Hiya Beth,
Welcome to planDisney! I am so excited to help you with this magical surprise. I’ve always said that although I’m not a fan of surprises, I love to coordinate them! Each Walt Disney World Resort Collection Hotel is unique in its own way, so I’m sure whichever one you surprise your children with, they will love. One of my new favorites is
Disney’s Riviera Resort; it’s breathtaking, and the access to the
Disney Skyliner makes it a breeze to get to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
As you mentioned, if you aren’t careful, your surprise can be ruined a little early if your children happen to take a peek at their
My Disney Experience account. Luckily, a little trick can help you a lot in this instance. Before you book the resorts, log in to your My Disney Experience account and locate your Family and Friends list. Once you do that, it will show you a list of all the individuals on your list, including your children. Next to your children’s names, you should see an option to “Update.” Click it, and where it says “Choose Which Plans and Photos, “Their Name” Can Access,” make sure that “Only Our Shared Plans” is noted. If you do this, only plans to which you have added their names will show up, not your secret reservations. Then once you are ready to reveal the surprise, assign the reservations to them, and they will be able to see the itinerary items that you have set them to.
I hope this was helpful, Beth! I know your children are going to have such an incredible vacation! Let me know if there is any way else I can help.
Happy Planning,
Ashley F.