Help! Ideas for Disney with a Boy

[NovDis]

I am helping a friend plan her first trip to Disney in February. She has a 3 1/2 year old "rough and tumble" kind of boy. Me, being a mother of a daughter, I have lots to offer for Disney girl planning, but not much of an idea for a little boy.
They are staying at the Polynesian and the AK. Do you have any suggestions?
Character meals?
Activities?
Is there still a villian breakfast?
Are Monsters, Inc. characters to be found anywhere?
How about Buzz and Woody?
Thank you in advance for your insight.

 

[3littleHalls]

For a boy that is 3 1/2 I suggest....Ohana(Poly) has a character bkfst with Stitch and Lilo, no villian meal that I know of anymore, There is a pirate cruise at GF, but I think it might be age 4 and up, you can find the characters from Monsters Inc, the Incredibles, Cars(parade at MGM) Jungle Book, Toy Story(Buzz, Woody, army men, Jesse) for pictures and autographs from most, I think someone said there is a Jack Sparrow character and I reccomend Fantasmic b/c it has the dragon(Maleficent) My son's fav ride is the Buzz Lightyear. I have two girls and one boy, I try to make it a balance of princess and pirate.

 

[mama4]

I am helping a friend plan her first trip to Disney in February. She has a 3 1/2 year old "rough and tumble" kind of boy. Me, being a mother of a daughter, I have lots to offer for Disney girl planning, but not much of an idea for a little boy.
They are staying at the Polynesian and the AK. Do you have any suggestions?
Character meals?
Activities?
Is there still a villian breakfast?
Are Monsters, Inc. characters to be found anywhere?
How about Buzz and Woody?
Thank you in advance for your insight.

Hi- Mom of three boys here...
We have seen Buzz in Tomorrowland and Woody and Jesse in Frontierland at Diamond Horseshoe. They are also at MGM but not sure where. There is no character meal w/ them yet. No villain bfast either- just classic character type meals.
We have done Crystal Palace (w/ Pooh and friends) for bfast and dinner. Both were good but kind of quiet-not as rowdy as some other character meals I've heard.
There is a Pirate adventure cruise but he must be 4 yo to go on this. Will he turn 4 on before the trip perhaps? If so, it's supposed to be a blast. It is at The Grand Floridian and you can find info on it (along w/ other activities) here... http://allearsnet.com/pl/grandadven.htm
My boys were too young for these types of activites last year (will do them next trip) but they both really loved stuff like Buzz's Space Ranger Spin, Indy Racecars, astro orbiter, Peter Pan, the stunt shows at MGM, the Lion King show at AK along w/ other types of activities/rides. I'd take a look at allearsnet.com (or have his mom do it) and get some ideas.
Good luck and have fun!

 

[all4fun]

Here is the Character Meet & Greet info page on Allearsnet.com. That should help you with locating his favorite characters.

As far as special meals go, they might want to consider doing the Hoop-Dee Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness - Wilderness Lodge. It gets excellent reviews for all ages. We are going to be doing this for the first time w/our 3-yr old on our next trip in a few weeks.

Here's the Character Dining page on Allearsnet (can you tell I like this site, lol). You can see every Character Meal that is available there. In the past we have done the Cape May Breakfast w/Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale. We've also done Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh characters, and Cinderella's Royal Table (this was for our niece who was with us at the time but ds enjoyed it too).

There's a new one they're doing at MGM with the Playhouse Disney characters: JoJo & Goliath from "JoJo's Circus", and June & Leo from "Little Einsteins".

If he likes Mickey he might really enjoy eating at Chef Mickey's @ the Contemporary Resort.

My ds really loves the fireworks so we always stay and watch the evening shows. This is something she'll have to play by ear depending on how tired he is at the end of the day and if he's scared by it or not. DS also loved the Beauty and the Beast live show at MGM, and the parades (because he really loves singing, dancing, & music right now).

I'd say his favorite rides right now are the Buzz Lightyear & Winnie the Pooh.

Check out the height restrictions page here, on Allearsnet or on the Dis's Theme Parks main page there's a link to a "height calculator" which will show you which rides he will be too short for. It's good to be prepared before hand so there aren't too many disappointments.

hth!

 

[KimWDW]

My son was 3.5 when we went last year. He'll have a blast!

Disney Studios is the best place to find some boy characters. Buzz & Woody are next to Al's Toy Barn. Mike & Sully from Monsters Inc are nearby the ABC Commissary. The Cars characters are out and about, too.

We didn't see the Toy Story characters in the MK, but have heard Buzz is in Tomorrowland and Woody & Jesse are in frontierland.

Does he like the Little Einsteins? There is a new character breakfast & lunch at Disney Studios in the Hollywood & Vine with the Little Einsteins and JoJo & Goliath.

My son's favorite parts last year (at 3.5) were:
MK: Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Splash Mt, Buzz Lght, Peter Pan
DS: Playhouse Disney show, Muppet 3D movie
EP: Soarin', Norway & Mexico boat rides, Figment ride (and play area after), exploring Innoventions. He'll probably LOVE the Living Seas, though it was closed when we went.
We missed AK, but we're going this year.

 

[Disney4Drew]

My 3 year old DS is really excited about seeing the Cars characters and riding some of the boat and pirate themed attractions. He would probably also like to explore Tom Sawyer Island and the Swiss Family Treehouse. I'm sure there will be plenty of things that will keep him happy and occupied!

 

[matmommy]

I have a boy, and we just went to Disney last month. MGM was the best for the characters. We meet the Incredibles, Buzz, Chicken Little. He really enjoyed Star Tours. He also like Sci-Fi for dinner and Fantasmic. He love AK! At MK he enjoyed Peter Pan, we rode three times without getting off. He also love Pirates and Buzz. Here we meet Buzz, Stitch and the classic characters. He had the best time at on the Pirate Adventure from the Grand FLoridian. They wear life vests the whole time. The also get a pirate bandana with Mickey ears. They also have lunch, I believe at their last stop. They came back singing Yo Ho... Matt asked if he could do it next time we go, while we were still there. After that we rode the monorail, and he got to be the "driver".

 

[tinker-belle]

Hiya. ALL kids that age enjoy playhouse disney at MGM. Also, I read that there is going to be a new Woody's roundup cowboy camp thing starting soon.
And all the shows are amazing- turtle talk with crush at epcot, lion king. My boys also loved beauty & the beast. The new Nemo show is starting soon too.

My boys also had fun at the chip and dale campfire at fort wilderness. And on one of our trips we rented one of those mouse speed boats (then my younger ds was almost 3) and they had a blast!!!!!

 

[karinbelle]

Try the campfire sing-along with Chip N Dale. It's at Ft. Wilderness.

See this thread for more information:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1198881

 

[karinbelle]

MGM also has a "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground.

On the way out of Epcot at night take the right-hand path past the big ball. There's a light-up sidewalk. My boy "caught" a star before it flew into the sky. When he let it go on the bus, it was so fast you couldn't see it fly up. We still look for the "Disney Star" on clear nights. That was almost 4 years ago.

 

[NovDis]

My goodness! You are all amazing.
Thank you! You really gave me some great ideas to run with. I really appreciate it!

 

[Zoemakes5]

I have two boys, both of which are older now, but we took them when they were younger.
I have to ditto most of what was said. There is sooo much for little boys.
My guys would get "stuck" at the fountains! Hee hee! They were so funny, and yes, drenched. One trip, I almost fainted when DS was asked about the best part of the trip and he (of course) said the resort pool! For some reason, I've experienced that that impresses boy children more. If they have flexibility in where they stay, I'd go with someplace with a fun pool area. Zero depth entry, too.
Jungle book was a fav.
Our boys seemed to be more fearless at that age than DD, and they would happily and easily go on rides like Thunder Mountain and Star Tours. We've done Star tours now more times in a row than I'd like to count!! Though, when we went to DL in the fall, DD happily went on Star Tours twice (this was last Nov., and she turned 4 on March).
Anything to do with boats.
Try to get in front on the Monorail.
Plan to go to Tom Sawyer's Island AND to spend quite a bit of time.
I'd also recommend pins and lanyard. I got them for the boys last year and kind of as an afterthought, or a "better get her some, too", got DD one. She was most definitely the most into it. And, the feedback I got from CM's, that's a pretty common age to be pretty in to it. And to have definite character preferences.
I like Chef Mickey's. And the boys were doubly impressed by going over to chef mickey's via the monorail through the contemporary.

 

[RNLUVSDISNEY]

Need I say more--When my son was 3 & 4 he loved them. We took him to the breakfastasaurus in Dinoland in the AK. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto all in dino camp gear. He loved it.

Now he loves Stitch, he's almost 9 and loved finding all the different Stitches in the stores.

There is so much for boys too. Although this year we dragged him to the Princess Breakfast so that DD6 could see her faves and he kinda hid in the corner. The Princesses had fun teasing him, but he learned a good leason about doing something for someone else for one morning too. (He also ate more than he ever ate at a character breakfast, b/c he was trying to hide in the corner )

 

[mom_2_boys]

We just got back today and I am already depressed and wanting more!

My ds2 and ds4 LOVED the Play and Dine at Hollywood and Vine breakfast at MGM. Lots of time with the characters, great food. They also enjoyed the Wispering Cnayon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge. It is a very loud, rowdy place with lots of activities to keep them busy. We had a great time there, one of our favorites on the trip!

As far as rides go, the other posters are exactly right. Buzz Lightyear ride was a HUGE hit, had to go on it several times. DS4 liked Splash Mountain and THunder Mountain Railroad, too. We all enjoyed the train at MK, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean.

The dinosaur stuff at Animal Kingdom was a huge hit, mostly because they could just run around and not be under such strict supervision.

Have a great time and enjoy every minute of your trip - it goes so fast and the kids are so truly precious with the characters!

 

[Tink561]

My boys have always loved Chef Mickeys! Still today at their ages, they request we go there.

My youngest loves the boneyard at Animal Kingdom.

They also enjoyed the Neverland Club at that age.

 

[Kellyscrapbooks]

What no one has mentioned is, Don't rule out the princesses! My son is quite the little flirt and loved nothing more than snuggling up with the princesses at every opportunity!

 

[reelmom]

The Power Rangers are at MGM. There were 5 rangers(Red SPD, Blue lunar wolf, Green samurai, White dino thunder and a pink one) when we went last October and my two boys got their autographs and pictures taken with them.