Please help us make this trip special!

[Tinky Winks]

I also posted this on the Welcome Board, too but I am new and maybe it belongs here also??? Sorry if it isn't right...

My husband and I are bringing our children to the park for the first time in February (13-16). We surprised them with the trip on Christmas Day and it has taken up all of our thoughts ever since! I would really like to make this a special trip for them. They have never been anywhere like this before! My son is 10 and my daughter is 5.

When we planned the trip I read these boards a lot looking for tips on restaurants and hotels, etc...so I think I am OK there. But now, I am looking for the little things I can do to make it *magical*. What should I consider to help my kids really feel they are a special part of the experience?

Because my kids have not been to Disney World before, there is no push for riding "everything" or seeing "everything" and I realize that sometimes the magic comes from the small things that are just discovered by chance. I just need a little help figuring those things out. Is there some special little thing you like to do when you go to the parks?

Did you have something special waiting for them in their rooms (a friend told me that you could do that)? Did you press coins? Collect autographs?

Thank you in advance!

 

[HollyJoy]

Definately get autograph books for them! My girls treasure theirs. We didn't do it (but plan to next trip), but if you get them name badges, the characters will call them by name Something fun to do is to really interact with the characters at meet and greets. I took note of MANY different questions and comments that others had luck with. We had two special moments; one happened in Animal Kingdom. We had just finished meeting Donald, and my girls were just fawning over him. They told him that they thought he was really the star of Disney, and on an on. Donald went wild! Just after this, a CM approached us and asked if we would like to be in the parade that afternoon! Wow!

We also had a package delivered to our resort room. There was a lady here on the Dis who made personalized gift baskets. I don't think she does it anymore, but your resort will certainly receive any package you send and have it placed in your room. I would just call the resort before hand to be sure.

Character meals are always a hit!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

For my family's first trip (before the days of disposable cameras), my parents borrowed small, inexpensive cameras (remember 110 film and Disc cameras?) from family & friends so each of us kids would have our own camera. We were given one roll of film for each day of the trip and told to take pictures of the things and moments we most wanted to remember.

When we got home, my parents developed the film and then mom surprised us with little photo albums she had bought at WDW for each of us. We were so excited, and it made the magic last beyond the trip.

 

[risy]

Welcome to the DIS! Here are a few thoughts:

Some children are totally hooked on seeing the characters & getting autographs - others not so much. I think planning a character meal is the best way to have this experience without monopolizing all of your time in the parks. There is much less pressure to "move along" and much MORE interaction with the characters.

Have some "surprises" that the kids don't know about (special meal, fireworks, riding the ferryboat/launches). Make a trip to Ft Wilderness to see the night movie.

Be a kid yourself. Not every ride is Space Mountain. But "kids of all ages" can have fun on the Barnstormer, Dumbo, and its a small world. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Everytime one of my children drives me on the Tomorrowland Speedway, I laugh so hard I start crying!

Get familiar with the various menus so that mealtimes do not become a problem or dissappointment. Allow budget for spontaneous purchases (glowy-things at night, icecream, popcorn, etc)

You can also get them a special Disney shirt or hat. You can do this in your hometown or online and save a little $$.

You are going at a great time of year. Do not wait in long lines. Either get a fastpass or come back to the particular ride at a different day & time. Standing in long lines is a real kill-joy.

Here's wishing you a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime vacation!

 

[Big Daddy Incredible]

I agree with getting familiar with the menus at the restaurants. You can find them at allearsnet.com. We did this before our first trip and we were able to make good restaurant choices for our family by doing this.

If you plan on sitting down at table service restaurants - get your advanced dining reservations as soon as possible. You can do this now if you are staying on site. You can not do it now if you are staying off site. If you are staying off site, go to Guest Services when you arrive at each park and get a reservation then.

The kids will love meeting with the characters. Talk with your kids well in advance about what your kids can say to the characters. Your kids will love the interaction. Keep an eye out on these message boards - you can usually find a post about what to say to characters that will get a good reaction.

Get to the parks at opening. You can usually get more done in the first two hours than you can the remainder of the afternoon when the peak crowd has arrived.

You will have a great time with your family, however, take the time where you and one of your children are together and your husband goes off with one of your children. Your kids will love the one on one attention. It will also allow your child (and you) to have a special memory of his/her time with just Mom/Dad.

 

[Tinky Winks]

These ideas are wonderful! I knew I would get great tips if I went to the "experts"!

Keep 'em coming!!!!

 

[TMJR]

If you don't have it already, order the Disney Vacation Planning Video. My kids watched it repeatedly, and I think it helped them have some idea of what to expect.

I also had a small Disney souviner for them each day (I bought many of them ahead of time at the Disney store on sale!) They loved these little surprises!

Most importantly, let them take the lead sometimes. At first I was so driven to "get to the next ride/show" that I didn't let them take the time to enjoy themselves. I think they enjoyed it much more when I let them guide us!

Enjoy...you will have the time of your life!

 

[gibbscmc]

Make sure you ask (every single time you are in a boarding line) if the FRONT SEAT is available. Of ALL of our Disney trips, and we have taken 7 in my son's 9 years of life, his "BESTEST" memory is DRIVING the monorail. He didn't really drive of course, but he still THINKS he did. Ask on any boat, train, monorail, etc. All they can say is NO, but that rarely happens. Usually the answer is....someone is already waiting first. Volunteer to wait until the next round if that will guaruntee the front seat. It is truly worth it.

 

[ntengwall]

Big Daddy-
FYI--You CAN make the reservations even if you are staying off-site. We are going the first week in Feb and I *just* made all our dinner reservations about an hour ago. She even asked where I was staying and I told her off-site. She didn't say anything.
Those going in Feb should do it soon though--there were a few nights where I had to have us eating dinner at 4:30!!

 

[jandmsmom]

You also need to remember that the parks are quite large and overwhelming for little ones so you may want to rent a stroller. We rented a stroller for DD when we took her at that age and DS wished he could fit in too. It gets tiresome and alot of people leave and come back, but there were times when we found a quiet place and DD took her nap in the stroller and was ready to go after her "attitude adjustment".

Brenda

 

[Tjaleks]

We were just a WDW in December for the first time and my boys loved pin trading. It took them a little bit to get up the courage to ask a CM to trade on their own, but finally did.

Before we left I bought each boy ten pins, ( I got a really good deal on them) and then on our first night, before we went to the parks, we bought them lanyards so they would be ready to trade the moment we walked into the park. Then once they traded all of the original pins for ones they really wanted we bought the locking pin backs and sealed them on the lanyard so they wouldn't fall off.

 

[Tinky Winks]

Where is a good place to get a deal on pins? It looks like it would be expensive to get some. Is it still fun if you only have a few?

 

[bcvgal]

Visit some of the resorts if possible-pool hop. Ask to ride with the driver on the monarail-some of my kids best memories. Just take your time to look around. Theres so much you can miss if you get in commando mode. Get a good picture looking toward the castle from the top of the train station at night. There is nothing prettier or more magical plus it can be enlarged and framed as a souviner. Have a magical time!

 

[Gwydion]

One of the suggestions for autographs that worked out great for us was a hat instead of a book. Get a nice light colored Disney hat when you arrive at the park and get a couple of sharpies (we got several different colors) and have the characters sign the hat when you see them. That way there is one less thing to carry and your kids can display their treasures all day.
Also, if you are going to go to more than one park, save MK for last. That way each park will appear more and more magical. For example, if you haven't seen MK yet, then MGM will seem like Wonderland. Until they get used to the other parks, there might be a letdown if they go to MK first and then another park. Save the best for last.
Just have a great time yourself and like someone said above the laughter will be contagious.

 

[dixipixi]

My son (12) really enjoyed the pressed coins. He wound up buying 2 books to keep them in!!

It's not something I would have ever expected him to do, but he loved it. He can get impatient waiting in lines and doesn't like to just stop for "down time". By promising him we would look for another penny machine when we were through with taking our break, he could usually manage to sit still for a few minutes!!!!

I guess it's best not to "expect" your child to want to do any certain thing. Just let them decide and "go along" with it. My son would never want to do the character thing now...but when he was 4 and 5, we spent our entire trip planning around character meals and encounters.

I agree with the other posts about riding in front of the monorail. It's a blast and even our 16 y/o enjoyed it!!!!

 

[mhingher]

I highly recommend making ressies for a character meal-- breakfast@ Chef Mickey's has always been our favorite! The characters walk around at every table, so they'll be able to get autographs, and you can get great pictures!

 

[Grumpy_Disney_Dad]

When I took my 9 yo DD , i bought pins, glosticks, disposable camera, and other small things before i left . I also printed up notes on the pc and signed them from different disney characters. Each night i would let her stop at the food court for a brownie while i raced back to the room to lay out her " surprises " from the characters. She thought it was the coolest thing to get treasures and notes each night. I also carried around a small vial of glitter each day and at random times would sprinkle some on her from behind and then when she started looking around i would ask her if she had just seen tinkerbell fly by.

 

[HollyJoy]

You can also get them a special Disney shirt or hat. You can do this in your hometown or online and save a little $$.

This is a great idea! You can order personalized Tshirts through Disneystoreonline, as well as a company called Zazzle. We actually ordered personalized Princess duffle bags from Disney, and they were waiting on the bed when the girls walked into our hotel room. We had put in some Disney Dollars, a disposable camera, and a card from Mickey and Minnie, welcoming the girls to WDW!

My youngest girl is a HUGE Tinkerbell fan.. I brought along some body glitter and put some on her cheeks, neck and arms while she slept.. when she woke in the morning, she was thrilled to find that Tinkerbell had visited her while she slept, leaving behind some pixie dust!

 

[DeborahA]

First off Welcome to the boards. You will find everything you need to know here!! I am amazed at how helpful and knowlegeable folks are here.
My advice is to plan your day but do not overplan your day--let the magic happen --it will. Talk with each child every night to see if there is anything in particular they would like to see before going to the parks the next day.
My biggest piece of advice is to go back to your room, if you are on property, and have everyone rest up for a short time--maybe have a snack or a swim, or a nap and regroup. Then go again!!
One more thing--if you have boys that are not so interested in Princesses, maybe try Hoop Dee Doo, the whole family will love it!

Have Fun! Deb

 

[MNmom2]

Oh my gosh - I love the glitter idea!! Too bad my kids are 6 & 8 and BOYS! LOL Not sure they'd appreciate it. LOL My youngest is a girl, but not even 1, so that idea wil =have to wait - but I do love love love it!! (betcha can't tell LOL)