High-spirited little ones and WDW

[1rockinmamato2]

So, just out of curiosity, I'm asking this. But, are there any small children who are typically high-spirited, fun-loving, energetic, and adventurous who do well at WDW?

I'm just asking. Umm, no reason.

 

[melomouse]

Just a haeds up , pat on the back and prayer for you to not even worry about your spirited child in WDW.

That was my son - and believe it or not, he became a different child at WDW. Some suggest the stimulation at Disney makes them "more" energetic - ? - but I always found, and still do, that it is just the opposite with DS.

There is so much to so and see that they never run out of things to do, or think about. Then they crash at night and get up and do it the next day!

I am hoping you have an awesome time and that all is even better than you imagined!!

 

[Gillian]

You will be fine! I was so worried about DD, but she surprised us. Of course, she surprised us by turning from fearless to afraid of the winnie the pooh ride, but it all worked out very well. She was almost 3 at the time.

I'm even thinking about taking her to the World by myself now. She'll be 4 1/2. Even though she isn't easy at home or school, I believe she would be a joy at WDW.

 

[1rockinmamato2]

Thanks so much for the reassurance!

I am hoping that the sights and sounds will keep DS entertained and occupied. I'm sure he'll love WDW. But, yesterday, while we were shopping (which I know is no fun for toddlers) he basically had a meltdown and I immediately had a "flash forward" to our trip and imagined him acting that way while waiting in line and I've been a bit nervous ever since. But, I'm still excited about the trip and can't wait to see his face the first time he sees the real, live Mickey Mouse.

 

[brymolmom]

I've got one of those - the other one is more laid back. My best piece of advice is to stick to whatever discipline technique you have at home. I know, a lot of people don't like to do that on vacation but it has been my experience that sometimes the really high-spirited and SMART ones see the opportunity to take advantage of the situation (ok - so maybe that's just my own dd) if they sense that it is a 'special' occasion and the same rules do not apply as home.

So, with us - if we enforce the rules one or two times early in the trip - she gets the hint that good behavior is expected at WDW too and it makes ALL of our trips way less stressful and more enjoyable.

One example - dd decided to have the mother of all meltdowns our first time in line to go to MK on our day of arrival (just after a 2 hour nap - so she was NOT too tired or anything). With the nice audience onlooking, she decided she NEEDED to have juice (which I never carry in the diaper bag - only water so it was totally for the audience factor) - and when I said no, she had a meltdown. We did what we would have at home - ignored her (well, at home she would have been allowed about 1 minute to settle down herself before being sent to her room so all of us aren't disrupted by it, but, this, in line for a bus, was not an option). We got lots of nice looks (being sarcastic here- a lot of them were not nice and had the 'I can't believe you're dragging a tired kid back to the parks' look to it), but in a few minutes, she settled down and said 'can I please have some water?' - so it was settled - she did not get any special treatment even though it was a vacation with onlookers.

Anyway - just something to think about beforehand - one 'timeout' on a nearby bench or going in early from the pool due to bad behavior might make your little ones angels for the rest of the trip!

Best of luck and you'll have a blast!

 

[CampbellScot]

I've got one of those - the other one is more laid back. My best piece of advice is to stick to whatever discipline technique you have at home. I know, a lot of people don't like to do that on vacation but it has been my experience that sometimes the really high-spirited and SMART ones see the opportunity to take advantage of the situation (ok - so maybe that's just my own dd) if they sense that it is a 'special' occasion and the same rules do not apply as home.

So, with us - if we enforce the rules one or two times early in the trip - she gets the hint that good behavior is expected at WDW too and it makes ALL of our trips way less stressful and more enjoyable.

One example - dd decided to have the mother of all meltdowns our first time in line to go to MK on our day of arrival (just after a 2 hour nap - so she was NOT too tired or anything). With the nice audience onlooking, she decided she NEEDED to have juice (which I never carry in the diaper bag - only water so it was totally for the audience factor) - and when I said no, she had a meltdown. We did what we would have at home - ignored her (well, at home she would have been allowed about 1 minute to settle down herself before being sent to her room so all of us aren't disrupted by it, but, this, in line for a bus, was not an option). We got lots of nice looks (being sarcastic here- a lot of them were not nice and had the 'I can't believe you're dragging a tired kid back to the parks' look to it), but in a few minutes, she settled down and said 'can I please have some water?' - so it was settled - she did not get any special treatment even though it was a vacation with onlookers.

Anyway - just something to think about beforehand - one 'timeout' on a nearby bench or going in early from the pool due to bad behavior might make your little ones angels for the rest of the trip!

Best of luck and you'll have a blast!

Totally Agree!!

Stick to regular routines. Let your little ones know that bad behavior will not be accepted regardless of where you are. If you need to do a "timeout" in the stroller or even take him out of the parks and to the hotel for a nap, needed or not, I'm sure he'll get the pictures. It freaks kids out when their routines are changed. They check to see if rules still apply. If they don't, then advantage is taken and nobody has a good time!

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

I do recommend bringing some stuff to keep the child busy. If there is a book or small toy that they like and can use in the stroller that can provide a distraction when waiting for the bus.

 

[taximomfor4]

I took my oldest, just me and her, for her 8th birthday. She is the definition of the "spirited" child. She was so out of control, completely unable to calm herself EVER, that we took her to see a child psychologist soon after we got home.

My hard-earned (really stretched for that trip, which is why it was just her and me) WDW vacation was a near-disaster. She was completely out of control melted down, having fits (like a 2 yr old!) and just TERRIBLE by our second ride of the day every day. We ended up going back to the hotel. Had MAYBE an hour per day for 4 days in the parks. Only got to MK and Epcot. My whole role was protecting other people's vacations by removing dd.

The only good thing that came out of that trip is that she learned to swim under water. We had soooooo much time at our hotel (ASMo) each day that she just finally "got it."

Just watch your child for cues, remove them when necessary. Know that you might not do what you set out to do. When necessary, protect other vacationers' vacations by removing your spirited child. Hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised...some kids behave BETTER at Wdw.

Best of luck to yoU!

Beth