I think most parents have entertained the fantasy of surprising their kids with a trip to Disneyland and catching the magic and joy on their faces as the surprise is revealed. There’s no shortage of glee-filled Disney reveals on Youtube . . . and I’ve loved watching the creative ways parents have told their kids of a Disney trip. But while happy footage abounds, I also stumbled upon a few clips of the darker side of the Disneyland surprise: the epic fail of disappointed kids. Sometimes, as things involving small children are apt to do, best-laid plans go awry, and the reaction is a little less joy and a bit more tears than one might expect.
Below are some of the most epic surprise fails I found on YouTube. I’m compiling them for three reasons: 1) They are hilarious, 2) They are a cautionary tale of how not to stage a surprise, and 3) They provide the schaudenfraude of knowing that my kids are not the only children who have completely unreasonable and ungrateful moments. It’s possible that I laughed a little too hard at these:
So . . . in review: best not to surprise the child en-route, or to hatch a plan that you suddenly change. But help me out, here. I need some ideas. How should I surprise my own four kids?
