The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 20

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Lindsay - I wish I knew what to suggest! Is your niece afraid of Chuck E. Cheese? If not then she might be fine with the characters. Sister is 5 but she isn't afraid of anything. Brother is 3 and he is just starting to be able to imagine things that scare him. He talks about spooky shadows and things that are creepy - he scares himself. Maybe book a princess breakfast at the beginning of the trip and save the other character meals for the end so maybe she will get used to the characters in the parks? Or plan something else for their family to do while the rest of you go to CM's and LTT.

 

[Tammi67]

Goodnight Heidi.

 

[PNO4TE]

I can sympathize here with you Lindsay, as I went through this with Alyssa for 2 trips, and on our 3rd she finally chilled out. The first 2 trips I booked character meals, the worst one being at LTT where she literally went under the table to get away from the characters. The rest of the meal she spent on my lap crying. I noticed that poor Nicholas didn't get much interaction because the characters tended to rush or stay away because she was so upset. Needless to say, because of her reaction, I was not able to enjoy these meals. I don't really think there is anything that you can do to make her less scared. It is something she will have to do on her own. This last trip I felt like Alyssa really wanted to meet the characters but she continued on with the fussing when we got near. I finally just picked her up and marched her up to Mickey before she knew what hit her. That did it, she got over it, and FINALLY started having fun with them. My suggestion to you is to let SIL know that everyone else enjoys these and if they decide not to join you, give her other options of where you can make ressies for her family, but the rest of you will be dining with the characters. Good luck.

Good advice from a Mom who has been there. Are there any amusement parks around you, Lindsay, that have characters? If so, maybe you all could make some trips together this summer/fall to get her more accustomed to the "big heads." Lots of luck that this goes well!

 

[PNO4TE]

And, with that I am headed to bed. See you all in the morning!

 

[tinknme]

I 2cd Tammi's advice.

My suggestion to you is to let SIL know that everyone else enjoys these and if they decide not to join you, give her other options of where you can make ressies for her family, but the rest of you will be dining with the characters. Good luck.

 

[Brendita]

I am working on about the 4th draft of our August itinerary. We need more than 8 days. That is all there is to it! We can't hit all the parks twice AND do La Nouba and Blizzard Beach and a fishing excursion and maybe a round of mini golf in only 8 days. Well, I could, but DH and DS like to sleep so they make us need more than 8 days.

And I am still stuck on dinner after AK. We are thinking not Boma. I wish that Ying and Yak was opening sooner than July! How will I be able to decide if I want to go there when there won't be much info out yet? So maybe Cape May, or maybe Kona for the 4th time.

Try this

Early AM Fishing
Blizzard Beach 10 AM - 5 PM
Winter Summerland Mini Golf Closes 10:00 PM
(Blizzard Beach & Winter Summerland are next door to each other)

Animal Kingdom 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Evening Show La Nouba
Dinner @ Raintree Forest Cafe (DTD or AK) great food

Plenty of time.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I'm quite sure that I will feel the falls a lot more than I used too

That is why I won't roller skate. I CAN, but if I fall I could probably screw up my back beyond repair. I never could ice skate, so I won't be learning, and I won't be doing any sort of skiing or other sport where I would fall on my butt.

Good night, Heidi & Elin!

 

[Brendita]

Cake, girls, CAKE!

SURE SURE

 

[Brendita]

Well I'm all caught up.
So I'm off to dream land.
Catch ya later.

 

[tinknme]

Night Heidi & Elin

 

[my3princes]

I'm going to bed too. Night all

Deb

 

[UP Disney]

I'll be going to bed soon myself. Peter & Molly are calling me (from my book Peter & the Shadow Thieves). I'll be going to my mom's tomorrow night because I have a meeting with the Eastern UP team that I'm covering for on Wednesday morning about 1/2 hour from mom's house. I probably won't be on tomorrow because mom has dial-up and it is painful! Talk to you later.

 

[tinknme]

Night Jo

Well I'm all caught up.
So I'm off to dream land.
Catch ya later.

 

[Tammi67]

Night Vicki, Deb, Elin, Jo, and everyone else. I'm outta here too.

 

[tinknme]

Ok everyone is dropping out of here like flies, so I will say one big goodnight to all that are leaving

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Try this

Early AM Fishing
Blizzard Beach 10 AM - 5 PM
Winter Summerland Mini Golf Closes 10:00 PM
(Blizzard Beach & Winter Summerland are next door to each other)

Animal Kingdom 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Evening Show La Nouba
Dinner @ Raintree Forest Cafe (DTD or AK) great food

Plenty of time.

Thanks, Jo!! I am writing this down. If we go to Animal Kingdom for early entry we will get in at 8 AM. We could be finished by 3 PM, go have a shower and change, go to dinner around 6:30 and La Nouba at 9 PM.

Fishing before the water park might be too much for DS. I will have to keep looking at that. The fishing excursion goes out at 7 AM, so we have to be at the dock at 6:45 AM. Since we probably won't be in early the night before I thought we would probably have a break after fishing.

I appreciate your help!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Good night Deb, Jo, Tammi, Vicki, Janet and anyone else I missed!

I am going to watch the news and go to bed, too! Good night to all! Chat with you tomorrow!

 

[babytrees]

If you can't get her over the hump, I would convince SIL and BIL that you can still eat at the meals. The characters will stay away if the kids are afraid. They are very good about following the lead of the kids. I think if they are around them with their cousins enjoying the interaction they might get over it. Otherwise, I'm no help as I've never had little ones at Disney.

I like Vicki's advice!!

 

[Glynis]

If you can't get her over the hump, I would convince SIL and BIL that you can still eat at the meals. The characters will stay away if the kids are afraid. They are very good about following the lead of the kids. I think if they are around them with their cousins enjoying the interaction they might get over it. Otherwise, I'm no help as I've never had little ones at Disney.

I agree with this! Keep the dinners, and let the girls decide how much interaction or non-interaction they want. When Jacob was 18 months, we went to DL, and had breakfast one day at Goofy's Kitchen. Katie always loved the characters, and was never afraid. Jacob, on the other hand, was very cautious. At first, he hid his face in my neck and wouldn't look. During the breakfast, several characters came to our table, and would play with Katie, but they all left Jacob alone. During the meal, he watched the interaction with Katie, and smiled, but still didn't want to "play". Later that day, in the park, however, he went right up to Mickey Mouse. I guess he'd figured that there was no threat!

As long as the grown-ups are there, they should be ok. Just be prepared to run interference if needed. My guess is they'll be just fine. Do you have access to a video called "Disney Sing-along Songs Disneyland"? It shows the characters interacting with kids and it's really cute, with songs kids know, and it helps make things more friendly. Just a thought.

 

[Glynis]

Looks like everyone is heading to bed. I think I will as well. I thought that Jacob was getting better, but he started throwing up again this afternoon and is just continuing. Still no fever, just the barfs! Gotta love that! Anyway, Alan is taking over, so I'm heading for the guest room to get some sleep, since Jacob is in my bed.

Night everybody! Thanks for making my birthday fun! I appreciate all the birthday greetings. It made me feel so special!