Crash course for toddlers

[camdensmom]

We are leaving for Disney in 3 weeks. My son will be 19 months old. He was 8 months old on our last trip and had a grand old time seeing the sights, swimming, etc.

Truth be told he'll be in his glory simply to spend 5 days with me, DH and my parents. He adores having his family around and always hams it up. He also loves water, swimming, going fast in his stroller, spinning, etc so I am sure he'll get a kick out of all the rides. His other favorite thing is music (he thinks he's John Travolta) and busts a move anytime he hears anything with a beat. So with that being said, we pretty much have the recipe for a perfect vacation.

However, I suddenly have the urge to watch a bunch of Disney movies with him. In general he doesn't care much for TV (except for his beloved Wiggles) and would prefer to build with blocks than watch it. We've always been very happy about that. So why do I have this sudden urge to tune into Mickey's Clubhouse and start adding Nemo, Toy Story, etc. to my netflix list?

Yesterday we were home with a snowday (I'm a teacher) so he and I sat on the couch together and watched the Disney planning DVD. Does anyone else do anything to "prepare" their little ones for a trip?

 

[nessz79]

Hello! My two boys are 4 and 2 and we are Disney movie fanatics. My 2 year old has only recently (last 6 months or so and he's 2 1/2) begun to enjoy watching a movie the whole way through. The 4 year-old loves to watch the Disney planning video so I at least have 1 to enjoy that with.

As he gets older he will become more interested in movies and such. If you want some suggestions as to movies to start off with, I would start with some of these Disney movies...we like Cinderella (for some reason the step mom isn't as scary to our kids as other villains), Lion King, Bugs Life, Tarzan, Toy Story, Lady and the Tramp, and Jungle Book. Kids react differently to the "villains". Be careful with that!

 

[erik'smom]

You could buy (or get from the library) some Disney storybooks. They have some great ones now. You could also buy (or get from the library) Disney music. Your little John Travolta may like the Disco Mickey album. Also, there is a video called Disney's Pop Rock and it's oldies songs made into videos with Disney characters. Any little guy would love to dance along.

Have a great trip!

 

[Elmo888]

DD2 loved the Sing-a-longs. They are short (30 minutes or so) to keep a toddler's attention, and your DS will love the music. DD2's favorite is Disneyland Fun where the characters are at Disneyland. It is perfect for a WDW vacation. She watched this over and over before our trip. We also watched the planning DVD!

The other Sing-a-longs will have one song from different movies (sometimes 2), but it is a great intro to the characters and stories. We have the Be Our Guest Sing-a-long, too. We also have the Beach Party at WDW, but DD2 wasn't interested.

Check Target and Toys R Us or you can find them online at Amazon and Overstock.

I think that the Sing-a-longs are on DVD now, too!

 

[happypooh]

My son (now 2) has been to WDW at least 4 times since he was 7 months old and can recognise so many things when at the parks it's hilarious! We really have a blast getting ready for trips. I borrowed one of those WDW for kids books from he library and looked at all the photos. This was his favorite bedtime story book for weeks! Before he could even talk he was signing "epcot" and "monorail" when he saw the photos! We'd look at maps and talk about the different rides. It was alot of fun both pretrip and whilst we were there. We watched the pretrip planning DVD too and a few disney movies (although I find some abit scary for him so I kinda fast forward through those parts!) We'd make mickey shaped pancakes and he'd find hidden mickeys all over the place. So many wonderful memories...and kinda educational too (even if it is all disney related!)
Hope you have an absolutely magical time!

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

My son (now 2) has been to WDW at least 4 times since he was 7 months old and can recognise so many things when at the parks it's hilarious! We really have a blast getting ready for trips. I borrowed one of those WDW for kids books from he library and looked at all the photos. This was his favorite bedtime story book for weeks! Before he could even talk he was signing "epcot" and "monorail" when he saw the photos! We'd look at maps and talk about the different rides. It was alot of fun both pretrip and whilst we were there. We watched the pretrip planning DVD too and a few disney movies (although I find some abit scary for him so I kinda fast forward through those parts!) We'd make mickey shaped pancakes and he'd find hidden mickeys all over the place. So many wonderful memories...and kinda educational too (even if it is all disney related!)
Hope you have an absolutely magical time!

I am looking for WDW books at the library but not sure which kind to get. Can you tell me some titles??

 

[alloyd1170]

We leave Sunday for WDW with my 5 yr old son and ~20 mos old daughter. DD only watches tv in the car and if its not Little Mermaid she will let you know! She goes around the house singing songs from the movie. So starting last week, Ariel came out and the Sing Along dvds, and some other Dis movies went in. At first she was not happy, but now shes ok with it. Im hoping this trip she will be more accepting of the characters, especially of Ariel. Id like to get some photos of her with them and without me!

She is so excited (as is DS). Mention/or show her anything WDW related- her arms go up and she yells yea! She has only been to WDW once (back in Sept around 15 mos old). Surprisingly she seems to remember quite a bit. Im anxious to see how she reacts to things once we get there. DS took his first trip just after he turned 2 and he didnt seem to remember much until he saw the monorail.

alison

 

[ppan77]

We have bought the sing a long dvds which he watches from time to time. Luckily he loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the mornings. I am little wary though that he may not like the characters. He didnt care for Santa in Dec. I will be buying the passporter book also to prepare for our trip.

 

[happypooh]

There's a whole bunch of official ones by Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2007. They have the ones for kids and ones for adults or families...doesn't really matter too much as long as they have lots of photos. I got a few from the library and we'd spend at least 30 minutes every day just looking at photos and talking about different parts of the rides or attractions! Good luck and have fun planning.

 

[las3888]

I have done tons of stuff in preparing my DS for Disney. We like the Sing Along videos, again, they are only 30 minutes and they are a great way to introduce alot of different characters (if you have several of them). We have alot of Disney books - have found all kinds of Disney books here and there, so he is really familiar with alot of the Disney characters. We also go to the Disney Store (it is on the way to gymboree) so he watches the snippets in the back of the store on video, as well as sees all the toys etc. for sale (not to mention I have caved and bought several toys and stuffed animals). We also listened (and still do, esp. when a trip is coming up) to several Disney CDs I have that introduce the songs that go with the rides, etc. He probably knows all the Disney characters basically. This was all done mostly with limited video, although DS does watch a number of videos. He is now almost 2 and the only full feature videos he has seen are Lady and the Tramp and Cars. Cars is a SURE THING...nothing scary at all in that video. He LOVES it.

We may be a little nuts about it, but we have the DVC timeshare and we knew we would be going to Disney a few times a year, so we just wanted to get him geared up and also feel comfortable (he is a cautious guy). He now can go to a character buffet and does well with the characters, plus he knows who they are and it is a great joy to him. It has been well worth the effort!

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

I have done tons of stuff in preparing my DS for Disney. We like the Sing Along videos, again, they are only 30 minutes and they are a great way to introduce alot of different characters (if you have several of them). We have alot of Disney books - have found all kinds of Disney books here and there, so he is really familiar with alot of the Disney characters. We also go to the Disney Store (it is on the way to gymboree) so he watches the snippets in the back of the store on video, as well as sees all the toys etc. for sale (not to mention I have caved and bought several toys and stuffed animals). We also listened (and still do, esp. when a trip is coming up) to several Disney CDs I have that introduce the songs that go with the rides, etc. He probably knows all the Disney characters basically. This was all done mostly with limited video, although DS does watch a number of videos. He is now almost 2 and the only full feature videos he has seen are Lady and the Tramp and Cars. Cars is a SURE THING...nothing scary at all in that video. He LOVES it.

We may be a little nuts about it, but we have the DVC timeshare and we knew we would be going to Disney a few times a year, so we just wanted to get him geared up and also feel comfortable (he is a cautious guy). He now can go to a character buffet and does well with the characters, plus he knows who they are and it is a great joy to him. It has been well worth the effort!

I think that is a great idea to prepare your son for all the characters. One of my friend's sons is deathly afraid of all the characters. He is now 6 and still terrified. They went to Disney about a year ago and couldn't do any character dinners or even go near the characters at the parks. I think if she would've taken the time to show and explain to him that there is nothing to be afraid of, they would've had a better trip.

 

[Lisa0503]

My DD (3) loves this website:

http://home.att.net/~disneysue/characters/wdw/disneycharacters.html

She scrolls thru all the pics of the characters and can name almost all of them. DS (1) LOVES the Sing-Along-Songs Disneyland Fun. He gets so excited when I put it on TV for him. They also like the Beach Club Sing Along DVD, but it is not my favorite...

 

[ilovepooh]

Thank you for the sing-a-long videos tip! DS loves MM Clubhouse show, and Pooh Heffalump movie. He smiles any time he sees those characters. I think he'd love the sing-a-longs as he loves music!

 

[mericletwins]

We are leaving for Disney in 3 weeks. My son will be 19 months old. He was 8 months old on our last trip and had a grand old time seeing the sights, swimming, etc.

Truth be told he'll be in his glory simply to spend 5 days with me, DH and my parents. He adores having his family around and always hams it up. He also loves water, swimming, going fast in his stroller, spinning, etc so I am sure he'll get a kick out of all the rides. His other favorite thing is music (he thinks he's John Travolta) and busts a move anytime he hears anything with a beat. So with that being said, we pretty much have the recipe for a perfect vacation.

However, I suddenly have the urge to watch a bunch of Disney movies with him. In general he doesn't care much for TV (except for his beloved Wiggles) and would prefer to build with blocks than watch it. We've always been very happy about that. So why do I have this sudden urge to tune into Mickey's Clubhouse and start adding Nemo, Toy Story, etc. to my netflix list?

Yesterday we were home with a snowday (I'm a teacher) so he and I sat on the couch together and watched the Disney planning DVD. Does anyone else do anything to "prepare" their little ones for a trip?

What I found to be very helpful at that age was the Disney Sing-Along videos. The real life ones, not the cartoons. That way your child gets to see what the characters will really look like. I also would keep telling them that although Mickey (or whoever) looked little on TV, that they were as big as Mommy and Daddy. It can be quite shocker to think that Mickey is a few inches high and then see him at WDW and he's towering over you.

 

[mom2aredhead]

I also would keep telling them that although Mickey (or whoever) looked little on TV, that they were as big as Mommy and Daddy. It can be quite shocker to think that Mickey is a few inches high and then see him at WDW and he's towering over you.

Good point - I never would have thought of that.
My DS3 also loves the Sing a Long DVD's - His fave's are the Disneyland one, and the one they shot at Ft Wilderness (he calls it Mickey Campout - the real name is something similar to that whch escapes me right now)
He did not like the Animal Kingdom one as much as those, and I was very disappointed in the Halloween one (we got it last year in anticipation of our Oct trip and MNSSHP)