Does toddler need to see Disney to enjoy WDW?

[starryagain]

Hello, I am very glad to have found this resource.

We are planning on taking our toddler to WDW in mid-September (staying at either AKL, BWV, or Shades of Green). When I have mentioned this to others I have been teased that we need to show her more tv and movies so she can have fun there. As first time likely overprotective parents we are pretty stingy on tv watching - maybe an hour in week total while we cut her nails or really need a break. Normally yo gabba gabba or Katy Perry's "Roar" music video if it matters.

Right now she is 17 months but will celebrate her 2 year birthday at Disney.

Do you think we should show her some Disney in the next 7 months? Will that enhance her experience?

I realize I sound like an idiot. Maybe suggestions for vaguely educational Disney shows / movies would work

 

[bostonminnie]

My son is 18 months old and he knows Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy because we have Disney books and figurines that he plays with. He's never seen the characters on tv. When we are out in a store and we see anything Disney related he gets so excited because he recognizes the characters. I don't think you need to specifically show your DD movies or tv shows to enhance her experience. I also created a Disney pandora station that we listen to so he can get familiar with the music.

Have fun our your trip! We are taking our son when he is 2 as well. He's been as a baby, but I think 2 will be such a fun age

 

[Dugette]

We took our daughter last month at 14.5 months and she's watched almost no TV in her life. She does, however, have Mickey & Minnie plushes that she loves and a few other Disney characters as well. Plus, wall decals of Pooh & friends and the Fairies, etc. in her room. She loved the characters at WDW and actually pointed and said "Mickey!" several times. So, I don't think the TV/movies are necessary at toddler age for them to recognize and enjoy characters.

 

[Kpskyman]

If you are planning on having pictures of her with any of the characters, then I would try to get her familiar with the characters you are hoping to see. The face characters, princesses, princes, etc are not usually as scary to young ones, but the sight of Mickey, Goofy, Pooh, etc may scare a young child if they do not seem familiar. As far as the attractions go, it really doesn't matter, your child will get so much stimulation from the colors, sounds, smells, and such that following what is themed won't be necessary at her age. I would let her watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney Channel, to get her used to seeing Mickey, and if you have a favorite character you want her to visit, watch the movie a few times with her.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Thumbs up for limiting TV! We did great at doing this with our oldest but not so much the little guy 14 year later. You do NOT need to expose her to more TV for her to enjoy WDW. It can be fun and exciting for her to recognize Micky or Pooh but you can certainly introduce these with books. Reality is a toddler can have a hard time making the connection between the animated cartoons on TV and those life like characters in real life. I would read her some books with the basic characters in them IF she enjoys them but not worry much about it. What might be more helpful is to try to expose her to a character or two in some way. Chucky Cheese or a local sports event etc. These can be sorta scary to little ones. The rides and sights and activities at WDW will be so amazing to her whether she recognizes the characters or not.

 

[LCoulter]

Do you read to her? Get a few books with the Disney characters and read them to her and show her the pictures. Maybe buy a couple of plushes to go along with the characters in the books.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We took my son the first time when he was 3...he honestly didn't know any of the characters except tigger, but he still had a blast. Now he knows all the characters so I think the character interaction might be better. We are going in 2 months and I find myself watching you tube a lot seeing all the rides bc he's big enough to ride them all but I want to make sure they won't scare him cause he's still only 7. I think the rides are a lot of fun for any age child. We will be bring our 8 month old son with us too so we will see how he likes it lol

 

[starryagain]

Thanks for all the advice! We will definitely pick up some Disney books such a simple and smart idea. Probably some toys too although we are hoping to avoid inducing a princess phase, lol. Plenty of time for that when she's older.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I second reading Disney books to her. My little girl particularly liked the Little Golden version of Cinderella, but there are tons to choose from.

I would also recommend the original Winnie the Pooh movie. That was the first movie that really kept my little one captivated. Limiting t.v. time is great, but it wouldn't hurt to make a family night of a Disney movie

If you can find any age appropriate puzzles with Disney characters, that would be another good way to acquaint her with them.

There are some Little People designed after some of the Disney princesses that are just awesome!

 

[SamSam]

We took our twin (almost 2 1/2 ) grandsons and they enjoyed all the sights and sounds even though at that point they hadn't seen many Disney movies. We did have them watch a couple of you tubes of Families w/kids and I think that really made a difference for them. They were super excited to see characters, even though he only exposure they had (at that point) was from the You Tubes.

They just loved all the sights and sounds! Their favorite thing was the Splash Pool at our resort (Kidani)....they loved it!!!

 

[RoosMama]

We went to WDW for my DDs 2nd birthday also a month ago. I didn't show her much TV as a baby either, and now she refuses to watch anything.

I think it is hard to avoid Mickey and the Gang - DD saw them all the time at Target, Barnes and Noble, etc. Also, we had a Cinderella Duplo set, Disney books, etc. She has princess underwear, so she knows who they are just from that!

If you do want to show your DD some Disney movies, I highly recommend the Sing Along Songs like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Sing-Along-Songs-Disneyland-Fun/dp/B0009X75W4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391133978&sr=8-1&keywords=disney+sing+along+songs+dvd+disneyland+fun

There are several other live action ones like this one. They show the parks and resorts. These are the only movies my DD would watch, but they ended up really helping, because not only did she know the characters, but she knew their size, because she saw them compared to other kids on the movies. She wasn't scared of the characters at all when we got to WDW.

 

[tzolkin]

I agree that children do not have to watch Disney on tv to enjoy the parks, but I am just curious if you are completely against any screen time. If so, books sound like a great alternative, but if not, I would suggest a few family movie nights (maybe once a month or so leading up to your trip).

We do not "have tv" in our house either. We just don't really find it necessary, but we are not completely opposed to it. My kids are now older (15, 9, 7) and they will watch a few things on netflix and/or a movie.

I had some of the same thoughts as you before our first trip. Kids were 9, 4, and turning 2. My older DD had been exposed to Disney, but we were planning this trip and I realized that the two younger ones really didn't know who any of the Disney characters were. Although the kids didn't watch tv we decided to start doing Disney family movie nights to get them excited for the trip and familiar with the characters.

We didn't do any character meals or interactions that first trip, so we selected movies that had attractions in the parks. The kids were thrilled to help with the planning-- looking at the park maps and helping to pick out the movies-- and it has become a fun family tradition.

If you are interested, there is a thread here for themed movie nights with tons of ideas for food and games that go along with the different movies.

 

[GigiDisneyfreak]

I took my DGD when she was 16 months old. She did watch some tv, but my concern was really that she would be scared of the characters because seeing them on tv or in a book is different then seeing them in the park. What I did was go to google images on the computer and show her pictures and videos of other kids with the characters. She ran up to all of the characters and hugged and kissed them while we were there. Honestly it was priceless. She is still scared of Santa and the Easter Bunny, but not a Disney character. I would do this if you want to get pictures with the characters, otherwise if you aren't interested in your child interacting with the characters then they will still enjoy it the attractions without ever having seen any of the shows or movies.

 

[Footnotegirl]

We've been kind of force feeding Disney movies to our 2 year old daughter this last month as we were not expecting to take a trip and then suddenly we were taking a trip in a month!
Our daughter gets some screen time (generally about 1/2 hour of My Little Pony a day while I make dinner). Previously we had taken her on a couple of flights and she'd seen Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo, so in the last month, we picked up all the Disney DVD's our library had available so that she would know who the various characters were.
From her books, she knew Pooh and Tigger and Mickey and Merida. She also loves reading her Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo books (frequently takes them to bed with her). I would definitely go the book route if you want to keep limiting screen time. There's all sorts of books available, though imho sadly too many of them focus on Pretty Princesses and not enough on Kick Butt Take Charge Princesses.