Pre-Schooler Question

[matlock42373]

My DS is going to be 4 in Sept we are booked to visit in May 2007. He loves rides but is not used to standing in lines. Even at our local County Fairs the lines are short and he is used to riding rides over and over. I am afraid he will want to do this in the Parks. I want to try to avoid having too many meltdowns. Are there any things I could do to get him ready for this. He is very energetic and very intense..

 

[pixiewytch]

I feel your pain. I have a four year old who is the same way. He will be five in December and he wasn't really too bad when we went to MK last month. Fastpass is probably the best way to go to avoid waits but we honestly had more meltdowns over that than the lines. You see, you have to go to the attraction first to pick up the fastpass ticket which tells you when to come back. DS totally flipped out because he didn't understand that we weren't riding the attraction right then and that we had to come back later and do it.

We had several meltdowns and tantrums over various things the last trip and the best thing for us was food and relaxation. It seemed like once he got to sit down for a little while and fill his belly he was much more pleasant to deal with.

I guess you can try to drill it in his head before you get there that you could be waiting in long lines. I know sometimes that helps and sometimes preparing them is to no avail and they get upset anyway. Good luck though. Maybe he will surprise you and handle it better than you think.

 

[crl]

Bring things to entertain him while in line. Our favorite is bubbles, they entertained our little girl and several other kids waiting in line. Also, you can play "I Spy". Or Katie's favorite is "I'm thinking of an Animal" then we describe the animal, what letter it starts with, the sound it makes... Or bring a small travel size magnadoodle to draw pictures for guessing games.

 

[Disney4Drew]

I am worried about that, too! My DS will be almost 4 when we go, but I know he is going to want to ride some things over and over. I may make a little card and put pictures to denote some of the rides (dumbo, aladdin, peter pan, etc) and then have him put a sticker beside each one after he has ridden. That way he can see that we still have more rides to go on and can go back to the others after we finish our "list". I hope to make it a game for him to ride different rides...we shall see!

 

[ReadingMama]

Another worried mom here! Going next week and worried about both 6 and almost 3 year old. Lines at our local amusement parks are almost nothing!

We do plan to bring bubbles and probably a magna doodle. We are going to try to get there early and leave mid-day for naps/swims.

We'll see...

 

[prestonsmomma]

We worried about our DS too for our trip last November but much to my suprise, he was wonderful the whole time. Crowds were low when we went but he was so busy watching everything going on around him that he didn't really mind the lines.

 

[woodchuck]

My ds will be four when we go in may 07. We too are staying a pofq (lol). I'm worried about the rides that he might want to ride but is to short for them. He is small for his age only in the 15% for both hight and weight.

 

[all4fun]

Fastpass info:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/fastpass.htm

 

[Oceana]

have you considered doing things to make the ride lines fun too?

I know we play all kinds of games waiting for the doctor and for our turn at the grocery store. Make bigger versions at the parks... I spy or tell stories about the characters you will encounter on the ride. Teach your child the ride story, sing songs, talk...

I have a very intense high needs spirited child and i am with him 24/7... so I suppose in self defense I have managed ways for us to tolerate anything

Check out the book PLayful parenting

goodluck
julie

 

[KimWDW]

For weeks before our trip last year, we played "pretend DisneyWorld" inside our house. We'd do everything... ride the pretend bus... stand in line with stuffed animals posing as people in front of us... wait our turn... then pretend we were on the rides! It really got him used to the idea of standing in line and waiting for our turn and all that. I think it helped because the expectation was there that we would have to wait in line.

You can also play games such as I Spy while waiting in line and stuff like that.

 

[maxtomsmom]

Some other suggestions are Brain Quest cards. They have different age cards and two set of cards come in one box. The cards have many different types of questions and kids usually like them. Also- when we went last year, we brought those books with the special pens that make the picture come up. Not Crayola's magic wonder sets. These were smaller and you can do mazes, connect the dots, etc. We also had a Pal Mickey. Finally, we brought snacks for the longer lines. By the time they were finished with their snack we were almost at the front.

 

[emma'smom]

I know this advice is all over the board...but consider checking out Tour Guide Mike. I did this on a "we'll it can't hurt" whim and it was the best thing I did. We followed the tour for families with young children and it worked like a charm (really, I'm not kidding). We were there in March over spring break and we literally waited in no line longer than five minutes!! The plans show you how to work fastpast to your advantage and gives you tips on the order to ride each ride that young children might be interested in....and it even builds in afternoon breaks for naps. I was amazed! The second tiime we went, we did have the plans with us and bumbled along without them...we waited in many more long lines and were tired and fed up before lunch!

Consider trying it...you won't regret it!