbye to me at the airport.

Both girls were pretty down about me leaving for two nights, but I knew it would all be worth it to see their little faces when we broke the news.

What they didn’t realize was that the car was already packed with their little Hello Kitty Suitcases, plenty of sunscreen and passes to Disneyland.

Grandma was fantastic at playing along, telling the girls she’d have them for a movie night — she even asked them what they wanted on their pizza for dinner that night.

“Okay, follow Grandma and Mommy into the airport, I just have to pay for parking,” said Jason, trying his best to wipe off a big goofy grin.

It was 5 a.m. so the girls were still pretty groggy and clueless. But that wouldn’t last.

As Daddy came rolling up with their suitcases, they looked pretty confused. In fact, it took a good hour for the news to sink in, which is why they seemed so puzzled in the video. I could explain what happened…. or, you could view it for yourself.

Check it out.

I’m so glad we caught that moment on camera and that our surprise went off without a hitch.

Make sure to visit the blog again soon for our mini holiday Disney series. I’ll tell you about the highlights of our trip during the holiday season, some of the best spots to grab a bite to eat, how many time Disneyland made me cry and more.

Their first flight. They were so excited that they held hands the whole time.

But first, I’m going to tell you (sorry, Canadians only) how to save on your family’s Disneyland vacation.

There’s currently a special discount that’s exclusive to Canadians that runs until Feb. 28, 2017.. Experience more magic for less with special savings on multi-day tickets and upgrades to Park Hopper tickets — all with Magic Morning early access (Magic Mornings are the absolute best). Save 25% on 3-Day or Longer Tickets and Enjoy More of the Disneyland Resort.

Disclaimer: While costs for my Disneyland trip were covered, we still had to pay for flights for Jason and the girls. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.thevalleymom.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/AB0_0175.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]One of Vancouver’s top Mommy Bloggers, Kristyl Clark resides in the beautiful Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada surrounded by lush countryside, urban shopping centers, wineries and parks. This work-at-home mom of two little Valley girls is proving there is nothing bland about the burbs. This adventurous family seems to always be out on some sort of crazy quest, from helicopter rides and wild river rafting, to top-secret paranormal investigations and living the high-life sampling the fine wines and foods of the Fraser Valley region. Kristyl also publishes a monthly column in Black Press publications throughout Metro Vancouver titled ‘Pink Laundry’. The ValleyMom.ca blog inspires her loyal fanbase through the trials and tribulations of suburban family living, guiding readers to local hotspots and hidden gems in her Canadian backyard.[/author_info] [/author]

Valley Mom