Shows & Suggestions for our 1st Disneyland Trip

[3HappyKids]

In about a month we are making out first trip to Disney! I am trying to do a little planning ahead of time. We will be in the parks for 3 days. I have 3 kiddos who are 6, 4 & 1. Do you recommend Fantasmic & Ariel's World of Color for these ages? My only concern are the shows starting later. We live in Kansas so we are 2 hours ahead of the West coast. 9pm CA time is like 11pm here. I don't know if my kids can stay awake. I don't know who much entertainment to plan. The kids are going to love the rides and meeting the characters. We are doing the BBB & 2 Character meals. The parades are a must see for their ages and one night we want to see fireworks. What do you all recommend? Thanks in Advance!

 

[HydroGuy]

The answer depends heavily on the child but I would recommend you do at least one night time show. Fantasmic! and World of Color are both awesome shows.

Also, do not miss the Aladdin show at DCA. It really rocks!

Here is some info on WOC and F!

"World of Color Superthread" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=37986447

"Fantasmic! Superthread" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2671983

 

[DisSarahK]

I can tell you that for my children, the answer is a resounding "NO!" to your questions. In fact, we live on the West Coast and have gone to Disneyland three times with our children (who were 7 and 5 on our last trip) and they still haven't seen either show. We did do the fireworks at Disneyland (for the first time) on our last trip--however we went in September, so the fireworks were being shown earlier than they are in the summer months. Even so, it made for a VERY long night for our children and I kind of regret it.

Also, I watched some very well-done recordings of WOC on You Tube and I realized that the amount of time we spent waiting in line and then the amount of time we spent *standing* to watch the show...well, my younger child would be utterly miserable and my older child would be really tired and not able to fully appreciate the show. It just isn't the right fit for our family.

Personally I think you are better off making sure your children get enough sleep so that you can be at the parks as soon as they open in the morning and get in some good rides then. I think the little ones enjoy the rides and characters so much! There also are some daytime shows they would really like--have you looked at Playhouse Disney Live over at California Adventure?

 

[rramstad]

My six year old did fine for both Fantasmic and WoC on days where we had downtime and/or naps in the afternoon. Admittedly we're west coast, but it was fine. For both, I made sure that we had food and/or snacks about an hour or so before the show, it was a good distraction. (Fantasmic we did the light tower trick shortly before show time, and WoC we lined up super early, got a great spot, then I left and got corn dogs and ice cream for everyone, by the time we finished eating, it was only 45 minutes or so to show time, so not bad.)

 

[milan15]

My 3 year old loved all of the shows. However, having to sit at a designated place and wait for over a half hour would not be something I'd recommend. Do the WOC, so long as you are aware of the heavy price tag, and go to the Aladdin show.

Though, for the Aladdin show, don't wait in live forever. Be over in that area (so bugs land, tower of terror, monsters inc, etc) about 15-30 minutes before a show starts. They'll make a "last call for seats" call. You'll be in the upper upper deck, but you're kids will love it. Mine did at least.

 

[Twinkle Lights]

Ditto on Aladdin, line is not long, its great for all ages, air conditioned and a couple scenes, if you are up in the balcony, you have the best view in the house!

We live in Texas so can definitely relate to your time zone issues. Easy to GET up, not easy to STAY up! We would be revvin to go at 7 am PT since it was 9 CT, and the parks weren't even open yet! But by 7 pm PT, my older son was zonked out (at ages 5 and under). He could NEVER make it to the 9:25 pm fireworks...thats almost midnight our time! I would NOT recommend Fantasmic OR World of Color, the waiting and the slim chance of your kids actually being able to see anything due to the poor visibility on the stands, coupled with their exhaustion would be a recipe for disaster. Fireworks are a must for at least your oldest though, so have strollers, let the littlest ones sleep if need be, and get a spot close to the train station so when they're over, you can hightail it out of there before the crowds. Even better might be to grab a piece of plaza outside -- between Disneyland and California Adventure and watch them from there, you won't get the castle effects or music but they'll still be huge.

Otherwise I might do a switch off with hubby and one of you stay at the hotel with the sleeping littlest ones and the other take the older one to the park to see the fireworks "proper". They are unbelievable, and magical, and the new Magic, Memories and You projection show for the summer turns the Its a Small World facade into all kinds of cool. Then another night, trade again so that each of the grown ups can see it too! It will help a LOT for your 6 year to make it to fireworks if they take a nap in the afternoon. It seems old for napping, but at Disney, it is a lifesaver and will give your child the extra wakefulness they need to stay up!

 

[dougsmom98]

My 6 year old did great for the nighttime shows on our recent trip, but she is also used to staying up late because we are out late for baseball/basketball/football games with her older brothers. When my kids were younger, especially our first 2-3 trips, we did not go to any nighttime shows and they were still great trips. On our first Disney trip, my kids were 4,2, and 2. We would get to the parks before they opened and we went as long as we could - usually 4 pm. We would go to the hotel, swim, have dinner, and go to bed. That worked great for us. With so many little ones, I am not sure I would push the nighttime shows.

 

[bruinred]

My children are 14, 12 and 9 (almost 10). We had annual passes from 1995-2010 (when we moved to IL). During that time we lived fifteen minutes from the park. Personally, we don't usually do the fireworks and late night shows. We save those for one time only occasions. I haven't seen WOC yet, so I can't comment there. I'm also lazy about waiting around for shows, so I like the Fantasmic dessert viewing, you get great desserts and have a pretty good view of the show without staking out a spot.

Our favorite place to view the fireworks is from the stairs on the east side of the Mickey & Minnie Parking garage. About an hour before the fireworks, head to the baby center. Get everyone who's riding a stroller into their jammies and go potty. Then wheel out to the parking lot and hang out to see the fireworks. You don't get the story and sometimes you can't hear the music, but you can see the show. Then you are right at your car when the fireworks are over instead of having to then make your way out of the park and onto the tram.

If you have little girls the princess meals have always been a hit with my daughter.

We are big get up early, do all the rides and head home early people. My kids have only just started enjoying the WHOLE day at DL or WDW. Have a great time, your kids are the perfect ages.

 

[lisachrystine]

On our last trip, my kids were 2, 4 and 6. We're from Colorado, so some time difference. We took naps during the day and they LOVED being out at night. We did WOC (my 6yo's favorite - along with Soarin') and Fantasmic (my now 3yo still talks about "that part where Mickey got the dragon"). We didn't have any issues with being overtired - and they were still up and at the parks by opening the next day. I wasn't sure if they'd make it, but with the rest in the middle of the day, they did great. Only you know your kids, but I think it's worth it.

 

[Blue32]

On our last trip, my kids were 2, 4 and 6. We're from Colorado, so some time difference. We took naps during the day and they LOVED being out at night. We did WOC (my 6yo's favorite - along with Soarin') and Fantasmic (my now 3yo still talks about "that part where Mickey got the dragon"). We didn't have any issues with being overtired - and they were still up and at the parks by opening the next day. I wasn't sure if they'd make it, but with the rest in the middle of the day, they did great. Only you know your kids, but I think it's worth it.

This will be our plan as well. On nights we are doing the shows... get some rest in the afternoon so we can be up a bit later. We are also going in the fall so some of the shows start a little earlier. My kids are fairly patient and we will try to stay out of long lines for the rides so for the shows(especially since it will be their first trip) I think it will be worth the wait.