Tips before trip

[nd2fl]

My first post! I've gotten a lot of good information here the last couple weeks as we plan our trip.

We are leaving in one month and only going for three days while my husband is at a conference. We are taking our four-year-old with us. I've been to Disney World multiple times growing up but this is the first time as a parent. We haven't told our daughter yet and I don't think I can wait much longer

 

[Happyjen27]

I would tell her now. Especially if you're traveling by air.

For our first trip my twins were 5, we told our pair about 6 months before.

We had been on a few car trips, and hit up some local amusement parks, so they knew about hotels, rides, lines, etc.

We watched movies, the DisneyWorld Planning DVD, and some youtube videos of some of the rides that were "iffy" like haunted mansion, so they could feel them out and see if they wanted to try them.

For our second trip, we told them about 2 hours before we were to be in the air, it was a fantastic surprise, but, I wouldn't have wanted to surprise them on the 1st trip. They would have had no idea what was in store for them, and wouldn't have known the amazing things to be excited about.

 

[MandiC]

I think a month in advance is kind of perfect. Enough time to talk about traveling (by air or by car I think kids might need a little talk on how it's going to go) and talk about/watch videos of things you might want to do in the parks. Make a countdown chain...have fun with it We told our kids at Christmas for our trip leaving January 31 and I thought it was a good amount of time. We got to talk about what they wanted to wear, I got to order the princess dresses of their choice and some other things and not worry about them not showing up in time. I got to add a few things they wanted into our trip plan. It just worked pretty well. I am glad I had time to talk to them about the plane ride too because our second daughter can be very anxious about that kind of thing.

 

[DopeyDame]

I have a 2 and a 5 year old. The 5 year old has been 3 times and the 2 year old just got back from her first trip. I think a month is about the right time. Enough time to get excited and prepare them for the trip (and the lines and the travel), but not so long that it becomes some distant never-going-to-happen fantasy that mom keeps talking about.

As for preparing, I bring it up when it seems appropriate. For example, when waiting in line at Target, I'll say "we have to patient in lines, right? When we get to Disney World we'll do lots of fun stuff, but we'll have to wait our turn nicely." or "Look at that airplane in the sky! I'm so excited for our airplane ride to Disney World"

I suspect your 4 year old has heard at least a little bit about it from friends. My 5 year old asked a TON of questions leading up to this trip, so we just pretty much answered his questions. I'm not a big fan of showing actual Disney World videos (planning video or youtube). I feel like it sets up expectations that may or may not be met. But if you think it will help your kid prepare, go for it.

 

[MandiC]

Another thing, we got our girls the Birnbaum's Walt Disney for Kids guide book. They really liked looking at that to help figure out things they wanted to do. It would tell them if they might find the ride scary, if the ride was dark. I can't even remember all of it but it basically talked about the things kids would care about on rides you could get that to read through with her.
As far as characters, I'd talk to her about how they are bigger than mommy (usually) but how they are nice and love to meet kids. If she doesn't like them, she doesn't like them. I think at 4 she will love the princesses but sometimes kids are scared of the masked characters because of how big they are compared to how they picture them in their minds. I know even my 7 year old was a little taken aback by how big Sofia the First was...when she pictured Sofia as a girl her age or younger

 

[momto2girlsLA]

We told our kids (at the time 4 and 6) a good few months prior to the trip, might have even been 6+ months (it was 2 years ago). We did the cruise and a few days at Magic Kingdom with my parents. We wanted to get their input on what they wanted to do for some of the meals in the park (who they wanted to meet, if they wanted to do BBB for example). We also wanted to share our excitment with them. They loved being part of the planning. We bought princess dresses at the Disney store before we want and got a few surprise gifts to give them while there vs spending the money in the park. We showed them tons of the Disney movies, showed them pics and video's of the cruise ship and the park so they had an idea of what to expect. My oldest daughter has some learning disabilities and needs to have a plan of action, does not do well with surprises (we are very much schedule driven people). We had an amazing trip and the girls can't wait to go back.

 

[nd2fl]

Thanks for all the input! I think we will tell her next week after all the Halloween excitement dies down! Thanks again!

 

[thelittlemermaid2]

I still remember my first trip to WDW when I was 5 (I'm a young'n, I know), and my favorite part about preparing for the trip was watching every movie that had a corresponding ride. It is good to start explaining that soon to her because there are a lot of movies to cover! By the time the trip came I had specific rides to look foreword to that I knew I would like!

I don't know the comfort level your daughter has with characters, but personally I was apprehensive.The very first thing we did when we got there was meet the Queen of Hearts and Jafar. They were both huge compared to me, but I lived through it and after that the rest of the characters seemed much more manageable, by the end of day 3 I'm told that I loved meeting characters!

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[B.B. Sots]

How soon before leaving did you tell your kids?
1st Trip: We told them the day we were leaving and then drove all night to get there. I found it easier on the kiddos to let them sleep through drive (they were young)
2nd trip: We picked them up from school and headed out... they did not know until we were an hour into the trip and they asked where we were going.
3rd trip: They know we are going, they just have no idea when.

What kind of preparing did you do? We have been watching more of the Classic Disney movies so she's familiar with more characters. I'm a little nervous about her being scared meeting characters so may look at pictures and videos online to give her an idea of what it's like.
I find that you tube is my friend. Watching ride videos and park VLOGs comes in handy for seeing what peeks the attention. We also make sure to have movie nights and play Movies that we know have attractions at the parks so that the kiddos have context when they arrive.

Any tips or tricks for before or during would be appreciated!! Thank you!!!
Since you are only going for 3 days, you are going to get a very small dose of WDW. I would recommend you pick one or 2 parks and not try to get them all in.. If you try to do all 4 parks, you won't have time to enjoy them. I highly recommend the MK for 2 days at the very least.

 

[rsx3bishop]

Any tips or tricks for before or during would be appreciated!! Thank you!!! Since you are only going for 3 days, you are going to get a very small dose of WDW. I would recommend you pick one or 2 parks and not try to get them all in.. If you try to do all 4 parks, you won't have time to enjoy them. I highly recommend the MK for 2 days at the very least.[/QUOTE]

I do agree with this! 1st trip was 7 days with 5 in the parks...tried to do one a day! (Miserable). 2nd trip was 3 days and did 2 days Mk and 1 day HS. (Wonderful). 3rd trip planned (first time with grandson) and we are doing 5 days with 3 days in the parks--2 days MK and 1 day at HS with one day for DTD and pool/resort time. We are getting excited!!!