french speaking kids in WDW

[lynypixie]

Anyone else here have french speaking kids?
While my husband and I have no trouble understanding and speaking english, my kids don't speak a word of it yet.

I was wondering how well they will be able to enjoy the rides. We already ruled out some attractions, like Monster inc Laugh floor, because it just won't make any sense for them.

Any tricks to help them cope with the language barrier?

 

[thebigman65]

Anyone else here have french speaking kids?
While my husband and I have no trouble understanding and speaking english, my kids don't speak a word of it yet.

I was wondering how well they will be able to enjoy the rides. We already ruled out some attractions, like Monster inc Laugh floor, because it just won't make any sense for them.

Any tricks to help them cope with the language barrier?

I would suggest trying to go on rides where you can all go on so that you can translate.....there is not much in the way of french being spoken or understood unless you are in France at Epcot....Bilingual in Central Florida is English and Spanish....having said all this, I don't think you will have many issues...there are lots of signs and you can explain things to them as they are waiting for rides.....IMHO kids are much quicker to pick up on things than Adults...even if it is in a different language....I hope you have a great trip!!

 

[disneyfreak89]

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[2gr8DisneyKids]

We are from the US, but live in Montreal and Dh and the kids are bilingual. For the most part you will have no issues with the rides, only things like the shows (laugh floor, Nemo show in AK, Beauty and the Beast show in DHS, etc.) are really going to be a challenge.

Make sure to take a peak at the name tags of the CM's as their languages will be listed on their name tags as well as the city/country they are from. We have actually found French speaking CM's scattered around the whole park including gift shops and restaurants.

We go nearly every March Break and joke that half of QC came along with us! Have a great trip and enjoy the new AOA rooms!

 

[lynypixie]

My kids will get bilingual eventualy, especialy as we live in a bilingual town (Greenfield Park), but they are not there yet.

I hope my eldest will be able to grab some english by then, as they are only 3 french beavers in his scout group.

 

[2gr8DisneyKids]

My kids will get bilingual eventualy, especialy as we live in a bilingual town (Greenfield Park), but they are not there yet.

I hope my eldest will be able to grab some english by then, as they are only 3 french beavers in his scout group.

Gymnastics is what really helped my DD with French... and it is much more my DS (9) and DH who are the bilingual ones, DD and I are still working on it.

I forgot to mention that there are maps and timetables in lots of different languages at the entrance to each park.

 

[lynypixie]

Maps don't bother us, we're almost fluent in english (I do have a huge accent, but at least I make myself understood).

One thing that makes me nervous is the names of the caracters. Snow white is Blanche-Neige, here. I wonder if the princesses have learned a few of their translated names. They must have heard it more than once, Québec is an important part of Floridian tourism.

 

[2gr8DisneyKids]

I am sure they have heard them, but may not react to them. Only the princess type characters speak, if they have a character head (ie Mickey) they do not speak.

Overall I am sure they will be fine as they do have you guys and there is not usually a ton of interacting with the characters unless you are a t a character meal.

 

[thehowells]

i saw something neat on my last trip. there was a young boy, 4 or 5 also french, his parents had given him one of the luggage tags, and put a note inside of it, which explained they he spoke no english, and listed his emergency info, just in case something happened

 

[FrenchSnowWhite]

First time we went to Disney our kids were 5, 5 & 8. They did not understand or speak english at all.

First princesses was a bit weird because they spoke english and my girls did not understand a thing, but my kids were so impressed that it was not a problem at all

 

[2inlovewithDisney]

My friend went last year and none of them spoke english very well. Her husband understands, but speaks in broken english. They did fine and enjoyed themselves.

The kids didn't seem to mind that they could not communicate with the princesses. I guess they were in awe!

I guess love can be translated without words!

 

[dontthrowsand]

My family friends were in the same boat, they used as a good time to start teaching some English to their kids. They introduced everything in both languages to their kids and the kids thought it was so cool. The few rides that have storylines playing like Nemo or Winnie the Pooh are mesmerizing even without listening to the story.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

My last WDW trip was with multi-family group from Ottawa. Two of the four families spoke French at home. Everyone was fluent in English, and had no problem navigating the parks and enjoying the attractions, but unfortunately, the Disney Princesses do not speak or write in French. We had a couple disappointed girls who didn't quite understand why "Cendrillon" signed "Cinderella" (doesn't she know how to spell her name?) and didn't speak French like she did in the movies. This issue bothered the parents more than the kids, but really, what could Disney do?

I've also visited Tokyo Disneyland with a family whose 8-year-old daughter didn't speak much English. There's less French there than in Florida, so the shows were virtually incomprehensible to her. But she still had a great time, especially on the rides. I've never seen anyone smile bigger on Splash Mountain.

Disneyland Paris is interesting because many attractions are bilingual (French / English), and a few shows are French-only. Trying to sing along with Pirates of the Caribbean was impossible because they would switch between English and French every other verse.

 

[joanjett1976]

Does anyone if they still offer the red headphones? These used to be available at guest services and offer translation in the language of your choice for certain attractions. http://www.wdwinfo.com/languagetranslation.htm

 

[Glennie5]

I just wanted to say I hope you all have a great trip and even with the language barrier your kids will be sure to love it.