what to do with a 5 year old boy!

[Southern Bell]

We took our grandson & gandaughter last year July 2013, ( 4 & 2) When you haven't seen Disney in a few yrs with little children it is just amazing seeing it again through a childs eyes!

We stayed at AOA because our grandson loves the Disney Cars, and it is worth a visit if you don't stay there. He enjoyed character breakfast at Tusker House & Chef Mickey, lunch at Crystal Palace! He loves cars , so that's why we did Sci-Fi , but I think he & his little sister were confused why we were sitting their eating in a toy car with others in the room and watching an old movie they didn't relate , too! LOL! They enjoyed it , did well at it, but they didn't understand it was a replica of a drive in movie like we did. They enjoyed the character meals more! He loved the meet and greets with Mickey & Minnie mouse, Chip and Dale, and even the princess (for his little sister) & all the hugs and kisses on the cheek! LOL!

They really got into meeting the characters more than we expected! Of what we have done, My vote for a birthday would be Crystal Palace because when we have been there it seemed less hectic than the other two(that we loved also) I think Crystal palace is a pretty setting and I don't feel as rushed for some reason. Lunch is cheaper than dinner and besides a few shrimp on ice at dinner I didn't see a difference! I've never had breakfast because we do the other two I mentioned for breakfast.

MK- he liked Aladin, Buzz Light yr, Dumbo, Its a small World, Jungle cruise, Mickeys PhilharMagic 3 D, Peter Pan, Pirates of Caribbean, LOVED Swiss Family Tree house that we have passed over the last several yrs! , exploring on Tom Sawyer Island, Winnie the Pooh and of course the race cars at Tomorrowland. He didn't care for Haunted Mansion(dark and ghost scared him a little). We had to explain it wasn't real!

EPCOT-He liked the seas with nemo and friends, all the meet and greets, he wasn't to sure of space ship earth(dark), and did Not like Universe of Energy(dinosaurs scared him).Had to explain again they were not real! He & his little sister liked playing in the water fountains in France! LOL!

HS-Muppet Vision 3D, Toy Story Mania, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, He liked the parade's and Fireworks but went to sleep during Fantasmic!

AK- Loved the safari & all the animals , but...wasn't to sure of Bugs life! Lion King but it seemed to be to long for both children by the end! He loved expedition Everest that his Papaw rode with him! I was to scared and stayed with my grandaughter! LOL!

Toys- he liked the swords, guns, cars, all the pirate stuff at Pirates of Caribbean! We stayed in that store forever! But...to our surprise (he loved the other characters so much! ) he would not take his picture with the two Pirate characters!He would not talk to them, never warmed up to them! They tried! He thought they were real! LOL! I guess they were just to much in character and believable for him! LOL!

 

[fluffykalie]

hello my son is also 5 must do's for him are build the lightsaber in hollywood studios. also build your own lego people in down town disney. he can meet a few disney super heros in hollywood studios. I know its not the same as spiderman or batman hopefully disney can get them in there park soon for the little boys. but thats probaly just wishful thinking on my part. I agree with you on not a lot of special extras for little boys except for the pireate stuff of starwars weekends. My son would be scared to go off on some kids tour without me, and plus you dont get to see them haveing fun so I would avoid those.

 

[NinaBella]

Fort Wilderness Campground.

Daytime:
Fishing, Canoeing, Archery. He is too young for the horse trail, but there is a kiddie pony ride area that a parent/granparent leads the horse around a loop. There are little 2-person speedboats as well.

Nighttime:
Outdoor Movie (you can check their schedule to see if it is a movie he will like), campfire, smore's, Chip & Dale Sing A Long, wagon ride, electric water parade along their beach area.

I have never attended the Hoop De Doo but it is suppose to be one of the better dinner. Mickey's Backyard BBQ

Tons of stuff for boys and girls at WDW.

 

[ponyboy]

First off, do you know that he'll even be interested in a "meal experience"? None of my 5 kids cared one bit about any of the characters. We've had some meals with characters and they are more interested in eating than they are interacting with a character and when they're done they're ready to head back into the park.

Just let him enjoy disney world. If a 5 year old boy can't have fun in disney world then there's something wrong. The first time we went my youngest one was 5 and he loved it. Getting ice cream, driving the cars at the speedway, riding the people mover over and over, all of the smaller rides.

He didn't need anything "special" to have a great time. I just made sure that he got to do what he wanted to do as many times as he wanted to do it (within reason) and after we got back he made a book at school about how much he loved disney world.

In my experience, boys would rather get junk toys and plastic snakes and stuff like that instead of doing "special" things like girls enjoy. They're easier to keep entertained and content than girls. Girls want clothes and to spend time looking at things or you can spend $5 and 30 seconds buying a boy some trinket he can play with and he's just as happy.

 

[teambeaman]

Why do so many people feel the need to throw a "dig" in? Why can't the question be answered without so much judgement? OP, depending on what he is into TREX could be fun, Mickey's Backyard BBQ, Chef Mickey's or even Ohana. Hope you guys have a wonderful trip!

 

[ChgoMusicGirl]

We took my 5 year old son in June for the first time and his favorites were Jedi Training Academy (totally worth the rope drop and hustle to sign up!), Tusker House because he got to meet Mickey, goofy, Donald, and Daisy (bonus for adults: the food and theming are both awesome), T-Rex, meeting Buzz and Woody in HS, and riding BTMRR 10 times in one day on our last day. (Some after RD, some during PM EMH). He really liked Sci Fi too. The themed treats that are all over the place were big hits, things like Olaf cookie/marshmallow skewers and Star Wars cupcakes were favorites!
Have an awesome trip!

 

[randi2001]

We need help! We are taking our grandson to WDW to celebrate his 5th birthday. We've done the same for our granddaughters 5th birthday. There doesn't seem to be much for 5 year old boys. He's not into princesses. There doesn't seem to be a boy centered character meal. I know we're planning on the pirate experience, but other than that........I don't have anything. The pirate cruise to watch wishes doesn't interest us either. I'm really looking for a meal experience. He'll get plenty of cake and candy and ice cream through out the parks! Thanks

New to the DISboards and obviously off topic here but....Does anyone on here know by chance if the "fish extender" gift exchange is for the cruise lines only or do hotels guests get the ball rolling on that as well for kids at WDW? Any help for the WDW rookie mom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[ellbell]

I have 4 sons and we are heading on our first trip December 2015. Just a question do you know for a fact that your grandson isn't into the princesses, I know that seems like a silly question but I often wonder why the princesses have to be exclusively for girls. My youngest son is right into Ariel and I'm pretty sure he would love to meet her over other more "boy" centered characters. Just saying that just because they are princesses I wouldn't rule them out for your grandson.

 

[Raenstoirm]

New to the DISboards and obviously off topic here but....Does anyone on here know by chance if the "fish extender" gift exchange is for the cruise lines only or do hotels guests get the ball rolling on that as well for kids at WDW? Any help for the WDW rookie mom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

FE is a cruise line only thing.

 

[ach222]

I have 4 sons and we are heading on our first trip December 2015. Just a question do you know for a fact that your grandson isn't into the princesses, I know that seems like a silly question but I often wonder why the princesses have to be exclusively for girls. My youngest son is right into Ariel and I'm pretty sure he would love to meet her over other more "boy" centered characters. Just saying that just because they are princesses I wouldn't rule them out for your grandson.

Agreed - we are headed down for DS' (5) 1st trip in January - when you ask him who he's excited to meet it's 'Mickey' followed closely by 'Anna & Elsa' - I haven't even mentioned to him that you can meet the fairies but I know he'll be excited for that too (loves the new Tink movies).

 

[sdomino11]

I've got 2 boys. 5 and 7 yrs old. I think T-Rex restaurant in downtown Disney is great for that age! And, bonus, it's right by the Lego store! (Is your grandson as obsessed with Legos as my boys?) If you've got a Star Wars lover, ask the photog near Star Wars to do a magic shot. They'll take a picture that will appear as if your little guy is fighting Darth Vader with a light saber!

 

[laughinplace199]

How about doing the Family Magic Tour? Five is a great age for it!

 

[katriscari]

Our son was 5 in May when we took our first trip. He is not "die hard" Disney...meaning he doesn't watch many cartoons, doesn't have tons of character toys, etc. Loves sports and acts much older than he is. That being said, I booked a variety of character dining options because I didn't know what he would actually enjoy. We had an autograph booked, and he really ended up enjoying all of them. His favorites were chef mickey and Hollywood and vine. Chef Mickey was our first dinner, so i don't know if he loved it because he was so excited or if it was rally that great. H&V was a fave because they sing and dance with the kids. It was a fun time. We also did Ohana....kids did a little parade and did a game with brooms and coconuts, crystal palace with pooh and friends was nice, but it isn't geared towards boys or girls...tusker house I guess could be more "boyish". Dressed like safari characters. If you get the earliest dining reservation for breakfast you can get on the first safari ride in the morning too. That was a neat experience. For our next trip in May 2015 we are definitely doing T. rex downtown. Just the atmosphere of that one is so cool!!