Must-see movies before the trip??

[eggraid101]

So we're planning to take the family to Disney World in the middle of June, and we're pretty excited. The two of us, a 6 year old girl and a 3 year old boy. None of us has been before, and to be honest we're not that up on the Disney movies. I wanted to ask the experts here on the board: what movies would you recommend we watch with the kids so they appreciate the Magic Kingdom? Thanks!

Let me also add that this site has been so helpful in planning our trip, thanks to everyone who contributes!

 

[laceemouse]

Cinderella, since you see her castle. Stitch, he's around the parks and has a ride. Monster, Inc. has a cute show. Toy Story and Finding Nemo are very popular in the parks. The Lion King is another good one. Some of the oldies like Peter Pan are good to see too.
I also recommend that kids be familiar with Mickey and the gang, a good movie with plenty of short Mickey/Minnie/Donald Duck/Goofy cartoons is a good bet too

Have fun!!!!!

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Check out this thread for some great movie theme night activities - we've done several of these to get our kids up-to-speed and excited for our trip too!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1707141

When will you be in WDW? We're heading there June 12-20! Hooray!

Have fun prepping for your trip!

 

[tchrrx]

You may want to also get a Disney version of an easy to play kids game. They have Disney Memory, Disney Guess-Who and more. DD & I had my DH play these with us several times before our first trip so that he would be familiar with the characters.

 

[keywestbride]

For your 3 yr old, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a good one. If you're going to DHS, the whole Playhouse Disney lineup is good b/c there is show based on it.

There is a Disneyland Sing-Along Songs DVD that's great too.

 

[Eeyore's Girl]

Don't forget Pooh and Peter Pan.

I agree with keywestbride. The sing-along DVD's would be helpful.

Maybe an introduction to Tom Sawyer would help set the stage for Tom Sawyer's Island, which I think your 3 & 6 year olds will really enjoy exploring. It is a great place to escape when the family needs a little time out.

I hope your family has the most magical time ever!

 

[teachallday]

If it is animated and has the world Disney on the box, you want to watch it.



Sorry, that probably didn't help. Here is another way of looking at it:



If your children can not tell you the names of those characters then you have a direction of where to start. How about these characters:



We are going in August and for Christmas I got a lot of DVD's for my little Princess so she would know some of the characters. I started by thinking about the original Disney characters. Playhouse disney DVD's (or the Disney channel Playhouse Disney time if you get that channel) helps with some of them. My little one actually really likes the old Chip & Dale movies the best, those were the first ones she watched two and three times after Christmas. I then went to the Disney Web site:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/traveling-with-little-ones/
and looked at the Magical Beginnings Park Maps to see what type of attractions my little one might find most enjoyable. This lead to a few more movies for me to get. Then I thought about the characters that Disney now has under its control that are not truly Disney, like; Winnie the Pooh and The Muppets (who would have thought that Kermit and Miss Piggy would be at Disney).

Don't forget about some of the old classics like: Marry Poppins and Tom Sawyer.

Grab some Disney kid music CD's and play them in the car while driving around town, so the kids are familiar with some of the music. There are many old Disney (not animated) films where you will not see the characters but you might hear some of the music from them.

Don't panic, you will not be able to expose the kids to all the Disney characters and shows that they will see in the parks. But that will not take away from the fun. They may not have seen the Disney film, The Sword in the Stone, but they will still enjoy trying to pull the sword out of the stone at DisneyWorld. Or riding the Dumbo ride, even if they have never seen the movie.

 

[Eeyore's Girl]

In addition to the movies and music, don't forget about books. The Golden Books series (is that right?) has lots of Disney classics. They're easy to find a used book sales, yard sales, thrift stores, etc. You could even have a few of these autographed at the parks.

 

[Sorsha]

OK, get a guidebook, or look here in the planning section of the Dis. Find a list of all attractions in the different "lands" of Magic Kingdom. most of them correlate with a movie. make a list, watch those movies.

Here's what comes to mind for me, although i don't have a book in front of me:

Fantasyland: Dumbo, Peter Pan, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella
Tomorrowland: Buzz Lightyear, Monsters Inc, Lilo and Stitch
Mickey's Toontown Fair: If your kids aren't really familiar with Mickey and the gang, you need to rent/buy some cartoon collections that feature the old classic Disney shorts. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse would be OK, but doesn't really show the true personalities of the characters, IMHO.
Adventureland: none
Frontierland: none

In Epcot, your kids should see Finding Nemo, and (if they will watch it) Three Caballeros/Saludos Amigos. Your kiddos are a little young for the last, but they might enjoy the Donald Duck cartoon parts.

Hollywood Studios: Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Beauty and The Beast, Playhouse Disney shows. Also some exposure to the Muppets might be good. I know the season sets of the Muppet Show are available on DVD.

Animal Kingdom: Lion King, Bug's Life (if you plan on experiencing It's Tough to Be A Bug, which might be too scary for the little ones). Also, more Finding Nemo.

If mom and dad haven't seen Pirates of the Caribbean, I would recommend that too, but not for the little ones. Also the Star Wars movies.

 

[bluesky225]

This is a great question! We've been trying to re-watch (or watch for the first time) Disney movies here lately to make sure our son knows the characters before we go.

 

[eggraid101]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into the old Disney shorts for sure. Are there any specific titles I should check out? The Little Mermaid is a well-used DVD in our house, and we read Cinderella a ton, but the other characters haven't had much exposure over here.

aprilfoolwed: yep, we'll be there June 13-17!

 

[zarvgirl]

You could consider....

Mary Poppin's-our 2 yr. old's favorite, and we saw her lots in the parks.
Alice in Wonderland- we also saw her and Mad Hatter in parks several times.
Aladdin- Genie was in MK daytime parade.
Toy Story- DHS parade and several rides feature this movie
Nemo-again several rides, and show
Monsters Inc-show, and DHS parade
Lion King-big at AK
Lilo and Stitch- seen around often.
Peter Pan- seen at parks
Brother Bear- seen at AK

A disney princess book could cover the basics of many of the princess stories and characters.

 

[tchrrx]

Don't forget to check out youtube. It has quite a few Mickey Mouse and other classic cartoons. Also, you can look at some of the ride videos too.