Disney World for the Adopted!!

[MickeyMoose15]

Hi everybody!! My family just adopted a little girl from Romania recently. She is 2 years old. We are planning atrip to WDW in December 2002, but we don't know how she will react to the amazing size of the whole place. What should we do concerning Characters, attractions, restaurants, and anything else? Any help would very appreciated!!

THANK YOU!!

 

[sha_lyn]

Frist let me say congratulations on adopting your DD.

WDW can be overwhelming for little ones. The wya we prepared our the 2 1/2 DD was with books (the pictures and maps in the official guide are great) disney moovies and trips to local amusement parks. I prepared her for the dark rides by taking her into the bathroom and turning off the laght and telling her about all the suprises Mickey would have for her when he turned the lights on. She did great at 2 1/2 at WDW but was less brave a yr later at US/IOA. Main thing is take it slow. Know about the ride you are about to get on instead of just asuming it will be ok.

 

[MickeyMoose15]

She has just begun to speak and we decided to let her watch the old 2000 Disney Vacation Planning Video. When she saw the part involving Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, she had wide-open eyes and said, "OH MA GOD!!"

 

[sha_lyn]

Oh how sweet. I have a friend who adopted a son from Russia when he was 7. We met less than a yr later and it was amazing how well he had picked up english. He spoke as well as any american born 8 yr old. Enjoy your special blessing

 

[SueM in MN]

There is a Disney sing-a-long video called Disneyland Fun. It shows Disneyland, not WDW, but many of the rides are similar and it also shows the characters interacting with kids. This helps your child to see that the characters are HUGE. There is also a sing-a-long that shows AK.

 

[MickeyMoose15]

We have the same exact tape. We also have Flik's Musical Adventure through Disney's Animal Kingdom. We will try those on her. Thanks!!

 

[ceecee]

Congradulations on your little girl........I agree with the Disneyland sing along, if you have a ChuckECheese near by, you could try out the characters there. Or once you get there just let her go at her own pace to see how she reacts.

 

[SueM in MN]

You might also want to make her own WDW communication book since she's just learning English. You could have pictures of things she will see at WDW. That way, she can learn some words and you can also use it for her to communicate things to you that she doesn't have words for. You might have a picture of your hotel, the pool, differnt foods she might want to eat, etc. There are links to some WDW pictures on the main DIS site page that you could download or a lot of people have links to their own website pictures. After she comes back, you could make her a nice album/scrapbook that would help her to rememeber her trip and also help out with language skills.

 

[Karel]

If I read your post right, you've got about a year and a half before you go. Your little girl will have grown so much by then! I imagine she'll be fully 'Americanized'. Play Disney music, watch the movies, visit the Disney store if you can. You'll know her so much better next year and will be a better judge about what she can handle and what she can't.

 

[Betsyfun]

First of All congrats on the adoption!!

Doing Disney World is an adoption consummation ritual with us!! We have adopted 4 children.....one is now 15.....the twins are 9 and our youngest is 3.....after each adoption consummation we celebrated with a WDW trip. The youngest was 16 months...and don't let ANYONE tell you they are too young and won't remember it.....they still do....ITS WONDERFUL!

Just a thought....one way to help your child remember and enjoy the trip would be to make an ABC book! You take a picture of your child with Aladdin for A.....riding Dumbo for D...etc.. you get the idea......You can use cut up letters and make their own SPECIAL ABC book that willl be theirs forever.....another thought...start the with the first letter.....A...ADOPTION..and a picture of your new complete family!

Best Wishes...