How do you get your kids excited about Disney World

[pilesoflaundry]

If you have to get them excited to go, they may not be ready. If you mention the word "disney" in my house, not even disney world, just disney they go nuts. Heck my kids even enjoy the disney store We have always had the movies and the disney channel on and love it all. My kids were so excited once we finally got there, they were excited to go but they didn't really show how happy they were until we finally got there. Until it was "real" and not just plans kwim?

When my son was a toddler he watched the halloween sing a long tape until it broke. I just bought the dvd for my girls .

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I don't think they are too young. My 3 yr old nephew is super excited for his first trip to disney this November. He has been talking about it for months. It probably helps that my sister, my kids, and myself talk about it all the time. We always show him pictures of our previous trips too.

When my kids were that age we always watched the disney sing a long videos. One is at disney land, but my kids couldn't tell that it wasn't WDW. Also there is one at typhoon lagoon. We watched those videos every day. They love to go to the disney store. Its a little bit of WDW right at our local mall! The disney planning video always gets them excited, and also youtube videos.

It didn't take a lot to get my kids addicted to disney. The days can't go fast enough until we go back!!!

 

[hsmamato2]

YOu can buy the dvd's of the old disney cartoons at the Cracker Barrel- by theme,my kids love Donald,Mickey,Goofy ,and Chip and Dale. And one of them is a teen,and still loves them!

 

[gasperdam]

Never too young for Disney!!! My DD went on her first trip at 6 months and my son's was at 14 months and they LOVED it - they lit up around the characters and loved all the stimulation!!

ITA with this statement. We took our oldest DS on his first trip at 17 months old, and while we were waiting in line for Spaceship Earth there had been a section of someone's newspaper stuck to the giant "ball". My DH, DS, and I had all taken notice of it. Then when we went back the next year, my DS, then 2, asked where the newspaper was when we went back to Spaceship Earth. It's simply AMAZING what toddlers and preschoolers can retain!

 

[SeptDisney]

Here's another vote for having the kids watch the Disney sing a long videos. It helps for the kids to see the "real" characters in addition to the cartoons. That way when they meet Mickey, they won't be freaked out that he is close to 7 feet tall!

I would also agree that ages 2 & 4 isn't too young to take kids to Disney. I will never forget the first time we took my 3 year old niece to Disney. We didn't tell her where we were going and once we got into the park (we had a slight delay while she looked at some ducks - actual ducks, not Donald ) the dance that she did when she saw Cinderella's castle is one of my all time favorite Disney memories!

 

[Cristy]

In our case for my grandkids first visit to WDW this past February we had two days planning notice as my son who had just gotten back from Iraq invited his brother, his niece age 5, and nephews ages 3 and 2 and me. We only told the kids that they were going to visit their Uncle in South Carolina as we knew we had a long drive. Once we got to S.C. my son drove the rest of the way to Orlando. Once we got to the WDW archway my grand daughter saw the silhouettes of the characters and exclaimed, "Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy! We must be at Hersheypark!" We laughed so hard. They were so excited. Once we checked into the Contemporary we went to the Club Lounge where my 3 year old grandson announced upon seeing The Grand Floridian, "That's Uncle Nathan's House!". Then once my grand daughter reviewed the landscape she saw Cinderella's Castle. That's when she said "Grammy, we're at Dis-A-Ney World!"~

Once you are there, your kids will know Disney and will be excited. This was one of our best vacations ever! If you have the free disney planning video that would give them an instant recollection of places once you arrive. Have a great time!

 

[Kims09]

Hello, fellow Wisconsinite!

My daughter just turned 5 and she has been saturated with Disney for the past few years. Disney books, Disney channel, Disney toys, Disney clothes.
My family and my husband's family know my love for Disney and have been willing participants in this saturation.
Your kids probably won't understand what all the hoopla is about until they get to Disney, but once they get there and, as long as they have an idea of who the characters are, they will have a blast.
By the way, I agree with a lot of the others that your kids are not too young. My daughter was 3 1/2 when we took her to WDW for the first time. She had a great deal of fun. To this day, she remembers quite a bit of the trip (honestly, more than me, I believe). It helps we took a lot of pictures and pull them out once every other month or so.
We're heading back to Florida in October as a surprise to her, so the pictures are being pulled out more frequently. I can't wait!

Good luck!

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

I didnt read the rest of the replies but I wanted to say that if it is the "classic" feel you are looking to give them then thats easy. I bought a few dvds that are all classic disney. We have one that is all classic Goofy cartoons, one with all classic Donald cartoons and several will classic Mickey mouse (we have a christmas one.. actually maybe 2 or 3 christmas ones and 1 or 2 of just cartoons) They were easy to find and I actually got one with my CitiCank thank you rewards. Other than that.. I watched Youtube videos with character meet & greets, showed them pictured of the parks and whenever I would talk about WDW I would get really animated and show them the excitement in my voice. I find that when they realize how excited I am it helps them become excited. I started putting on Playhouse Disney in the mornings and without ANY pushing at all Pooh became an instant favorite among my 2 year old. I cant even express how emotional I got to see him so so excited when we took him to the Crystal Palace for breakfast

Sorry this is so long, but hope it helped!

 

[NYCDiane]

I think at 2 and 4, they haven't a clue where they're going and they surely aren't going to remember being there a year from now.

I guess you can show them Disney cartoons and tell them you'll be visiting Mickey, Minnie, etc when you go on vacation. Not sure if that will get them hyped up about the trip, though. Keep in mind their ages --- 2 & 4 -- I think kids a little older would get excited because they would actually understand what's going on.

 

[CLR4321]

I showed my DS who was 4 at the time, videos of WDW on Youtube. He loved watching them and was so excited to see the real thing when we got there. Now he sees WDW when I am looking at stuff online and gets all excited, asking when we get to go again. We have a surprise trip planned for him for Sept. Your 2 year old probably won't be near as into it, as most of them are just too young to quite understand it all.

 

[Planogirl]

I've got pictures of DS when he was just 1 and he looks like he's about to bust with excitement. People laughed when I showed them a few pictures, commenting that there was one person who was definitely having a great time. Every kid is different though.

I think that some of the stores sell cartoon collections from Disney. (Or at least they did.) I remember seeing them in Wal-Mart.

You could also look for picture books at the bookstores.

 

[brandylouwho]

I am not sure my 2 year old totally gets that we are going to Disney, although she loved it when she was 19 months old. My 5 year old surely does "get it"...she has been going to Disney since she was 2 and loves it. But she has been there quite a few times now and so she understands what it is and what to expect (and has many opinions as to what we should do).

To get psyched we watch cartoons, they love the old classics, you can buy them at Target, Best Buy, probably Walmart too. We also watch the Disney movies like Slepeing Beauty, Cinderella, etc. Heck, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has all the basic characters in it.

My eldest has the Guide to the Magic for Kids book that she loves to page through & talk about. We also watch ride videos on youtube sometimes.

We have also recorded Disneyworld shows from the Travel Channel. We like to talk about which rides the 5 year old might try this year (she is a bit of a chicken) and which she thinks look too scary.

We also talk about flying etiquette (trying to prep them to behave) and look at atlases and globes to see where we live and where WDW is.

But be warned...I am sure your kids will love WDW, but they may love the resort pool & riding the bus just as much as the parks--seriously.

 

[Carolinephilb]

Hi this is quite a situation you have here I am not an adult I am 15 this month but I have some tips for anyone going to Disney with kids I having gone 2 years back and going again in about 2 months know what got me and my family excited to go and what we are doing this year to get ourselves ready
1) watch as many Disney movies of all kinds that you can before leaving- not only will it bring back childhood memories for you but your kids will know what rides they want to go on and characters they want to meet (reading Disney books is also helpful)
2) my parents got me and my younger brothers a few gifts the night before leaving for Disney- Our family is a family of 5 so traveling by plane from Chicago to Florida is a huge cost so we decided last time and this year to road trip it we have already calculated our path and know that with maximum stops included it will take us a high of 24 hours to get to Disney which means we will be stoping overnight in a small hotel or motel for a night ( last year we had a rather difficult time driving all the way through- we decided last minute somewhere in Georgia to drive all the way to our Disney resort it was about 3 in the morning when we got there and they told us our room wouldent be ready until 10:00am the next morning so we left the park area a good 15-30 minutes where spent there we started stopping at any hotel or motel we could find looking for a room... Long long long story short we drove about an hour away from Disney before finding a motel with 1 room left and jumped on it... Turns out there was a huge sporting event, a concert, and a horse race all going on the next day in that area everything was booked we needed up spending 2 hours looking for a room) that being said we where in the car for about 27 hours and where lucky that we had gotten movies toys and coloring books to do all that time it keeps everyone happy to be able o do something
3) PLAN AHEAD!!!
Book a room in hotel near Disney if you are planing to spend a night out but find somewhere fun your kids will enjoy
4) spend family time- phones only have so much battery anyway the point of vacation is family time.. Yes take pictures and play some games together or listen to music but don't get to caught up in phones

 

[My2Qtz0205]

I planned Disney family movie nights. Once we hit the 100 day mark we would watch a Disney movie every Friday night and I would schedule food and activities to go with that movie. My kids really enjoyed it!

As the trip got closer we watched the planning DVD and watched ride videos to prepare them.

 

[mrsabbott]

2 is a little young, but my 4 year old is well aware of trips we take. Come to think of it, he has been a fan of Mickey since he was 2! There are tons of Mickey cartoons on YouTube. My son also likes to watch videos of places we visit. We recently went to Great Wolf Lodge and he watched YouTube videos of the slides and watermark. Hours of entertainment! I am sure there are lots of Disney parks videos available.
My family also likes to do countdown chains about a month before a trip. We write what we will do/see/look forward to and take it off and read it each night. Netflix had lots of Disney movies.. Have a movie night. Many libraries rent movies too! Also, I have found inexpensive Disney stuff at the Dollar tree. Shirts with Disney characters can sometimes be found on clearance at Walmart and target.

 

[katyjeka]

Children are so different, even siblings!!! Our third goes crazy with every disney commercial, her sisters don't even notice them!!! I wouldn't worry as much about them "lighting"up when you discuss a trip as getting them familiar with the characters. Watch movies and read tons of disney books, both of which are inexpensive. Let them feel excited in their own way. As for the comments on age, every child is different as is every parent. We've been going with our girls from birth because it works for our family. We have friends who waited until their kids were five and older which worked for them. Have a great trip, there is nothing like the first time you introduce wdw to your kids.

 

[msmama]

Something that I didn't see anyone mention yet, but we read a lot of Disney books.

We had several anthologies with lots of different stores (Adventure stores, Christmas stores, Princess stores, - all in the vein of 5 minute bedtime stores). Those were perfect when my son was little. My local library also has TONS of great Disney books. I read my son the storybooks way before he was old enough to actually sit through a movie.

We also went to the "Mickey Mouse" store whenever we went to the mall. We'd just browse, but he loved it when he was little (who am I kidding, he still does and he's almost 8).

His first trip, he was 10 months old. He definitely recognized Pooh characters and Mickey and friends as something he'd seen before!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Um, this thread is over 6 years old. I think OP's kids have it figured out by now.


Having said that, it's still an interesting topic, so carry on

 

[mjkacmom]

The Disney sing-a-long series is great too....kids singing w/the characters. Our favorite is the Disneyland Sing-a-Long Fun, but we love 'em all. They are short too, so not as long as a full length movie, but they love the singing. An introduction to Disney films is a must too... the Pixar ones are very watchable! There are also plenty of books...story books, sticker books, coloring books for them to get to know the characters.

And, keep in mind, that while the parks are fantastic, the resort pool will hold as much appeal!!!!! Prepare yourself for that!!

The first time we brought kids was when the oldest were 2 and 4 (DH had a conference). It was torture getting them out of the pool to go to the parks!

Taken in by a zombie thread!!!!

 

[scrapquitler]

I'd start showing them the movies. Finding Nemo, The Little Mermaid, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Aladdin, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, Toy Story, Lilo and Stitch -- all have rides that correspond to the movies/characters.