"Unofficial Guide to WDW" book makes me not want to go! Help!

[ptrbryant]

I've gotten so much great information from these boards as we plan our 1st ever trip to WDW for my Dh, 5 year old DS and myself for Nov. 2001. I took the "Unofficial Guide to WDW" out from the library and can't believe how negative the whole book is! According to what I've read in it, plan on 45 minutes between parks using WDW transport, count on awful food at inflated prices, know that any child under a "mature" age 7 will leave the place in tears since Disney has to add "fear" to all the shows and attractions, etc. Come on! Are we making a mistake bringing our 5 year old? The rides he most wants to see (based on the WDW planning video) are: Buzz LIghtyear Space Ranger Spin, Big Thunder Mountain (not sure about this one!) and the Star Wars ride (REALLY not sure about this one!). He's a big train and Star Wars fan, but has never gone on any big rides before in his life!
Please help me feel optimistic again! :-D
THanks!
Karla B.

 

[Gillian]

5 is a great age! He will love Buzz. You will all have a wonderful time

I'm not sure about thunder mt, and star tours can be a bit much for anyone! My DS isn't old enough yet so I can't really help there. Sorry!

Don't be put off by the Unofficial Guide. The good thing is that it scares you into planning things out in advance. You don't have to do commando touring to have a good time, but it helps to be prepared (& flexible)! And 45 minutes between parks might be realistic. Disney transportation can be slow sometimes!

The food is more expensive than at home, but if you've read the boards, you know some of it is good. We always bring snacks & bottled water to help keep costs down.

Have fun!

 

[honeymom]

We're about to bring our 5 and 2 and 1/2 year olds. But, I will tell you that I used to live in Southern California and that my husband and I used to comment that for the happiest place on earth, we'd never seen so many miserable children. The unofficial guide is somewhat realistic - too many people go to Disney with totally unrealistic expectations.

That being said I think your 5 year old can have a great time if you go with the right attitude. I think if you watch your pace, don't try to do it all, try to get in the parks early and out of the parks early it would help. As far as I'm concerned if my kids want to spend tons of time in the playgrounds at the park that's fine with me. I'm going to do this trip at their speed.

As far as the scary rides, you know best what your child's threshold is. Read about the rides beforehand and if you don't think its the right ride for your child steer clear. I'm going to go to the Disney store to look for some tapes with scenery from some of the rides to help condition my kids.

I didn't do WDW until I was 11 and it was great. However, I did get to go to the World's Fair 6 times when I was 3 years old (back in the early 60's). I dragged my family to It's a Small World (yes, they had it there) and it WAS MAGICAL. I'm about to turn 40, but I still have the most wonderful memories.

My sister tried to talk me out of doing this trip and waiting until my kids are older, but actually I think this can be the perfect age if done right.

Good luck and have a great vacation.

 

[Maleficent2]

You DS will love WDW take this book with a grain of salt!

He will esp.LOVE Buzz Lightyear one of the best Rides at Disney if not the best!

Big ThunderMountain is great and I think he will love that one too.MyDS is too young for this one but when my Nephrew was about your sons age I took him on it and we ended up having to ride it 6-7 times straight.Until I said ok enough!


StarWars is another story Both me and my DH will NEVER do this ride again! Made us both sick to our stomachs.


Mal

 

[Jenn]

Try the Birnbaum's guide. It has a more positive outlook on things. You will get the idea of what to avoid by reading these boards and I have found they are far more useful than the guidebooks. A few months here and you will know everything you need to know. Also, the info here is current vs. the guidebooks which are often outdated.

 

[PattiPB]

I love the Unofficial Guide, and think it portrays both sides---positive and negative.

My kids will turn 7, 5 & 3 at WDW in June, and have been to WDW and DL at every conceivable age, including in the womb! I think however your child does at carnivals, circuses, etc., is a good gauge for how they will handle the attractions at WDW.

How YOU react to food (and food prices) at places like sporting events and even weddings - places where you are "captive" and with few choices - will gauge how you eat at WDW.

As for Buzz Lightyear - it's one of MY favorite rides! Big Thunder is questionable for 5 year olds in our family! Stick with these boards and you'll be fine - these people are AMAZING!

Patti

 

[DeDixie]

Your son will have a blast !! We first took our DD's when they were in K and 2nd grade. It was the most wonderful vacation !!

I planned the WHOLE trip around what would be good for the girls. My DH and I had no "adult" plan. If the girls were to scared to go in Haunted Mansion, they we wouldn't go, if they were tired at 7:30 p.m., then we went back to the hotel, if they were having a ball swimming , we stayed extra etc, etc. We took naps/rests EVERY day, and enjoyed the pools each day.

We have since been back twice, will 2 more trips planned within the next year. WDW can truly be the happiest place on earth - but you need to "listen" to your kids ( even when they are not talking ) , take afternoon breaks, be well prepared in your planning - know your park maps, have lists of must do and don't do's, relax and go with the flow.

I have been reading trip reports by JoeDisney - start at the beginning of his reports, ready them thru and catch his attitude. Enjoy every minute of this trip, and you will be hooked forever.

Two other books to check out are " WDW for kids, by Kids" and "DIsney with Kids". This last one will probably help a little more - and it great for restaurant and ride reviews.

 

[ceecee]

Do it now while your son is still young enough o believe in the charactors. My daughter was almost 5 last Sept when we went and this year she will be almost 6. We did not have one meltdown the entire 8 days...she loved it.
We did skip some rides and shows she was scared of, but there is still so much to do.
The food we had was fine. No problem with it at all. The kids meals are actually not that much more expensive than other resturants around our area.
Get some other books!!! Birnbaums is a good one, as well as the 2 mentioned in the above post. My daughter already is planning by her book Disney's for Kids By Kids. I purchased these 3 books at bookcloseouts.com for about a third of the price of book stores. Check it out and GO...it truly is magical!!!!!!:

 

[honeymom]

As far as believing in the characters - kids may be a little wiser today but it was still a thrill to meet the characters when I went to WDW for the first time at age 11.

 

[DisneyFix]

I'm sorry you got scared by the Unofficial Guide...I only ever bought that book once because it was a little negative, and who wants to be brought "down" when they're planning a vacation?! Wiley's book is good, as is Birnbaum's and Aero's. Why don't you get Birnbaum's For Kids By Kids, even if yours are too young to read it. It might make you feel better. Don't even think twice about the Unofficial Guide's pessimistic outlook!

 

[SueM in MN]

I also don't like the Unofficial Guide becasue it is so negative and I have found information in it that I know is wrong from personal experience, but some people like it very much, so, to each their own.
I wouldn't take a child on Thunder Mountain RR as their first roller coaster. Goofy's Barnstormer is a great one to try. It has enough dips and hills to be interesting, but is very short, so if it's scary, you'll be done soon.

 

[ptrbryant]

Okay, now I'm feeling better! Thanks for the encouragement! Actually, my DH and I are very cognizent of respecting our DS's tolerance levels in many situations. We're extremely fortunate that our Park Hopper passes are presents (costing us nothing), so that gives us much less pressure to do and see all there is. If DS wants to just ride the WDW steam engine all day, we wouldn't mind. I think on BTM and Star Tours, I'll have DH go on first and see what he thinks!
Thanks again for the great responses!
Karla B.

 

[honeymom]

If your DS gets carsick, motion sick or dizzy at all - skip Star Tours! It is beautifully done, and not really scary, but boy did it make me want to throw up and I was an adult already. My husband had the same experience. We did it at Disneyland when we lived in LA and went fairly frequently to the park. It was our first ride that day when it was pretty new. We could hardly do anything (only the most sedate rides) for a couple of hour afterwards while the nausea subsided. Even if its crowded, you might want to wait until later in the day to do the ride if you do feel compelled. That way if you feel sick, you can head straight back to your hotel.

Sorry to be negative, but I've just got to warn people on this one.

 

[Gillian]

Does anyone know if star tours has stationary seating? I remember almost everyone feeling sick after it. When I was pregnant, we went on a simulator ride at Universal & I was able to sit on a regular bench seat, instead of waiting outside. No motion sickness!!

 

[tar heel]

Each of my boys visited wdw for the first time when he was about 5 (youngest was 2 weeks away). Big Thunder was the favorite ride at that age for each of the older two. The younger one, however, thought it looked scary and refused to ride it. Our next trip, when he was about to turn 6, Big Thunder was his favorite ride. He also likes Star Tours and rode it the first trip, too. If he had known it was supposed to be a thrill ride, he probably would have refused though. I consider that ride to be pretty tame. Five-year-olds differ on Spalsh Mountain, too. My middle child stood as tall as possible to make the height cut-off, and the younger one passed on it. My best advice is to start off with really benign rides, such as It's a Small World, Pooh or Buzz. Work your way up to Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Once the child gets the feel of disney, he will be much more willing to try things. Many non-thrill rides (Spaceship Earth, for example) are dark, so the child needs to experience small-scale dark rides before attempting them. Also, make sure Muppets is his first 3D. My child still refuses to try Honey I Shrunk the Audience or the Bug Show again.

 

[SueM in MN]

For Star Tours and Body Wars, ther are no stationary seats. Everyone is seated in rows in the same simulator made to look like a space ship (or inner space ship, in the case of Body Wars). The doors to your simulator shut and the whole simulator moves; screen at the front of it and all. There are no seats that don't move. The only way to have a stationary ride would be to turn off the simulator and just run the movie.
That's different than at Universal. Some of those rides are in big theaters with sections of seats that move. The screen stays still and a few sections of the theater have stationary seats.

 

[jesse]

I think the best advice the Unofficial guide has is 1. Get to the parks EARLY and 2. Go during off season. Don't let it scare you, you will have a great time. My 5 year old son has been 4 times, and he has always enjoyed it. In fact, I think this last trip with my dd being 8 was harder than when they were toddlers; she now has her own opinions about rides and badgers us to go again and again on her favorites I agree with other posters, go on very tame, but still greatly entertaining rides first, then work your way up. Trying Goofy's barnstormer before big thunder is a good idea. My son went on Barnstormer when he was four, he survived it, but is not interested any other "wild" rides yet. Buzz Lightyear is his absolute favorite, followed by Spaceship Earth.

 

[Synonymous]

The Unofficial Guide makes me angry. It seems to be written by people who don't like Disney. If you've ever read the Unofficial Guide to WDW for Adults, it's even worse. The tone of that book was that if you're stupid enough to be going to WDW, here are the things you're going to really hate. I think they go way overboard in trying to distinguish themselves from Birnbaum's official guide.

You've probably gotten more valuable advice from this thread than from that entire book. Your son will have a great time. My 3 1/2 year old DD made us ride Thunder Mountain 4 times in a row (luckily it was on E-Night and we didn't have to wait in line.) We rode thru Buzz 3 times without even getting out of the car. She also like Star Tours, even though she's never seen Star Wars.

Go slow, follow your son's lead, and don't feel like you have to "see everything." You'll love it.

Tom

 

[disneyag]

I hated that book, too! We have been bringing DS since he was 3 and DD since she was 6 months old!! DS did his first Splash Mt at the age of 4 and begged to do it again and again! He did Space Mt at 5 and loved it! He is now almost 8 and will ride anything. The only thing we haven't done yet is ALien Encounter. I think it's all in how you put it to your kids. We explain that it is all "Mickey Mouse" magic. We have also had great meals at WDW (Chef Mickey's, O'Hana's, Artist Point, Crystal Palace, to name a few). If I had only read the Unofficial Guide, I think we NEVER would have gone to Disney and we would have missed out on LOTS of fantastic memories!

 

[ptrbryant]

Thanks again for all the great advice and for sharing your experiences...I think I'm actually starting to get excited about my WDW trip planning all over again!
Karla B.