We did a 20-week (Eek! I know) movie countdown for my kids' first trip. It was 1 movie a week with a themed activity, snack, or meal to go along with it. I planned it out so that on busy weeks, it was simple stuff, and on less busy times, we could do more. Alice in Wonderland = our own tea party. But Brave was a busy week, so we just had gummy bears and popcorn while we watched. Swiss Family Robinson = "Coconut bomb" (water balloon) fight. The kids thought it was awesome.
We also did a countdown calendar for the last week. I didn't think I could keep up with it any longer than that.
I also had my son watch ride videos. He'd never been on big rides before, and he's my cautious kid. I knew that if he knew what to expect, he would be fine. So we watched the videos and talked about how it's pretend and even if it's dark, it's ok, etc. And he LOVED them - even rode Space, Dinosaur, and EE. He's looking forward to them all again next trip.
This trip, we're doing the movie countdown again - at their request. I'm also allowing them (they're almost 8 and 4) to earn extra "Disney Dollars" to spend at the parks since they have to spend their own $ on the stuff they want. And we'll be watching ride videos with the 4 year-old since she was too short to ride last time. At the rate she's growing, she may be tall enough to ride Space. Ha!