Need advice- announcing pregnancy at Disney/logistics

[Lilylogan]

Here's my plan - we have a 6 and 2 year old and I'm 11 weeks pregnant (they don't know yet). We are going to WDW in a month as a surprise to our kids (one last vacation for awhile with the kids since we'll wait a year or two before the new baby can go).

None of the grandparents know we are expecting so I was planning to get a picture of all of us in front of Cinderella's castle on our first MK day with the girls in mouse ears and I'll hold a baby size pair in front of my belly. Then we are going to text the photo to the grandparents saying check out our family vacation photo etc.

So when should we tell our kids though? I think they should know before the photo because the MK is overwhelming as it is. Would you tell them a few days prior? I'm scared the grandparents will call or stop by to say goodbye before the trip and my 6 year old won't be able to keep the secret. Or she might be overwhelmed finding out she's having a new sibling then a surprise disney trip the next day. What would you do??

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'd be really tempted to stage the picture (with the photographer clued in) so that you pull the ears out after the girls are posed, he takes one shot, then asks "Hey, what are those?" and captures your six-year-old's reaction as she sees the ears and figures it out!

But if you do think that would be too much for her, why not make the ear shot the last day picture you send to your folks, instead of the first day? - kind of "Oh, here's one more shot we thought you'd like." That way you can tell the girls at a quieter moment during the trip, when you think it's the best time.

 

[Hikergirl]

I have no advice because I'm not good at that kind of stuff but wanted to say Congrats!!

 

[Penmac]

So cute! Congrats! Kids move on quickly. I bet if you told your daughter the night before you left she would calm down enough from the excitement to still be super excited about Disney the next day. Alternately, you could come up with a cute way to share the news with your daughter before you snap the photo. Maybe take her to buy a cute Disney onsie or even those baby mickey ears in one of the Disney gift shops and then tell her.

Not sure if you have ever been to WDW pregnant, but if not, Disney World is very maternity-friendly! I was 6 months pregnant with my now almost 2 year old when we went for the first time with the kids. That is one of the things I love about WDW. They think of everything!!

 

[keepswimming76]

I would tell the girls before the photo so they have time to process it.

I like your idea with the ears. It would also be cute to wear a shirt that says, "Future Musketeer," or something like that with an arrow pointed at your belly.

 

[MissMet]

Congrats! I was planning to surprise my husband at WDW with the news. I decided to order a specialty cake with a fondant mickey ears hat on top & instead of having his name on the back I was going to have it say "daddy". You could do something like that. Or if you're thinking of doing the picture before a meal, then take them to them to get personalized mickey ear hats "for the picture" & have them write "big brother" or "big sister" on their hats rather than their names. Then they'll find out the news during the excitement of getting the ears hats AND you'll have more props for pictures.

 

[bellasmomRN]

I got my kids "I'm celebrating" buttons with big sister and big brother written on there. Also got my husband one, and they wrote "we're pregnant" on there. We were having our pictures taken by a memory pass photographer (who was in on the surprise) and I gave the buttons to my husband first (he didn't know yet, I had just found that morning). I love that we have pictures of all their reactions (including my oldest being a little grumpy about it)

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

How exciting. We announced our pregnancy with mouse ears by the wishing well at the castle with the tagline "Wishes really do come true". It's such a special memory. Maybe you could tell the kids on the airplane/car? This way it's something fun to talk about on the way to Disney but you won't have to worry about them spilling the beans. I am sure whatever you decide will work out fine. Congratulations!