How to prepare DD3 & DS4???

[It's A Happy Day]

We are taking our children to WDW in October for their very 1st trip Can't wait - and I'm the adult I need to know if any parents out there prepared their young kids for WDW and how they do it. My kids have never been to a theme park or a parade before. The closest to character interaction was a circus or chuckie cheese, and the quarter rides in malls around home. We have already told them that we are going and have been telling them how Mickey Mouse and all the characters are as big as mom and dad and relate size to the chuckie cheese mouse. We have watched the travel video with them and have talked to them about some of the rides, how its all pretend, we will be w/them all the time. Are there any videos out there that give more specific info on rides in the parks or show more of the parks than just the freebie one they send to you?

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Ok, this is what we did:

1) We always order the Disney Vacation Video from the Disney.com and play it all the time. The kids love it.

2) We purchased 2 Disney "Sing-a-long" videos from WallMart. The kids love them and they show the the "World" and all the rides.

3) We purchase Mickey coloring books, posters, books, computer games, etc... they love them all and still play with all of them.

4) We got them involved by looking at pictures and having them help choose restaurants and hotels.

Have Fun!

 

[pearljim]

That's good advice (previous post). Our grandsons (3 & 4) have been to WDW at least once a year since birth. The boys don't have any real conception of time (days-weeks-months) so we don't start the hype too early - usually 3-4 weeks prior. But watch out - from time to time during the year, the 4 yr old asks me if it isn't time to go see the castle again. Earlier this week he told his mother it was 1 o'clock - time to go see Mickey!!!

 

[Taratink]

Montaha has great advise. Those are all the things that we did. They loved the vacation video. When we were at Disney we bought a picture book of Disney and my kids love to look at it and talk about all the things we did.
Tara

 

[beauandjacksmommy]

Hi -

The best "sing-a long" video is the one that is titled "Disneyland Fun".

It was filmed at Disneyland in the eighties, so it's a little outdated, but it shows rides and how big the characters are. If you can't find it at your local store I would definitely suggest getting a used one off of ebay.

My son still loves it and he will be six at the end of this month - the first time he watched it he was only two

Have fun - we took my son for the first time when he had just turned three. He may not remember it all, but I do - it is priceless remembering how excited he was!

 

[AtlantaSue]

My Kids had also seen the "Disneyland Fun" video multiple times and they were absolutely floored when we 1st visited Disneyworld "in real life!" My girls 1st visit was at 3 and 18 months. Have fun!

 

[disnut8]

We didn't tell our then five year old granddaughter she was going to Disney World until we pulled up onsite. Big mistake. She didn't have time to mentally prepare. She didn't do that much because she was still scared of the dark. So we all took turns waiting with her outside the "scary" rides.

This last time, she knew she was going. Her mom and my son went through every single attraction at all four parks and asked if she wanted to do each one. It worked out great. Twilight Zone got a huge NO but she did it once she was there. Her reaction - "never again!" but at least she tried. Everything else was fantastic for her because she was prepared in advance. She even said she would give up Dumbo and/or Aladdin Magic Carpets as long at Triceratops Spin was a must. Happily taken care of.

Other ideas - take bubbles for the lines. Take a small pen flashlight for the darker attractions. For your sanity, make sure each child has proper ID with them. We pinned a laminated card inside the granddaughter's shorts. It had her first name, her mother's name (last name is different), our resort, and two cell phone numbers. She knew it was there and at the very first park we entered, we found a very friendly Cast Member and showed off the name badge to find in case we were stupid and lost the little girl.

Above all, listen to your kids. If they need a time out, give it to them. Dumbo isn't going to fly off somewhere while you are taking a water break.

The Chuckie Cheese reference is a good one. That's about the size of some of the characters.

 

[nhmomx2]

Absolutely get the sing-a-long video! My kids loved it and it gave them a great sense of what the characters would be like up close. They had an excellent idea of what to expect from the park as well.