Hey fellow Canadian! 3-year-old twins -wow, that's busy, I'm sure.
There were a few Pixar characters, as I recall (we were boycotting all characters, regardless of origin...) - Buzz & Woody for sure. I don't remember anyone from Monster's Inc, but there is the Monster's Inc room in the club.
As for flights - Conor is, um, well-traveled, to put it mildly (he's at trip number 14 this weekend coming up). He's quite used to planes. Age 3 was not bad at all for flying (way better than age 2) - mostly because by then he was old enough to be amused at his seat - coloring, Playdoh (yes, you can bring it on planes), Hotwheels, and of course a fully-loaded IPad (games and shows). He views flights as one of the few times he is actively allowed and encouraged to watch TV, so he loves them.
My flight tips with kiddos:
A) Pack your own food and do not assume you'll be fed on the flight- we once got stuck with turbulence during the entire flight, so there was no in-flight service. I was very glad for the food I packed. Ditto for drinks - I bring empty sippy cups through security then immediately fill them up. On return flights, this usually means we buy food at the airport to bring on the plane.
B) Have extra clothes for all ... including yourself. Conor used to get airsick, and he always managed to cover me.
C) Novelty is your friend - I stock up on a whole bunch of new stuff - not expensive, just new to Conor. Favourites at age 3 - AquaDoodle travel size, Crayola Colour Wonder stuff (no staining), new books, Hotwheels, stickers, etc. Then, I loaded up the IPad with new games (I can provide recommendations if you have one) and new episodes of his favourite shows.
D) We love the CARES harness when we don't need a car seat at the other end. It keeps him contained. We've not used a car seat on flights, but I think that would work too.
E) Use their "baggie" allowance for stuff you will need for them (sound obvious) - but I always have Kids' Advil, Tylenol, Gravol, Benadryl on hand, with a syringe, and I calculate doses before we leave - we've only ever needed the Gravol, but I feel better!
Many bandaids are also on stand-by.
F) Layers are your friend when going from Canadian climes to Southern temperatures. Overheating on the plane = airsickness for us in the old days, so I make sure his final layer is a light-weight T-shirt and lightweight pants.
Hope that helps!
Conor was definitely not the youngest in the club at age 4.5. He loved it. Only once did he complain about an older kid- and then we realized, when he pointed the child out later, that the boy had special needs and was quite a bit older (9?). He told us the boy pushed him, but the "teachers" stopped him and took him away, so they were obviously watching. Mostly, when I went in to get him, the kids were all under 6, I would say. He never went over the the Lab side of things.
The pool was closed once- Conor was in it (he didn't cause it!) and they got folks out quickly. It might have been closed other times, but we didn't notice.
What flights do you have? I might have other thoughts when I know times/durations, etc.
Transatlantic sounds fun!