Apparently, it's the simple things

[dsdeleon]

My 6yo just got back from a whirlwind 10 days of all the prime attractions many times at wdw and universal b/c he finally hit 44 in. He said his favorite thing was Dumbo and it's waiting area playground.

 

[SchmittyUD]

Probably my number one WDW memory is late one night, my dad and I decided to ride Carousel of Progress and the TTA as many times as we could before MK closed. Sounds weird to me now but I'll never forget it.

Now I'm 28 and writing my dissertation on technology and culture and I do wonder if our CoP all those years ago had something to do with it!

 

[MichiganDVC]

This thread is one of the best I've read in months.
This is the point of it all.

 

[irishdancemomma]

From 2 yr old DS:

See the castle
Ride the train
Meet Mickey Mouse
Meet tinker bell
Eat Mickey waffles
Play in the water

I'll ask him if he wants to ride dumbo or Peter Pan or whatever else. He answers "No" and proceeds to list some of the things above. I hope we get to do more than that in 8 days. Lol!

 

[Robertfam08]

One of my all-time favorite threads.

My daughters will be going for the first time this September. Their wishes:

DD(4) - See the castle and meet Anna and Elsa (we're going to try to make that happen!)

DD(3) - Ride Peter Pan and eat in a restaurant

We'll all be happy just to be there!

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

My 5 year old wants to play in Dumbo's waiting area (but not ride it mama, it's for babies) and Casey's water splash area. I realized that these two things were the only times on our first and only trip where I was RELAXED!

Thank you all for this thread! We'll be at the airport a week from right this second and I am going to BREATHE and ENJOY every minute, with my little girl in the lead. I have fp for A&E, I scored "the" dress, I have our touring plans SET, and all she wants to do is "have fun with my family". You got it, kid.

 

[mrsR123]

I have nearly grown and very spoiled kids who were just there for Thanksgiving and New Year's. I thought it would be fun to ask them for a list.

DS14: 1) Chef Mickey's ( we haven't been in probably four years, a nd I booked it last night for August. 2) EE a couple of times. 3) ToT a couple of times. I asked for five but that's all he had!

DS17: doesn't even have a list noting that he was just there...

DD20 is away at school but I know she really wants to see the new Festivalof Fantasy parade. We met A& E in November, but if I can get a FP we'll go again. But really she could just wander around MK, AK, and especially Epcot for days just soaking up details... Just like her mom.

 

[kmv]

Going in May. Haven't been to WDW in 2 years.

9yr old DD:
Seeing the new Fantasyland
Eating at BOG (thankfully I have reservations)

2.5yr old DD (no recollection of first time she went):
Jump in the pool with her Ariel bathing suit on

 

[pcoleman]

Love this.
DD age 13 list:
Walk around AK see all the animals and talk to CM about them
Go to water park
Swim in hotel pool
Splash Mountain
Mickey ice cream bar
Stay up late at night

My list:
Slow down and follow my daughter's lesson of taking time to really enjoy what you like not what everyone says you should do. Oh ya Mickey ice cream bar.

 

[minniemous]

It reminds me of my daughter's first trip to WDW. She was 4 and spent about 30 minutes chasing bubbles that a CM was blowing in Adventureland. We have bubble stuff at home, by the way.

This is what my 4 year old Daughter enjoyed sooo much. The bubbles were under the People Mover. She was just chasing the bubbles for around 30 minutes or more as well. At first I had my eye on the shorter line for the Buzz ride and then my husband said she is having fun doing this. Then I saw he was right she was having so much fun and we just sat down and watched her until she had enough. I guess bubbles are fun anywhere and perhaps better in Disney!

 

[JennyMP03]

This is a sweet thread! I've enjoyed reading the wishlists.

Now, I'm 29 and going with a 20-year-old. Our planning definitely revolves around the "big things." But I'm excited about the non-headliners, too! So much of the joy in this next trip is going to be watching her see everything for the first time.

 

[Mrs Eeyore]

This thread is adorable and I see it as a teachable moment for us, the hyper-planning parents. My DDs are teenagers now and at the moment are unavailable for consultation, but I know the resort pool was near the top of their list when they were younger as well. Our first trip was completely unplanned, simply because it never occurred to us that touring plans existed. We wandered, we did the attractions that were available, we ate where there was a table, and it was a blissfully beautiful visit. The line-ups were as much fun as anything else. We stumbled into some shows and parades we hadn't planned for. We met Mickey because we somehow happened to arrive at Toontown at RD and were near the front of his line. I'll never forget how my then 7-year-old clutched my hand in awe and excitement just to be at WDW. In a way I hope we never before familiar enough with WDW to become cynical. When we start having expectations and demands, that's when the magic starts to fade.

 

[Travelgrrl]

From my 9 year old son:

Watching his sister (age 3) see it all for the first time. "She is magical already, Mom. Can you imagine what she's going to be like THERE!?"

Not going to lie, this made me burst into tears, that a big brother said this about his wee sister!

My story has to do with going to WDW when my son was 9. I took his best friend and his mom and we had a great, great time. My son's friend is obviously disabled and uses a wheelchair and people couldn't have been nicer - we had gifts raining down on us all week and front end of the lines (before FP) and several times just PASSING a character the handler would grab us, whip us over and say "Chewbacca, here are some special friends of yours!"

Just magical.

The funny thing was, at the end of the week, I asked them what their favorite things to do had been. Of course, swimming in the pool (where son's friend learned to swim that week - hurrah hurrah! it WAS a big deal!) but their other two favorite things were Hall of Presidents and American Adventure.

Two lovable little nerd boys. So sweet.

 

[CaryHaven]

I have read every post-enjoy this thread so much. I love what comes out of the mouths of babes.

I just asked my five year old what she really wanted to do at Disney World:

1. Meet Elsa
2. Go to the campground (Chip and Dale's sing-a-long/marshmallow roast)

That was it. I had to remind her about the pool, because that....plus meeting Tink were the highlights of her entire trip last time. She said "Oh yea, definitely the pool! And also maybe Barnstormer." I think she'll also enjoy the pirate cruise and boutique too, but that's just icing on the cake.

I believe my almost two year old will be happy if we only meet princesses and not scary furry characters, plus she loves playing in the water and eating ice cream so all good there.

I even asked my husband. He listed more all of the things he loved about Disney rather than all of the things he definitely wanted to do. But at the top of his list was Boma. He actually said Boma twice. He said he just loved spending time with me and the girls and loved that we had fun there and also that I can't get mad at him in Disney World. For the record, I almost never get mad at him now, but I guess he thinks it's his safe place.

I am really looking forward to meeting the stepsisters, taking our toddler in the pool, riding Dumbo (love that ride even though I really do not like the movie), having our DD5 meet Elsa, and becoming a mermaid with her at Pirate's League. DD1 will have turned 2 by then and is also getting her first haircut in MK, which I'm excited about. Otherwise, just eating all the great food!

 

[KatieKat]

We have no kiddies, and are going for 14 days, so long as we do the main things at least once each during our stay we'll be happy.

If i can do BTMRR more than once, great, but the joy is in being there, rather than at work.

Thank you. I needed to see this, and be reminded of it! I've been going alittle crazy lately planning.

 

[jemlover]

We went several years ago with our DS who was 25 at the time and our DDIL. His must do's were Star Tours and shopping at the Star Wars store outside of Star Tours and the Lego store at DTD. Yes, he is a nerd.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

This is what my 4 year old Daughter enjoyed sooo much. The bubbles were under the People Mover. She was just chasing the bubbles for around 30 minutes or more as well. At first I had my eye on the shorter line for the Buzz ride and then my husband said she is having fun doing this. Then I saw he was right she was having so much fun and we just sat down and watched her until she had enough. I guess bubbles are fun anywhere and perhaps better in Disney!

The bubbles! I just wrote about the bubbles in my trip report! My son loved them too, and we too stayed for about 30 minutes. They were probably the highlight of his day. Here is a fuzzy cell phone photo, but you can just see the total extreme joy in my sons face at the bubble storm he was facing. It made me sad at the time all the parents pulling their kids away from the bubbles because "we have bubbles at home". The magic really does happen when you are trying the least to make it happen. For my son, these simple bubbles were magical.