Advice on taking 3 year old to Disney!

[pinkdiamonds1007]

Hi, I absolutley LOVE this website!!! So informative!
Okay, so we are taking our will be at the time 3 1/2 year old daughter to Disney staying at ALL Star Movies at the beggining of december and was wondering if anyone had any information on how to prepare kids for disney, or if anyone had any tips on how to help kids who may be apprehensive once we get there of rides and such. Any stories would be great to hear too!
THanks a bunch.
Nicole

 

[Trinity721]

Nicole, welcome to the boards! We took our DD there last month, she will be 3 in July. One thing I did to prepare her was to watch the Disney planning DVD with her. You can order one from Disney's website. They will mail you a trip-planning kit for free. That way your daughter will be able to watch and see for herself. She'll get excited about it, don't worry! If your daughter watches Playhouse Disney on TV, they have a great live show at Disney/MGM studios and you can tell her about that. I would say the best way to approach rides is to take her on one that won't be scary for her first time, so that she is not apprehensive for the rest of the visit. It's a Small World would be a great way to start, or the Dumbo ride if she is not afraid of that kind of ride.

Hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

The best tip with kids is to take it at their pace. Don't rush too much and be aware that they get tired, hot, and cranky at times.

We always head out to the parks early, stay for 3-4 hours then go back to the resort to rest or swim during the middle of the day. By evening, the kids are rested and ready to go back out for more fun.

 

[EthansMom]

I discussed the different rides and attractions ahead of time with my 3.5 year old son. We discussed which rides he would be big enough to go on and which ones might be a little scary. Also, we watched the planning video and surfed the Disney World web site.

One tip, take an umbrella stroller -- by evening, our 3 year-old was exhausted and kicking his baby sister out of her stroller. Disney World is a lot of walking for little legs.

 

[buzzmom3]

Hi, I absolutley LOVE this website!!! So informative!
Okay, so we are taking our will be at the time 3 1/2 year old daughter to Disney staying at ALL Star Movies at the beggining of december and was wondering if anyone had any information on how to prepare kids for disney, or if anyone had any tips on how to help kids who may be apprehensive once we get there of rides and such. Any stories would be great to hear too!
THanks a bunch.
Nicole

Hi, I'm new, too! We took our 2.5 yr old last year. He loved it! Before we went we told him about how Mickey uses magic to make things happen and tried to explain how the scary stuff was pretend. We're going back in September and this time I bought the sing along songs video Disneyland Fun. It shows the inside of some of the rides. My ds was not afraid of any of the characters except Balou, who is @ eight feet tall! Have a great time!

 

[Miller1412]

We took our 2 and 4 year olds in March. To get ready they had to take Disney 101.

We watched the planning DVD, listened to the music till I thought my head would explode, rented the movies, watched the Mickey Sing A Long Videos set in Disneyland and the Beach one too AND we bought the Disney Scene It game. My 4 year old loves it and would play it 5 times a day. We considered it her final exam. (She can whoop our tails in it too!) All the prep really helped them recognize the characters. I'm glad we did it. It made us excited too.

 

[MelodyMack]

Congratulations...you guys are going to have soooo much fun.
Every kid is different, and what might frighten one, won't even phase another.

I put a lot of stock in "hype". Everytime we've done something new (and
what may appear intimidating to some), I've hyped it positively ahead of time. Before we go on a ride, I explain to my DD that we get to go way up, and it's going to be sooooo much fun, etc. Then I smile and get excited and talk about how I can't wait. I find that if I keep a big smile on my face, and push the positives, she follows my lead.

Having said that - if your munchkin shows any resistance I wouldn't force anything. I learned after my first visit (and luckily with a munchkin that wanted to do EVERYTHING), that no matter what rides you do or don't do a lot of the experience is just BEING at DW. You'll feel the magic as soon as you walk through the gate.

Have a great time!

 

[the kabuki]

3 is a GREAT age for WDW. It is so magical for them.
My tips, some have already been mentioned

Bring a stroller, preferably one that reclines

Take everything at their pace, if you see that they're getting tired, cranky, don't push just go back to hotel for a rest

Watch lots of disney movies, all the princess ones for a 3yr old girl for sure, plus some older ones like Dumbo, Peter Pan, Dalmations, Lion King, Lady and the Tramp

The Snow white ride has the potential to scare little ones, watch the movie first and gauge her reaction to the witch.

Bring a soft sided small cooler with her fav. drinks and some snacks , these come in handy while waiting for rides

Also while waiting in lines, small containers of bubbles can keep her occupied

Best spot to meet princesses IMO is Toon Town. They only allow a few kids in the room at a time, and the princesses can spend some more time than if they were to meet outside in the parks. There's also princesses meals in Norway at Epcot, make a ps for these

If it's at all possible, try getting a rental car. Those bus rides back to the hotel at the end of the night with a sleeping toddler, stroller and packages arent' the greatest experiences.

Go to Fantasyland first thing in the morning when the park opens. She will want to ride most of the rides in here more than once and they are slow loading. If you wait till later, you will most likely find looonngg waits for something like a 1 minute Dumbo ride.

The characters' may frighten her. If at all possible, try going to someplace, maybe Chuck E Cheese's where she can get used to them.

Have a wonderful time!!!

 

[mrsgus06]

My first 3 kids loved all the rides. My fourth one cried on Dumbo (she was 3 at the time) so she and I spent our day watering the flowers and watching the shows. My fifth child made up for the 4th, as she too, will ride anything. The Tower of Terror is her favorite ride at the age of 3. Now, my 6th child is like the 4th one and we are back to shows, shopping and flowers (she is now 3). We were there in March and sitting at the exit to Space Mountain and she wanted to ride the "race cars". She watched them go around for a while and just asked me to take her! It is the ONLY ride she will do. It is a problem sometimes because I am in the parks with them by myself and I have to sit at the exits while they ride. The older ones, not including the 19 yo that no longer goes, are 7, 8, 9 and 10 and I let them go in line by themselves while I sit at the exit. Oh yea, the 8 yo was the 3 yo that cried on Dumbo. After going so many times she decided that she no longer wanted to be left out of the group and started riding the rides and loves everyone of them. Either way, you will still be surrounded by the Disney Magic and your dd will have a wonderful time. We will be there for 51 nights starting next month and I am hoping that my now 3yo will want to expand her horizons spending so much time in the parks. Just take it slow and enjoy. We also have the Disney Sing a Long Songs for Disneyland. She has watched it so many times that I now know all the songs

 

[tmfranlk]

I just want to second the preparation for DD. My DD will be almost 3 when we go in Dec (ASMovies as well 11/27-12/4). We talk about the rides and characters all of the time. She loves listening to the patk musuc and ride soundtracks, which seem to give her comfort on the rides at Disneyland a couple of weeks ago.

You may also find that she likes and dislikes the opposite of what you might think so just feel things out as you get started. For instance, DD LOVES the costume characters, but wants nothing to do with the princesses or other face characters. She likes the hills in Pirates, but not the carousel. Some of DD's favorites are the parades and fireworks.

Most of all, take it easy and have a great time.