Preparing 3 y/o for Fantasmic show?

[ntengwall]

Hi all--I am a bit nervous about taking my 3 1/2 y/o to see Fantasmic since I heard it can be a bit overwhelming. Do you think it would help if I got the Mickey and the House of Villians movie for him to watch beforehand? Any other tips for making it less scary? We are spending a decent amount of $$ on the show (dinner beforehand) and I don't want to have to take a crying child out half way through

 

[cleo]

The only really 'scary' bit is when the dragon comes out. If your child is prepared it may not be as scary.

I gave my son a light-up toy to use as a ray-gun if the dragon got too scary. With that sort of control he enjoyed it rather than finding it frightening. Also, sitting back a way rather than right up front not only makes it feel less in-your-face, it also gives you a better overall view.

There's nothing like knowing what's going to happen to help ease a child's fears. Present it as a fun thing rather than showing him you're worried about it and you may be pleasantly surprised at how well he does.

This link also has a picture (not a great one, but it gives you some idea) if you want to 'browse around' with your son and get his reaction ahead of time. I couldn't post it as a link (it took part of the info out and replaced it with ************'s). Just type it into your browser window without the spaces.

http: // photoalbums
.wdwmagic.
com/
showphoto
.php?
photo=
14788
&si=
fantasmic

 

[dreamer423]

ITA with light up stuff. My son saw it at 3ish as well. He had light up braceet and sticks and we sat back near the top so we could see but weren't up close. FWIW-He loves Stitch and Power rangers and dragons but still thinks Ursula is scary.

 

[Pollito916]

Also prepare him for the possibility that the show may be cancelled. The night we went, there was a little boy right behind us that was so excited waiting for the show. Then when they announced it was cancelled due to the weather, he started crying so hard his entire body was shaking. He seemed truly heartbroken, it was so sad.

 

[Debby7]

Not only are there scary parts , but the noise level in general is very loud. I like the glow bracelet idea but not the ray gun, as other people around you may not like a light shining on them during the show. I know that many young children go to this show and handle it just fine, but if your child is on the quiet or shy side, I would wait til they are older, just imho.

 

[paigevz]

We told my 2 1/2 year old that Mickey was "powing" the bad guys, and we should help him, so we "pow"ed every bad guy that came out, and by the time the dragon came, he was powing away on his own.........just punching his fists out in front of him and making the sounds........it seemed to help him, he also sat on dh's lap...........

I will say, keep a good grip on him leaving. So many people are leaving, and some are in such a hurry to get around others they don't watch what they are doing. We put our little one on dh's shoulders, but this twenty-something with a backpack slung across one shoulder tried to get around us quickly and smacked my 9 year old full in the face with his backpack.........never even looked back. So, I'd make sure someone is carrying the little one as you exit.

 

[Got Quattro?]

it's not scary because of the images of the villians. It's scary because of the VOLUME of the music and explosions.

I have a big home theatre and my 18 month was used to loud thunderous music and she did fine. When we went when she was 3 and 4, she just complained that it was loud.

 

[jorodopo]

My DD had turned two the day before we went so I'm not sure if she knew enough yet to be scared. But what we did, and it seems to help watching movies, (esp. Snow White) - we taught her to say, "Go away, bad lady" and we point out that the bad lady does always go away so it obviously works.
At Fantasmic she was standing on my lap leaning forward and screaming "Go away" at the top of her lungs. She got delighted when it worked. We were also up fairly high in the bleachers so we wouldn't get wet at all.

I agree with the pp. Carry all small children out. Too many people leaving through too few exits all at the same time.

Have fun.

 

[The Sweetness]

I think alot of the time the prob with small children having a melt down, is the time. Not all 2 or 3 yr olds can stay even tempered being kept up that late. No matter what kind of bracelets or baby crack you give them. On my next trip, if dd is used to going to bed at 7-8, she will be at the room by then, having a quick bath and getting all pajamied up with me or dh. We can take turns staying for the closing festivities

 

[CAD3655]

Although my 3 1/2 YO DN is quite the daredevil, going on all the "big kid rides" FT, Splash, BTMR, Soarin, etc., we never expected fireworks to be an issue...He had a complete meltdown at the very first launch of the fireworks at Illuminations and had to get him out of there ASAP. We didn't even try to go to Fantasmic after that. A couple days later we were in EPCOT and he heard the announcement for Illum, and wanted to leave the park ASAP.

We did all the get ready stuff, gave him glow bracelets and necklaces...he even had a small penlight...I think the volume of the explosions scared the heck out of him. You may want to try something smaller before Fantasmic to make sure they can handle it before sitting for an hour waiting for the show.

 

[Ava83]

DD3 Loved Fantasmic...we told her before hand that is was all Disney Magic...she loved it!

But we did do MGM on our third day so she had gotten used to the shows that Disney does

 

[Skroops]

I have to agree that isn't so much the villians, as the noise level and fire. We let our DS(2) know that is was going to get loud (we say it while increasing our voice too!) and we keep making sure to enjoy it ourselves because he looks for our reactions to know if there is "real" danger. We kept talking and saying things like "wow!, look at that!". It also helps to sit a little way back so that your child can see other people enjoying the show, and be a little removed from the water and fire.
We learned that the afternoon rest was critical, and even then our DS remains unpredictable. If you go with the flow, so will they. If you get all nervous and tense, so will they. If your child has to be removed it will be a bummer, but that is all...a bummer! Not a huge deal in the scope of life. Most toddlers will have a breakdown somewhere. Ours of course did NOT want to be in Mama Melroses for dinner, (we ate as fast as we could and got dessert to go!) but loved Fantasmic. Go figure.
Good luck! Enjoy the moments, they sure are magical!

 

[KimR]

It really depends upon what sets your child off. With my middle DD, it was visuals. Noise didn't bother her but dark rides and scary scenes did so I just turned her around and distracted her during those portions of the show. Now my youngest is fine with scary sights but cannot handle loud (or even not-so-loud) noise AT ALL. So with her, I just held her ears throughout the show. It works well for her and I've gotten used to it because otherwise we'd have to skip practially all the attractions and shows because it seems just about everything at WDW is too loud for her.

 

[PixiePop]

I think it is going to depend on the personality of your child. We tried to take our son to this show when he was 4yrs old. He is a dare devil with rides, the faster, the better, but hated "It's a bugs life or anything in the dark. He got so scared (he has a vivid imagination) during the show that I had to leave with him and two years later, he still will not go back.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[schnerk]

My dd2 had no problems with it at all. She loved every second of it.