When our family isn’t at Walt Disney World, we spend a lot of time thinking about being there. We even have a collection of favorite Disney YouTube vloggers that we watch regularly. They allow us to visit vicariously.

Last night, two of our favorite vloggers shared an incredibly sweet video of their infant son’s first trip to the Magic Kingdom. It was heartwarming to see his wide eyed response to the park’s brilliant colors. When he met Mickey Mouse for the first time, my eyes may have even got a little sweaty.

It got me thinking about our kids’ first trip to the park, which then led to the memory of my own.

Growing up, my Dad was (and still is) an airline pilot. One year, near my birthday, my parents told me that we were going to drive my Dad to the airport for a trip he was taking. We’d never done that before, but I didn’t think anything of it. Apparently I was a pretty trusting kid, and not particularly observant either. My parents must have loaded all the luggage into the car while I wasn’t looking, because I never saw it. I have no idea how I missed it when we got to the airport.

Once there, my Dad asked if I wanted to take a look inside the plane he was flying. I excitedly said yes, and he walked me onboard. My Mom then suggested we sit down in one of the chairs, just for fun. The next thing I knew, the plane was taxiing down the runway.

“Oh no!” my mom said. “The plane is moving! What are we going to do?”

“I guess I’m going to have to miss school,” I said.

“Yep,” my mom replied. “We already arranged it with your teacher. We’re going to Walt Disney World.”

Some thirty years later, I can still remember the excitement I felt when I heard those words.

My wife and I decided that we wanted to create a similar experience for our kids’ first trip. I’m not a pilot, so it wouldn’t be quite the same. We came up with an alternate plan.

Our kiddos’ birthdays are approximately a week apart. We decided to plan a joint birthday for them. Our son was turning seven and our daughter was turning one. Our oldest had been asking when we’d finally be able to go to the parks, and we told him it wouldn’t be until the next fall.

The party theme was a carnival, complete with carnival games. After the kids played each game, they won tickets that they could exchange for prizes at the end of the party. Most of the prizes were little trinkets and toys, but the last was the “grand prize.” We took their tickets, counted them up, and let them know that they had just enough to win it. We then handed them a backpack. Inside was a box with our Magic Bands in it.

“Do you know what those are?” we asked. “They’re our tickets to get into Walt Disney World. We’ve leaving tomorrow!”

In the car the next morning, our son was staring out the window when he turned to us with an accusing look.

“You guys said we couldn’t go until the fall,” he said. “You LIED!”

Fortunately, he’d forgiven us by the time we reached the “Walt Disney World: Where Dreams Come True” sign.

The trip was magical (as you would expect), and the kids loved every second. Who knows, maybe one of them will carry on the tradition of the birthday surprise trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth?

I’d love to hear memories of your first trip to the parks, or your families first trip. Share them in the comments!