kids and guidebooks

[jillybeanjo]

A cautionary tale: When my daughter was 5 we planned her first trip to WDW. I loved reading all the guidebooks I could get my hands on and planning out our itinerary. I thought it would be a good idea to get her a guidebook, too, so that she would know what to expect. I bought Birnbaum's book for kids, with lots of pictures and descriptions, and even some fun activities for her to do before the trip.
Our first day was at MGM. We arrived early, waited at the gates, and went right to Voyage of the Little Mermaid with a few other early risers that also wanted to be at the front of the line. THEN my daughter panicked. She had read in her guidebook that the show was dark, there were loud noises, and some characters scared small children. She refused to go inside. This happened at Peter Pan, it's a small world, and other rides that aren't really scary for most kids, and she is usually not scared of anything.
The point of this awfully long post is, be careful what your kids read before your trip, or you may encounter similar problems.

 

[lauraljp]

I had to hide our "Birnbaum's WDW for kids and by kids." My older kids were reading it to my four year old and she is now saying she will not go on a lot of the rides. Is every ride in that book listed as being "dark" and "scary." I'm hoping that by our trip she will be more receptive, but I don't know.

Laura

 

[MinnieGi]

I'm glad my DD can't read yet! I bought her that guide when she was two for our trip in Feb. and she loved looking and talking about th pictures. She had it out tonight b/c our trip is getting closer and we're starting to talk about it alot and again she is talking about all the pictures and what she wants to ride.

Thanks for the warning for "readers" and those with older children.

 

[KatieKate16]

DD4 enjoys the book too. I never told her what those Mickey icons meant, and she's never asked.

 

[Laney's Mom]

My daughter is scared of lots of things but we didn't tell her and tried almost everything and she wasn't traumatized at all. When I read things were suppose to be scary I thought it would be alot more scary than it was.

 

[lentesta]

Working for the Unofficial Guide, it was interesting to see how my DD5 reacted to many of the attractions during her first visit in May.

She loved (loved!) Splash Mountain. Still talks about it. Her claim that her dad "screamed like a little girl" are, however, baseless. She enjoyed the Mad Tea Party, too.

She didn't like the Haunted Mansion the first time through. Cried as we were leaving. But after explaning to her that the ghosts were funny, she asked to ride (and rode) it two more times without trouble.

We stayed off Snow While, BTMRR, and Space Mountain. She wasn't enthused at all by Buzz, the Astro Orbiters, the Speedway, or Pooh. We got stuck on Pan for an hour and had to be rescued by the Reedy Creek Fire Department (no kidding). I think getting to each the chocolate muffins the CMs gave us was the highlight of Fantasyland for her.

In the Studios, she liked Muppets and Playhouse Disney. She was scared by Mermaid.

Epcot didn't really interest her at all, but I've got half a day alone with her in WDW next January while my wife is off attending a bridal shower at the Poly. That should be a lot of fun.

Sincerely,

Len