Taking my son to Disney World

Not a lot to add but a big Welcome to you. I know that my husband goes with the intention of doing it for the kids but just let yourself get absorbed in it. You can't help but have a magical time when you see all the World has to offer when you look thru his eyes. I must say that some of the shows recall many of our greatest memories. Everyone in our family enjoys those times. Our favorites are Mickey's Philharmagic and Tough to Be A Bug ( I have read reports of children that are frightened at this attracaction but my 4 yo loved it.) And Festival of the Lion King is our absolute favorite in all of the parks. Make magical memories..............Heather
 
Everyone else here pretty much gave you the best advice, so I just wanted to say Welcome to the boards! You sound like such a great dad!! I know you said you are not the biggest Disney fan, but I hope that you get the enjoyment that I did when I first experienced it with my kids when they were around you son's age. It is an amazing wonderful experience through the eyes of the child. As much as I enjoyed it before I had kids, I love it even more with them. Have a great time making memories with your son!!!
 
I'll bet you'll be more of a Disney World Fan after seeing it through the eyes of your son.

Don't miss Turtle Talk with Crush in the Living Seas at Epcot.

Have a wonderful trip.
 
kerry34 said:
I know you said you are not the biggest Disney fan, but I hope that you get the enjoyment that I did when I first experienced it with my kids when they were around you son's age. It is an amazing wonderful experience through the eyes of the child. As much as I enjoyed it before I had kids, I love it even more with them.

Ditto! Ditto! Ditto!

DW and I had a great time at WDW before we had kids but we have an absolutely fabulous time each trip now that we have all of our DS's with us.

-- Rob
 

lizanne said:
I'll bet you'll be more of a Disney World Fan after seeing it through the eyes of your son.

Don't miss Turtle Talk with Crush in the Living Seas at Epcot.

Have a wonderful trip.

Turtle Talk With Crush is a great idea! Is he a Nemo fan?
Here is a link to read about it. http://allearsnet.com/tp/ep/e_seas3.htm
Maybe he can think of a good question to ask Crush, so he'll be prepared.
 
He's not a huge Nemo fan, but this does look like something he'd really enjoy. His favorites are Tigger and the 100 Acre Wood characters, Little Einsteins, Higgly Town Heroes, Rolie Polie Olie and most of the rest of the Playhouse Disney gang.

I'm definitely putting Talk with Crush on our list to do, though!

We're heading out tomorrow morning for two days of driving (about 5 hours a day on the road is all he can take) and to be honest, that doesn't hurt my feelings too badly!

Today is rush pack day, mail stop and all that jazz.

Thanks again to everyone for all the great advice. Looking forward to the trip.
 
We're going to be there next week also. I researched the EMH and looked at the crowd predictor site because I also want to avoid crowds. Here's our plan:

Monday MGM (with it being a holiday, I think MK will likely be crowded)
Tuesday Magic Kingdom
Wednesday--sorry, rest day for us
Thursday Epcot

Have a great time!
 
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I also say good for you dad, but beware! I was totally over disney myself until I brought my 2y old there. I loved going with her so much that I got a job just to finance my weekend trips in the '90s. So many that I lost count. One time I was in such a *disney frenzy* that I got a speeding ticket on the turnpike :hyper:

If you dont see EVERYTHING dont worry, it just gives you more fuel to plan another trip. Same goes for the mountains. If hes not tall enough this time, give it a year or 2. If you can stay away that long :rotfl: :rotfl2:

And remeber every dollar*wasted* on these trips are building precious memories that will last a lifetime ::yes::

Have fun, and just enjoy acting like a little boy with him! (just a little bit, after all, we are all little kids at wdw)
 
kfeuer, I'll be at Epcot on Thursday, also. Look for me on the first Segway tour that morning--I'll have my TIGGER&BELLE lime green Mickey ears on my purse/backpack.


Yes, make sure you go to Crush--it's a highlight for me and was for my son, too (and my elderly mother).
 
Have a wonderful trip & drive carefully!
Pooh, Tigger and the rest of the 100 Acre Wood gang can be found in the United Kingdom pavilion in Epcot several times a day. Sometimes inside, at the back of the giftshops, great for 1 on 1 pic taking. Also, the gang often comes out to visit in the area by the gazebo stage where British Invasion plays. You can inquire at Guest Services about character appearance times. I'm sure the staff at the UK could tell you about appearances also.
Looking forward to your trip report! :sunny:
 
Thanks again to everyone for all of your help. I just wanted to check back in and share some of my thoughts about the trip.

Weather - Couldn't have been better. Highs around 70, lows around 50.

Room - We stayed at the All Star Movies in the Fantasia building and my son loved it. Yes, the rooms are a little smaller than a basic hotel room, but we were really almost never there.

Crowds - The crowds were a little heavier than I expected, but definitely tolerable. We used Fastpass a couple of times for things like Peter Pan. The advice to get there early was spot on. We hit the Magic Kingdom when it opened and were able to do It's a Small World, Philharmagic, Goofy's Barnstormer, etc. with absolutely no wait.

I've heard some mention of this and wanted to agree that the crowds seem to be much ruder than the last time I was at WDW. I saw a lot of pushing and crowding in lines and actually witnessed a shoving match between two moms who were a little too anxious to get their groups into the Haunted Mansion.

Food - The meal plan is awesome. We ate at so many places we would've never tried. My son loved the character meals at Crystal Palace, the one at Epcot (Garden Grill maybe? can't remember the name), and Chef Mickey's. We also did Wolfgang Puck's, which was great, and went over to the Wilderness Lodge and ate one night, also delicious and fun.

Gripes (minor) - We had terrible problems with the room key/park ticket/meal plan card. I went through 4 of them and each time one would go bad I'd have to go back and wait in line at the resort to get another one. Granted, I ruined the first one by having it in my pocket with my cell phone, but the other 3 are mysteries. I was very careful not to have them next to anything magnetic, etc., but they just kept going bad.

Rides/Attractions - We spent an entire day at MGM. My son loved the stunt show (probably his favorite thing on the whole trip) and the back lot tour. Surprisingly, he didn't care much for the Playhouse Disney show. I think we were sitting too close to the front and he couldn't see well. We enjoyed Muppet Vision 3D, but after already seeing Philharmagic, it's just not as good.

We also saw the night time show at MGM, the one with all the villains. The boy had a good time at that and he got one of those swords with the neon light in it. In hindsight, I should've let him eat before we went because half way through he decided he wanted a hot dog and continued to ask how long it would be before he could have one through the rest of the show. LOL.

At Magic Kingdom he loved Philharmagic. It was fun to watch him reaching out and trying to touch the 3D images in front of him. He also really liked Goofy's Barnstormer. He was too short for all the big thrill rides, but didn't seem to mind. He enjoyed riding the train and surprisingly, he loved the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. He called that the "Conveyor Belt Train" because of the moving sidewalk. We rode it 4 or 5 times.

He loved the Safari at Animal Kingdom. We skipped on Bug's Life because I wasn't sure if it would scare him.

At Epcot we made a big deal out of doing the pressed coins. I bought him a book to keep them in and he had a big time finding the machines and smooshing the pennies. We caught the fireworks show, which was excellent and also rode the Maelstrom. He didn't care much for the ride. He actually said to me after it was over, "Dad, we'll never ever ever ride that one again." I couldn't help but laugh a little. He didn't care for the trolls.

All in all, we had a really nice trip. We'll probably go back in a couple of years when he's a little bit bigger and is able to ride everything he wants.
 
Glad you had a great trip and your little one enjoyed it. we took my DGD (4) this past Sept and it was great seeing the parks through her eyes again. Looks like maybe you are now a Fan of WDW noting your statement in your first post. They change so many things. Did you get to take him on soarin at Epcot? My dgd loved this. :sunny:
 
I'm so glad you posted your trip results. I'd wondered how it went. Glad you both had a good time. Wonderful memories you are making with your son. They grow up so fast. It seems like not very long ago I took my DD to WDW for the first time. She was four. This May, she will graduate from high school. Make the most of those growing up years while you can!
 
Glad to hear you had a great time with your little boy. I agree with feralpeg about how fast kids grow up. I was looking at pictures of my oldest daughters from their first disney trip the other day and couldn't believe that they were younger than my twins (6yr olds) are now. I am sure you will look back years from now and remember what a special time that you both had together.
 














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