Movies to see before visiting WDW?

[Spelurker]

Our kids, ages 5 & 6, will be visiting WDW for the first time in December. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen a list of Disney films that correlate to WDW attractions and/or shows & parades?
For example, I think that a child might find the Peter Pan's Flight more enjoyable if they've seen the movie beforehand.
Thanks.

 

[My2Angels]

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, The Sword in the Stone (there is actually a replica near the carousel that they can attempt to pull from the stone), Pirates of the Carribbean (may be too scary for small ones), Song of the South (old film) Splash Mountain is themed from this one, Alice in Wonderland (tea cup theme), Mary Poppins (not a ride, but my children saw her several times as well as Pinnocchio These are just a few........

 

[dpittnuma]

Loved the first set of suggestions! How about:

Beauty & the Beast (show at MGM & Bells's storytime in Fantasyland)
Toy Story (Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin)
Swiss Family Robinson (The SFR Treehouse)
The Lion King (Festival of the Lion King- DAK & film in the Land @ Epcot)


Hope this helps you make the magic!!

Susan

 

[KJF]

I would say watch the Sing-A-Long ones they have - Disneyland fun is a good one, since some of the rides are the same. And the planning videos never hurt!

 

[HdnMickeyGrl]

To add: Stitch, Monster's Inc., Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, DHS has a big Pixar Parade so you might want to watch the Pixar movies.

 

[jenok0426]

If you are planning on taking them on Tower of Terror, Disney came out with a made for tv movie a few years ago. My 4 year old loved it and it didnt make the ride as scary. We also watched Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy so he could see parts of the ride.

 

[Spelurker]

Great suggestions; thank you.
Do you remember the name of the Tower of Terror film? I'd never heard of that one.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Do you remember the name of the Tower of Terror film? I'd never heard of that one.

Not trying to be snarky, but it's called Tower of Terror. It has Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst. I'm 23 and still love that movie.

 

[Fawkes]

I would also recommend watching High School Musical if you want to watch any of the performers at MGM with High School Musical.

 

[Disney Brat]

Great thread!! I also suggest watching the ride videos on YouTube! DD loves them, and it helped her to see the rides first, so that there would be no surprises!!

 

[Spelurker]

Thanks gang; great suggestions.

 

[ChristaDeVil]

Check the Travel Channel listings for any upcoming Disney Specials. They did a "Season of Disney" recently and rerun those a lot. My child could watch the Samantha Brown Disney Specials a dozen times in a row. (So could my husband. )

Also, and this is going to sound weird, but I love to watch the Full House two part episode when they go to Disney World. You get to see a TON of the attractions and lots of shots of the GF, which I will never be able to stay in, so I just watch and admire.

 

[IUHoosiers]

Definitely Peter Pan (besides the ride, we saw Peter, Captain Hook and Tinkerbell several times) and The Little Mermaid. You may also see characters from Robin Hood, Jungle Book and Cars.

As others mentioned, Toy Story, Alice in Wonderland, Lion King, Mary Poppins, Pinocchio, Winnie the Pooh and Finding Nemo are also good choice.

Before our February trip, I bought several of these on Ebay (used) at a discounted price. Sometimes you will find someone selling a Disney collection...so you can pick up several movies at a very discounted price.

I never found Pinocchio, so we bought the book. I also bought a nice collection of Disney classics for bed time reading. I found mine at a local bookstore...but this is the book we bought.

http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Storybook-Collection-Collections/dp/B000YHQWS8/ref=pd_sim_b_8

DD4 definitely enjoyed our trip more having seen these movies or read the stories...she was far more excited when she saw a character she recognized. Have fun "preparing"!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I am soooo embarrassed aftering seeing this thread. Your kids are 5&6 and haven't seen these films yet??? Clearly, I let DD watch way to much TV!!!! She could recite most Disney movies from memory!!!

 

[nicki.momof3]

Request the free Disney world planning DVD. My kids (2,3,5) a ton of times before going and they had a really good idea of what to expect. I think it also helped them understand the characters they were going to meet and the size of them. In real life they are MUCH bigger and seeing the DVD showed other kids with them and the size perspective.

Have a great trip. You kids are going to love it! At that age they still believe everything and the expressions on their facies is priceless.

 

[paramedic52]

Thanks for everyone listing the movies that "go with" attractions at the park. I'm planning on having a few Disney nights prior to going on our vacation so we can watch these movies w/our kids. My oldest has seen just about all of these, but my youngest never really got into watching Disney movies. I'm sure if I tell him he might see these characters at the park, he'll enjoy them much more

 

[Mufasa&Simba]

My dad and I are going in September and we still haven't seen a lot of Disney movies (or at least he hasn't seen a lot). From Netflix I put on my list Monster's Inc, Finding Nemo (which he has never seen those 2), and I currently have A Bug's Life that I still need to watch (neither of us have seen it). Also, Lilo and Stitch and also Alice and Wonderland and a few of the other classics. I've seen the classsics, but it's been YEARS so I almost forgot.

Oh, and I've never seen Sleeping Beauty! But then again I really don't have much desire to see that one for some reason. I would love to see "Song of the South" but I heard it's not available on DVD because of "racial undertones"--- that makes me even more curious to check it out.

 

[GrumpyMom25]

And don't forget Dumbo!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

My dad and I are going in September and we still haven't seen a lot of Disney movies (or at least he hasn't seen a lot). From Netflix I put on my list Monster's Inc, Finding Nemo (which he has never seen those 2), and I currently have A Bug's Life that I still need to watch (neither of us have seen it). Also, Lilo and Stitch and also Alice and Wonderland and a few of the other classics. I've seen the classsics, but it's been YEARS so I almost forgot.

Oh, and I've never seen Sleeping Beauty! But then again I really don't have much desire to see that one for some reason. I would love to see "Song of the South" but I heard it's not available on DVD because of "racial undertones"--- that makes me even more curious to check it out.

You can find Song of the South online. We have it. The "racial undertones" are mostly really bad stereotypes and fake accents but nothing that your kids will probably pick up on.

 

[cheshireqt]

Great list! But I did not see Cinderella. you will want them to know who lives in that great big castle in the middle of it all in MK.