Large group and "scaredy" 5 year old boy- advice needed.

[Raenstoirm]

Dh and I have been to WDW 1000 times and just got back last week from the first trip with our nearly 4 month old twins. (Trip went wonderfully btw). Anyway this fall we are heading to WDW with my sister. She has never been because she doesn't like "amusement parks." I have tried to explain to her the difference, to no avail. Anyway her 5 year old son is all about Legos, so they are spending the bulk of their trip at Legoland, but she caved and agreed to 2 days at WDW in a WDW hotel. She is the type that will love WDW once she sees it, so that part I am not concerned about. Most of the trip will be dh and I and our then 9 month old twins at WDW (we are not going to Legoland). My sister, her husband (who has not been to wdw since he was a child), their then 5 year old boy and 10 month old girl and a grandma *who has also never been because she too doesn't like amusement parks) will be joining us for part of our trip. So 5 adults, 1 child and 3 babies near a year old. Not trying to sound too judgmental, but my sister raised her boy to be a bit "young." He is afraid of everything. I will not be taking him on pirates or HM and I think even Nemo might be too much for his sensibilities. Heck, Ursula in the little mermaid ride might ruin the trip for him!
So what to do? He is also not allowed to watch tv, so the only character he knows is lightening from a book he has. I plan on buying him books with the basic characters for his birthday in October just prior to the trip so he has some idea what is going on. The christmas party and osbourn lights will have started and food and wine is still going on during our trip. He is really tall so he could ride everything, but we are skipping anything that might be scary (no ToT or rnrc for him but maybe the adults might like them). Dh and I and our babies will have at least 3 full days, probably 4, by ourselves, so these two days are about the boy and the adult newbies. I want him to have fun, but also the adults to get a taste of what we love and not just come away feeling WDW is another expensive "amusement park". If you know what I mean. I figure a full day in MK, but probably not the party since I suspect he will get very crabby if kept up too late. And then epcot and a bounce over to dhs to see the lights. Soarin and tt will probably go over very well and with baby swap our group should be able to do both. Crush, Figment, maybe Nemo, he'll probably like playing in inoventions. My brother in law is a big exotic beer guy so I know he will love the world showcase. And my nephew does like to color so we might get away with the kidcot stations and agent P keeping him happy in the world showcase. We will use our FP+ in EP so I doubt we will get to ride toy story, so there wont be much to do in DHS. I debate if even making them buy hoppers just to go look at the lights is worth it.....
As for MK, I was thinking laugh floor, maybe buzz, TTA, not sure if any 5 year old, let alone 3 babies can sit through CoP. Dumbo, barnstormer (if he likes it maybe snow white, big thunder and even splash! gonna skip space for him lol), Ariel, maybe belle (is it too girl specific for a boy that doesn't know the story?), Pooh, Peter, Small World, country bears if the babies are willing to sit through it. I am sure the adults will like pirates and HM and maybe he will surprise me and be brave and try them.
He doesn't know what a pirate is, so pirates league would hold no value and although I bought him a star wars book for christmas (that he likes a lot) JTA might be too much for him. He is a good kid but his lack of experiences means he gets over stimulated easily. Has anyone traveled with a child like this? What did you find freaked them out? Also I haven't been with a large group since 1998 (and that trip definitely had its low points) so trying to plan things for 9 people (3 of them infants with personalities that we wont be able to predict until closer to the trip and all of the others essentially newbies) has me kind of spinning. We will be staying at one of the epcot resorts I suspect, since BC is our favorite, but we might stay at a monorail. Most likely the boy or the babies will need a mid day nap, so I am thinking those that are awake will go back and swim while the others nap. I already booked a character meal at the swan and dolphin since its kinda low key given its location (and I think the big tree in the middle is so pretty). I don't think the boy has met a character outside of santa so I have no idea if he will have any interest in them and his baby sister has never met one. My 3 month old twins met tons last week, but the 9 month old versions of them might be terrified although we will at least know my guys' reactions to character before the others show up.
Hey if any of you got through this ramble, good for you! I guess I am just looking for pointers to get through this with the least possible amount of pain and for all the newbies to walk away saying they had a great time.

 

[Kathryn777]

Try and focus on what makes Disney not "just another amusement park" . I like your plan but wonder if you're trying to do too much. Many 5 year olds are scared of rides and get overwhelmed. He is likely too short for space mtn and any other big rides. I would definitely include shows and parades . My 8 year old was terrified of Ursula at 5, but will ride every roller coaster he's come across now . Just go a lot slower than normal and remember the small things that make disney magical. Definitely meet characters, he'll think it's cool even if he has no idea who they are

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think you have a good list! I don't think it is worth pushing a child who tends to be scared of rides at that age. He will grow out of it but he is also still very young right now.

Just don't take him on Stitch!

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

agreed, don't push him. just being around Disney might be enough. If Nemo is too much then I am not sure what will be good to go on.

 

[Sarahbelle341]

My little boy is on the timid side as well with rides. For example, He won't ride the scrambler at six flags, the very image of the tower of terror freaks him out and disney villians are a no go. He doesn't do roller coasters or scary rides like haunted mansion. But thats a big part of the reason we love Disney compared to other places. Some of my son's favorites are parades, shows like beauty and the beast, toy story mania, the seas with nemo and friends, peter pan, magic carpets, kilimanjaro safari, winnie the pooh, gran fiesta tour, and buzz space ranger spin.

 

[allysetraskos]

My way to get my son on rides last year (he was 5) was to talk up all the perks about... Nemo for instance, tell him about all the bright fish and bubbles, I wouldn't say oh hey were going to be underwater in an aquarium with sharks lol... I did make the mistake the last day by telling my son TOT was just a ride on an elevator, now we have issues with going on any elevator ( which led me to have to walk up 10 flights of stairs downtown a few weeks back ). We never told our son about big drops on the rides because after we were on it and he did it we would praise him by saying wow you did that like such a big boy your so grown up... He loved hearing about how he was such a big guy.

 

[itchin2go]

2 ideas:

1. I didn't see Mickey's Philharmagic on your list. I'm afraid of almost everything (slight exaggeration ), and I ADORE Mickey's Philharmagic. I just think it's so "Disney" in every wonderful way.
2. Are you going to do rope drop at MK? I think standing there while they do the little show is just a great introduction to Disney. You quickly figure out who the VIPs are (as far as characters go), and it's so magical when the gates open and they let you in. I just think it's a great way to set up the day for first-timers.

You are just going to have to play it by ear as far as what he will like and what he won't. I would start off doing things you can be CERTAIN won't offend. That way, he'll learn to trust these rides/attractions/experiences so he can let go and just enjoy. If you scare him right off the bat, you're done.

I have a friend whose daughter would ride ANYTHING, but put a "face" character in front of her, and she would FREAK.

Edited to add: Epcot idea ... Club Cool - so fun and not scary at all!

One more suggestion: Treats! Mickey Bars and cupcakes and Dole Whips ... World Showcase treats in Epcot - pastries in France and Norway, crepes, cannoli, kaki gori .....

 

[NJlauren]

First I wanted to say I followed some of you other threads and would love to know how some of the things worked out on this trip like restaurants and stuff! I love your attitude your kids are adjusting to your life! Was hoping you would do a TR

Next I think shows are a good places to start you can leave if he is freak and can get an idea of how scared he really is. Sometimes I think kids open up when around people aside from there parents he may surprise you.

Try turtle talk, country bears, enchanted tales with belle etc. Also carousel, small world are good things to start with.

Also at 10 months my biggest issue with DD was she wanted to crawl/play on the ground a lot time for that and your trip will be as successful as your last.

 

[pangyal]

My biggest tip: under no circumstances take him to see It's Tough To Be A Bug at Animal Kingdom. My little guy is scarred for life from the four minutes we spent in the theatre before he raced out screaming and weeping with complete terror.

 

[Sarahbelle341]

To Avoid Most likely-- Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of Caribbean, Rockin Rollercoaster, Stitch, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, It's Tough to be a Bug, Mission Space, Great Movie ride (alien part and shooting scene), Jungle Cruise after dark, and Splash Mountain.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Not referring to him as a "scaredy cat" is probably a good first rule of thumb to follow.

 

[kj2mom]

My 5 year old son got freaked out by Ariel's dad in Little Mermaid, I think it was the cannon in Muppets but by evening we created a super Kyle persona that made him just fine at Fantasmic! The trip was for my twin's 5th birthday and all about them. I steered clear of anything I thought was too much but he loved Splash! He even bought a tshirt saying he rode it and then when he outgrew it he had it made into a pillow that now at age 13 he still uses!

 

[itchin2go]

My 5 year old son got freaked out by Ariel's dad in Little Mermaid, I think it was the cannon in Muppets but by evening we created a super Kyle persona that made him just fine at Fantasmic! The trip was for my twin's 5th birthday and all about them. I steered clear of anything I thought was too much but he loved Splash! He even bought a tshirt saying he rode it and then when he outgrew it he had it made into a pillow that now at age 13 he still uses!

Yeah - It's unpredictable what will be scary and what will be delightful. Play it by ear. Let him take the lead, but pay attention to what freaks him out and what doesn't. He may be more "sheltered" than "scared".

 

[Marnm02]

We went with a large group that included a timid 5-year-old boy last year. Good things were The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Enchanted Tales with Belle, any and all character meet and greets, The World Showcase, Kilimanjaro Safaris.

Bad experiences were Dinosaur, Mickey's Philharmagic, The Little Mermaid ride, Frozen Singalong, any Fireworks

Things we thought would be good, but that he refused to try were Living with the Land and Toy Story Mania

 

[bumbershoot]

So 5 adults, 1 child and 3 babies near a year old. Not trying to sound too judgmental, but my sister raised her boy to be a bit "young." He is afraid of everything. I will not be taking him on pirates or HM and I think even Nemo might be too much for his sensibilities. Heck, Ursula in the little mermaid ride might ruin the trip for him!

A 5 year old IS young. It's 100% OK for him to be concerned about those things. Young kids who LIKE those things are the outliers, IMO. He's actually pretty normal.

Ursula is scary. Nemo is horrific. Pirates are criminals, and HM has GHOSTS! Those things are SCARY and it's OK for him to be scared by them.

He is also not allowed to watch tv, so the only character he knows is lightening from a book he has.

I admire your sister for being able to do that. I tried and failed. Too tired to do much of anything with the kid (found out when he was 4 that I'd had a near transfusable hemoglobin level and no one told me, and that explained a LOT) and TV took over.

WHY are you taking them to WDW? Legoland sounds all sorts of perfect for him. I wouldn't waste anyone's time with Disney at this point. Sister doesn't like it, her son doesn't know it...WHY?

He is a good kid but his lack of experiences means he gets over stimulated easily.

Um, my kid had a lot of experiences and gets overstimulated easily. It has NOTHING to do with experiences or lack thereof.

Earplugs are fabulous for insane environments like Disney. Make sure several sets are carried every day if you insist on having them go on this trip. Making sure everyone gets fed and *water*ed regularly will go a long way as well. Lots of sleep, too! Vital.

 

[Suzy Mickle]

I would definitely include shows and parades

 

[UnderTheRialto]

I think you're being really hard on both the kid and your sister. You may have a different perspective when you have preschoolers. My 4yo kid's favorite ride is Space Mountain (!) but he's still terrified of Ursula (Terrified!) and I would not consider taking him on HM.

Villains and witches and magicians are very scary to young children. That's why Frozen is such a hit- no witch.

 

[andiraye]

I would focus on the parts of WDW that are all about wonder. To me, that's the big difference between WDW and anywhere else.

If your family can stay up late enough, MSEP would be on top of my list.

Definitely also belle. It is not too girly, especially if you DON'T know the backstory. That mirror is amazing. And how fun to be in the show!

Also Dumbo and the pre ride play area.

If you do LM you could also take him to meet Ariel. A real live mermaid! My two boys were positively mute when they saw her - they clearly were in love with her.

Also Winnie the pooh. I bet he's read that book. You could also take him to Crystal palace to meet the pooh characters.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Since you are able to do everything you want to do before the rest of the family arrives, I would play the WDW portion with your sister, nephew and grandma a bit by ear. I think you, yourself, will have a better time with your extended family if you let go of the expectation that, once they arrive, they will see WDW through your eyes and change their perception that it's more than just an amusement park. If that portion of the trip is about your 5-year old nephew, your sister and grandma, then go at their pace, set up a few FP+ that you think will interest your nephew and be prepared to abandon your plans if necessary. WDW has so much to offer. If they don't like the parks, go for a swim, go mini-golfing, go rent a surrey bike or boat.

Your nephew is 5 years old. As another PP pointed out, he IS young. My DS has been to WDW about 20 times since he was 1 (he is 7 now) and he STILL gets overstimulated. It has nothing to do with lack of experiences. It has to do with my DS and it has to do with the fact that WDW is OVERSTIMULATING. You yourself point out that, while your twins were fine with characters on their last trip, you don't know how they'll react when they are 9 months old. If they get scared, will that make them scaredy cats? Give your nephew a break. He's 5. I, too, applaud your sister for keeping him away from TV. That's a major feat in this day and age.

Believe it or not, MK may not be the park for this little boy. It's my DS's least favorite park because the activities (mostly rides and shows) are passive. If your nephew is into Legos, coloring and things he can actively engage in, the bigger hit may be EP - try Innoventions, Kidcot, etc. He may also enjoy the Wildlife Explorers program at AK. Perhaps even Tom Sawyer's Island in MK.

As you are able to enjoy the parks the way you like to before your extended family arrives, I would suggest following this little boy's lead when he arrives. He may be interested in things you never experienced at WDW and you may end up seeing WDW through a whole new set of eyes.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

My boys have been to WDW most years of their lives from infancy, and many years more than once. The one thing that I can add is that even the more timid of the two (my younger son) was a different person on every trip. Some trips he was afraid of little, other he was afraid of almost everything, with no way to predict what we were going to get until we arrived in the parks. After a few days of trying various forms of influence to get him to try rides we learned that we were all better off if we just let him ride what he was comfortable with on a given day.

That said, one trip in particular stands out in my mind. We went once with a large group of his cousins. He is the youngest of the group, but they are all very close. On that trip, he rode EVERYTHING without hesitation, laughing and smiling the whole time. The next trip he was back to his timid self. You just never know.