DISappointed, my kids didn't like WDW like I expected

[AlisonR80]

We were at the parks thurs, fri, and saturday. The very first day my 5 y.o. was wanting to go home and said he "hates this place" numerous times. We went to MK the first day, AK the second and HS the third. I'm trying to chalk it up to REALLY bad timing with going during super hot august weather. They were just miserable! Z was terrified of many rides, even the Stitch ride and Pirates of the caribbean- movies he loves. The only rides he liked were flying dumbo, magic carpet, tea cups, and after we dragged him on star wars (at HS) he liked that but he had to cover his ears the whole time. The loudness terrified him. He refused to ride many things and we just didn't push the issue after we saw how scared he was.
My 9 y.o., just wanted to ride coasters, and there aren't a whole lot of coaster at WDW. We could have just taken him to cedar point for much cheaper.
I'm bummed that they didn't enjoy it like i had expected. Glad to be home.

 

[nessz79]

Sorry to hear that

 

[natnelliesmom]

That's the strangest thing I have ever heard! Very odd indeed.
I don't know what to tell you! I'd be disappointed too!
-Sarah

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We were at the parks thurs, fri, and saturday. The very first day my 5 y.o. was wanting to go home and said he "hates this place" numerous times. We went to MK the first day, AK the second and HS the third. I'm trying to chalk it up to REALLY bad timing with going during super hot august weather. They were just miserable! Z was terrified of many rides, even the Stitch ride and Pirates of the caribbean- movies he loves. The only rides he liked were flying dumbo, magic carpet, tea cups, and after we dragged him on star wars (at HS) he liked that but he had to cover his ears the whole time. The loudness terrified him. He refused to ride many things and we just didn't push the issue after we saw how scared he was.
My 9 y.o., just wanted to ride coasters, and there aren't a whole lot of coaster at WDW. We could have just taken him to cedar point for much cheaper.
I'm bummed that they didn't enjoy it like i had expected. Glad to be home.

Well, I kind of know how your 5 year old feels. I love, love, love Disney it is my most favorite vacation spot in the world. We have been numerous times and are going back in December (yeah!!!). But, we were in WDW last September and the incredible heat made it really hard for me to have a good time. My husband said it was like vacationing on the surface of the sun. Maybe you can try for nicer weather next time (if you decide to go again). Sorry it was so disappointing for you!

 

[dreamingaboutdisney]

My daughter was 5 when I first took her to WDW, she was scared of alot of things back then. She is 11 now and we go every year, sometimes twice. As she got older she started enjoying everything and there is nothing she wont ride(except Haunted Mansion)she doesnt like the hanging man in the elevator.
We have tried to get her to do something else for vacation like a cruise or something but she says No I think, no I know that your next trip HOPEFULLY you will give it another try , will be a memorable and joyous one. GOOD LUCK

 

[RMulieri]

I am sorry you were disappointed.That reaction out of a 5 yr old is not that unusual.My niece was the exact same way.She must have cried and muttered she hated the trip about 1000 times.She only wanted to go back and swim.it wasn't too hot for her first trip it was the 2nd week in December.i think as parents we get so worked up about how great it will all be, and we work hard to make our trips so perfect and just right.When it does not happen that way we feel disappointed and let down.Give it time, maybe next time they will enjoy it more.maybe they won't.Not every kid will love disney.My niece loves it now, she is 9 now.My neighbors kid hated it at 4 and still hates it at 16.

 

[TwoOwls]

It could just be a timing thing. Maybe if you go again the kids my really like it.

or....

Maybe the parks are not their thing. My older son can take or leave the parks but he loves cruising on the Disney ships.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

Did you do any prep work with them? What there would be to do and see, talk about parades and fireworks, characters and such? It's too bad they didn't enjoy it the way you thought they might, but at least you didn't press the issue too much. I see those families where the parents are yelling at their kids to have a good time or else!

D4D

 

[ceemys]

That's a bummer! It might be the weather and just timing. Maybe try again in a couple of years.

 

[melancholywings]

The sounds in the rides can be very loud and scary to little ears. DD4 had such a difficult time on her first Disneyland trip. She'd cover her ears and hide her face on everything but Small World. For DW we brought a pair of headphones at the sporting store for $10 and she rode everything. What your child went through is not uncommon. When we were in line we met other parents who had the same problem.

 

[Alexander]

I have said for many, many years that the volume is too loud at WDW. The music, the sound effects, etc. It is hard on my ears and my hearing isn't the best. I hate it for my kids fragile hearing.

The Stitch ride is too scary for young kids! It is not related to the movies or the sweet, fun-loving Stitch the kids know. Even Pirates is a bit scary for someone as young as five. Given that he had such bad experiences with a few rides, it is no wonder that he didn't want to be there any longer.

My DS (now 10) didn't like any of the rides except Fantasyland until he was at least 8. We started visiting 2-3 times a year from the time he was 20 months. All he wanted to do was swim. We ended up spending many days at the water parks where he was most happy. My 2 y/o on the other hand wants to go on Space Mountain and is afraid of NOTHING!

The August heat is enough to make anyone cranky. We usually try to get to the parks first thing in the morning and head back for a swim by noon. It is very draining especially if you are not accustomed to that humidity.

Hopefully you'll try again. Earplugs are a good bet for the loud noises, and DS always carried a mini flashlight with him for the rides that are dark. I can tell you that he is 10 and still has no interest in going on Stitch, The Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, or anything that has a creep-factor.

 

[JUJU814]

Actually, I do not think that is all that strange. It can be very very hot and extremely loud. Do any of your kids possibly have any sensory issues? My ds 6 could not stand the parades..way too loud. We had to take frequent breaks and really our best time was in the mornng before noon..then it was to the pool at the resort.

Many Many children are exactly like yours. This was my kids second trip and it was better than the first, but they were still shy about some stuff.

The stitch ride is *definitely* too scary for young kids. Many of the guidebooks say so as well. I would advise getting "Walt Disney World with Kids" before your next trip.

Try to go for a longer trip and have shorter days at the parks.

Julie

 

[Bibbidi]

We've been to Disney many times with our kids. Sometimes you have to just chalk things up to bad timing/heat/illness/overstimulation.

Our first trip with our kids was a dream--3 yo and 10 month old. When we took them back the next year at 4 and 2 we expected the same type of vacation. It was the worst trip of our lives and my husband swore off Disney for 2 years because of it. Our youngest ended up in the ER on breathing treatments for croup that turned into pneumonia after we got home, it was incredibly hot and humid and I think our kids were just tired as well. We've been back for two different trips since then and both have been great. We've learned to only go to the parks from opening til about 1-2 pm. Take a nap and have dinner. We just got back Saturday from our latest trip and never once went out at night to the parks. Just did dinner and then hung out at the hotel or checked out the resort we were eating at. I guess we might not have gotten our "money's worth" on the cost of the park tickets in the sense that we weren't in the parks for very long each day, but we had a great trip with rested kids (7 and 5 now) and that was worth a lot more to us. Good luck with your next vacation, I'm sorry this wasn't all you'd hoped for.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

I don't know..maybe it was the rides you took him on. My DD will be 5 next month. We only just starting riding Barnstomer this past trip in April. We don't do the thrill rides with her because of her temperament.. She would be scared to death... She likes dumbo, magic carpets, Small world, tea cups, the ride in mexico, Peter pan etc.. Yeah those rides get a little old....but I figure eventually she will want to do the others. She's still young.

This trip in October she promised me she would do Splash mountain with me...but I won't push it. If any of the rides say maybe scary/loud etc..we avoid it..for now.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

The heat of the summer is a terrible time to go. We went in Sept 2x and Nov/Dec 1 time, soon to be two. I prefer the nov/dec time. As for the ride noise, we ALWAYS have the foam earplugs to put in. They do get really loud.
So sorry your vacation was not what you hoped.

 

[las3888]

DS who is 3.5 y/o has been many times but he is DEFINITELY a cautious guy on the rides. He won't even ride it's a small world--will NOT ride any of those indoor rides such as Snow White, Peter Pan or even Winnie the Pooh. I think a good majority of kids don't have issues on the rides, but there is definitely a percentage of kids that find most attractions very overwhelming.

We just plan around it by doing the things he likes, such as Tom Sawyer's Island, Indy Speedy, Dumbo, Merry-go-round, Swiss Family Treehouse, Country Bear Jamboree, etc. at MK...other attractions include the movies in the countries at EPCOT, Nemo (although it's very very iffy), Crush, the Land at EPCOT (again, could be very iffy since there are some dark tunnels), HS rides include Playhouse Disney, Animation Tour, Walt Disney history thing, and sometimes Muppet Movie. He likes the Dino playground at AK, plus the bird show, train ride to the animals, plus, the safari ride, Nemo show and Lion King show are iffy. there are others, but this is just an idea of the limitations we have when we go. I don't imagine too much will change all that soon either.

It's difficult to gauge how your kids will do on these boards because many many kids have no issues or problems on the rides, but for those that do, we totally get it and understand.

I like to think of it this way...while I myself would really love to go on some of the more major attractions, and I feel like DS would actually like some of them too if he relaxed, I just don't want to speed up time. He will get to them in due time and enjoy them soon enough. He will only like Dumbo and such for a while and then that phase will be gone oh so quickly!

The next time you go, your kids will feel much more at home and familiar with what is going on. I would definitely try it again...good luck!!!

 

[minkydog]

awww what a disappointment for you! Summer heat would do me in, too. Give yourself a break. It's an expensive vacation and when they kids don't love it, it's hard not to take it personally.

 

[Nancyg56]

I don't think that their reaction is that unusual. I bet that more families come back disappointed but don't explain why their were not happy with Disney. When we took my DGD a few years ago my DH came home and asked what our backup plan was. His coworker had taken his family when is DD was young. She was terrified, all she wanted to do was swim in the pool. I guess it scarred the guy, he complained about the money he spent and refused to take the family ever again. , he was that mad. Buddy was worried that we had all built the trip up so much that we would be upset. We had, of course. But we did plan for her to be scared and what we would do if that happened, we never would have gotten angry with a 4 YO because she was frightened and overstimulated.

Your family had heat, crowds, noise and big rides. You had a dream of the perfect family vacation and little faces mirroring TV commercials. I would chalk it up to a perfect storm of influences and try again. You are disappointed, it seems like everyone on the DIS has picture perfect trips,, (we don't) but now all of you have been and when you plan the kids can help which will prepare them. I am sorry that you were let down though, you wanted everything to be wonderful for your family.

 

[eliza61]

.
Your family had heat, crowds, noise and big rides. You had a dream of the perfect family vacation and little faces mirroring TV commercials. I would chalk it up to a perfect storm of influences and try again. You are disappointed, it seems like everyone on the DIS has picture perfect trips,, (we don't) but now all of you have been and when you plan the kids can help which will prepare them. I am sorry that you were let down though, you wanted everything to be wonderful for your family.

You hit the nail on the head perfectly Nancy. I read the theme park planning board and some times I cringe at the advice given to newcomers. vacations are supposed to be stressless and between the "planning like the d-day invasion" mentality and the picture perfect commercials, it is the perfect recipe for disasater. I'm amazed how many times I get flamed when I tell first timers to relax and spend some time chilling at the resort pool. I've seen parents literally brow beat their kids into going on rides and then some how blame disney when meltdowns happen.

Op, I would try again but let go of the "happy children skipping down main street" commercial. Let go of the "riding each and every ride=successful vacation" mentality. If the kids want to chill at the pool schedule time for that.

 

[Zeebs]

Adults that don't like rides were kids at some point...

Shame it wasn't like what you expected and wished it to be, but I think that in a couple of weeks, if you ask the kids if they had fun they will most probably say yes there will have been something they liked and will probably tell you about over and over again.

Kirsten