What did you let your kids do to get...

[siestakeys04]

involved with the planning of your disney trip. This is my 2nd time since i was 6 now almost 34 and my dh33 first time dd10 and ds6 first time going. Do you have any ideas on how i can have them help with the things they would like to take on the trip (we are driving) and places to eat. I want them to have a part because this is there memory too.

PS (We bought them a dvd player from walmart that has two screens to strap to the headrest so should i let them pick disney movies to watch too)

 

[1of6]

We are first timers, well sort of. DH was there opening year. I went several times in school but it was before MGM and AK.

The kids (ds9, dd7, ds4, dd2) have sat with me and picked out things they don't want to miss. We did this from disney.com

I also printed out a journal for each of them for the trip. I didn't go wild but the pages I chose will make a nice memory book for each of them. There is a thread near the top of the disney for families boards. They each have a page for each park to fill in their favorite ride, show, what they loved, what they didn't. I also put some word searches in the older kid's for our plane ride.

I have a fanny pack for the 3 oldest to fill with their own chapstick, pen and autograph book (I bought small notebooks with white pages and disney stickers so they can design their own before we go), and snacks (we are bringing some variety boxes from Costco and they can put a couple of things in everyday.)

I am interested in other ideas as well.

 

[Tjaleks]

I ordered the planning dvd and my boys watched it several times. From the dvd they were able to tell me very clearly what they were interested in. Also if I saw something I thought they might like I discussed it with them ahead of time so there wouldn't be any sensory overload during the trip. My ds9 pretty much walked around WDW in awe the whole time we were there.

 

[ellenmiele]

Birnbaum publishes a book called "Walt Disney World for Kids by Kids" with a new addition every year. It's about $10 or so and you can get it at Amazon.com. Last year I gave it to friends who were going to WDW for the first time with their 2 sons ages 5 and 9 -- they really enjoyed it. It would be just right for your kids' ages and it is a good way for them to see actual photos of what many attractions look like and help to decide which things they don't want to miss.
Happy Planning!

 

[dbarker]

I had a "savings" jar (plastic) for each family member. I bought Disney stickers and each person got to decorate his jar own jar. Their savings $$ was for their souveniers.
We went a couple of years ago. We watched the WDW planning DVD and I borrowed a couple of guide books from our libraray. I asked the boys and DH which hotel they would like to stay in. (Sports was the unanimous decision for them) I also let them pick which rides they wanted to ride.

I have read that some families allow a different family member to pick the first ride of the day each day. A couple of years ago, there were lots of threads about this sort of thing. Now there doesn't seem to be hardly any at all anymore.

 

[momto2]

We involve our kids a lot in the planning. I know that there are folks out there who 'surprise' their families, but I am a firm believer that the planning, countdowns, discussions, etc. are part of the magic. We use Birbaums for Kids and Passporter. Also check your local library for more planning type books. We found that we loved reading about Disney before each trip. We have gone enough times know that it isn't to gather more knowledge, but just to get us more excited.

I would say to choose your favorite planning book and have your kids highlight or book mark favorites. These boards are also great at learning things about rides and attractions from the true veterans who have been there. Also, for the car trip, I let me kids pack somethings and I pick up small games they don't know about. It is actually exciting for them to see what is 'new' for the long car ride. The DVD player is great. A couple of movies and you are 3-4 hours along.

Really enjoy the planning, especially with your kids. It is some of our fondest memories sitting around deciding which rides we will go on and where we will eat!