WoC for toddlers?

[Panonim]

Hi all,

I am trying to decide if it's worth the effort for us to try and see WoC. It'll be me, DH, our 4yo and our 2yo. We'll be in DL from Sep 23 to Sep 26.

We could only do the early show, and even that is pretty late for our kids schedules (yeah, I know, when you're on vacation, schedules pretty much go out the window). Still, I worry they'll just be exhausted after such a long day, and then having to wait in line, stand around, wait more, etc. I'm not too worried about my 4yo, but my 2yo is not so hot on standing & waiting. LOL

Plus, is the show itself too bright/noisy etc for little ones? And will they be able to see well enough?

I'd love to hear what sort of experience others have had with little kids.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Will your kids be in strollers?? It might be advisable with the late time. We did it with our 3yr old twins (both autistic) at the end of July. Bedtime for them is 8pm so we knew we were really taking a chance trying to take them. They got pretty fussy before the pre-show started & then sat straight up in the strollers to watch. They both watched the WoC from their strollers & didn't seem to have any problems with it. With autistic kiddos.....noise can be a huge deal but even with the volume it didn't seem to bug them (maybe because there was so many other things to distract them??)

Wonderful show!!! Our 5 yr old got a bit tired of standing but did manage.

I would highly suggest you get in line early so you can get at the railing.....this way you have an unobstructed view.....even for the kids in the strollers.

Good luck & enjoy it!!

 

[summer0407]

We did the dinner at ariel's grotto. I went early and lined up and got us a spot at the front rail of the dining section. Our friends and my kids went on rides and came over about 10 minutes before the pre show. My kids ages 2 1/2 and 6 loved the pre show and also really loved the show. I held my daughter for it I kind of sat her on the railing so I did not have to carry her weight the whole time. I am sure each family is different but my kids did just fine and loved it as we left we watched the fireworks. I should mention we had a afternoon break/nap so that helped a lot!

 

[mrswh]

We took our kids (4 and 6) a few weeks ago and they loved it! We got FPs first thing in the morning (early entry via GCH) and arrived at the barricade right around 7:15. Waited there for about 30 minutes and then were let in - we had blue FPs and it was pretty easy to get a spot right on the railing. The problem is that the railing is pretty tall (4 feet?) so both my kids would have had to look through it rather than over it without us holding them. Since we had to hold them anyway, it turns out we could have arrived later, stood behind some people and put the kids on our shoulders. (We were on one of the upper railings, where you won't get wet and get a fantastic view of the entire show, plus can make a break for it right when the show ends! If you are trying to get right down front you probably wouldn't be able to show up later and still see.)

However, the wait wasn't bad. We allowed our kids to play games on our iPhones (we rarely do that so it was a novelty for them) and that kept them entertained. Once we got in, two in our group went to get snacks and we ate them while waiting. At 8:30 they start the pre-show which is entertaining.

I don't think that there is anything too big, colorful, loud or scary about the show. it is full of familiar Disney characters and music, and what kid doesn't like bright colors and fountains shooting way into the air? Maybe if you are right in front it could be overwhelming? Especially if they get soaking wet.

We had FPs the night before we went and decided not to go because the kids were too exhausted. Maybe just get FPs and play it by ear. Do your kiddos want to see it?

 

[pixarmom]

We have two pre-teens and a pre-schooler, so my husband took our pre-schooler back to the GCH earlier in the evening and I took our older boys. We were happy with that decision.

Even though we had FPs, we knew from these boards that we would have to wait for quite some time before the show started. For us, it was 45 minutes of waiting, and we consider that a very long wait - we usually don't wait for any ride more than 10-15 minutes, at the most. Our pre-schooler is particularly impatient, the wait was not likely to go well for him, even if we were going to the earliest show. And I don't think he would have liked the show as much as our older boys.

If, on the other hand, you have a patient toddler who doesn't mind waiting, that would be quite different! As others have mentioned, getting a spot by the railing is key!!!

 

[Mom2aJessieGirl]

My daughter is 4 and she LOVED it. We sat in an area with other kids her age and several kids much younger and they all were enthralled. I would definitely not miss WOC.

 

[Panonim]

We took our kids (4 and 6) a few weeks ago and they loved it! We got FPs first thing in the morning (early entry via GCH) and arrived at the barricade right around 7:15. Waited there for about 30 minutes and then were let in - we had blue FPs and it was pretty easy to get a spot right on the railing. The problem is that the railing is pretty tall (4 feet?) so both my kids would have had to look through it rather than over it without us holding them. Since we had to hold them anyway, it turns out we could have arrived later, stood behind some people and put the kids on our shoulders. (We were on one of the upper railings, where you won't get wet and get a fantastic view of the entire show, plus can make a break for it right when the show ends! If you are trying to get right down front you probably wouldn't be able to show up later and still see.)

However, the wait wasn't bad. We allowed our kids to play games on our iPhones (we rarely do that so it was a novelty for them) and that kept them entertained. Once we got in, two in our group went to get snacks and we ate them while waiting. At 8:30 they start the pre-show which is entertaining.

I don't think that there is anything too big, colorful, loud or scary about the show. it is full of familiar Disney characters and music, and what kid doesn't like bright colors and fountains shooting way into the air? Maybe if you are right in front it could be overwhelming? Especially if they get soaking wet.

We had FPs the night before we went and decided not to go because the kids were too exhausted. Maybe just get FPs and play it by ear. Do your kiddos want to see it?

LOL, they don't even know yet that we're going to DL! We are going to tell them about 2-3 days ahead of time I think.


Thanks everyone for your input! I mentioned this all to DH and he thought I was nuts for even thinking about skipping it. He said "No way! Of course we'll go see it!" He is more of a Disney fanatic than I am (no tomatoes please! )

Now we just have to decide whether to just do a FP or try the picnic meals.....

 

[CaseyK]

My kids are the same ages as yours and I am deciding on fast passes or picnics right now. Do you know if we have to actually buy a picnic if the child is under 3? If not, we'll probably do a picnic and my DS and DD can share. I don't know if I want to pay 15$ each for them!

 

[where's_my_prince]

i went with my aunt and her 3 year old son and he actually got frightened during the villains part and she and him had to leave, i felt really bad cuz we waited in line for over an hour for those fast passes

 

[Panonim]

My kids are the same ages as yours and I am deciding on fast passes or picnics right now. Do you know if we have to actually buy a picnic if the child is under 3? If not, we'll probably do a picnic and my DS and DD can share. I don't know if I want to pay 15$ each for them!

Oh, that's a really good point that I hadn't thought of! Everything I've come across in general Disney context seems to imply that kids 2 and under are free. But I don't want to assume that for WoC picnics. I just checked the Disney site and couldn't quite find any info one way or another.

Someone must know the answer?

(The ironic thing for me is that my 2yo eats way more than my 4yo, so at least it evens out for us while he's still the free one!)

 

[Panonim]

i went with my aunt and her 3 year old son and he actually got frightened during the villains part and she and him had to leave, i felt really bad cuz we waited in line for over an hour for those fast passes

See, this worries me too! My DD is so hard to predict. Sometimes even some suspenseful music in a movie will freak her out. Other times she's OK.

What time of day did you get the FPs? I didn't realize the line could be that long.......

 

[Mom2aJessieGirl]

What time of day did you get the FPs? I didn't realize the line could be that long.......

Go as soon as the park opens (or as soon as the GCA will let you in if you are staying there). The line gets long so fast, and you will want the "early" show if you have small kids.

 

[where's_my_prince]

See, this worries me too! My DD is so hard to predict. Sometimes even some suspenseful music in a movie will freak her out. Other times she's OK.

What time of day did you get the FPs? I didn't realize the line could be that long.......

the park opened at 10:00 so we got there at 10:30. the end of the line was almost to the golden gate bridge! and we thought when we got to grizzly river rapids we were there, they wrap it around the ride so it took even longer!

 

[jazzatola]

Does anyone know if you need the Fastpasses to sit in the Handicap section??? I am assuming there is a handicap section.. I keep seeing picnic reservations.. I am off to search what that is right now!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

You might want to check out the blog I wrote on doing WoC with young ones. My girls are 5 and 3.5 and we followed this plan and it worked well.

http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/06...-braving-the-grand-opening-of-world-of-color/


You won't need a picnic meal for those under 3 - Disney considers them free. I would mention when you pick up your meals that you have a 2 yr old (or younger) and see what they tell you. They may just give you and extra fast pass to compensate for the extra body. I would also request Blue Section - usually they have Blue and Yellow available there.

I also agree with the suggestion to get a rail spot if possible. Blue section has rail spots higher up and they do not fill as quickly as folks try to go down to the front. We watched from the rail at the top level - next to the Disability section - and it was great. Just slightly left of center.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Panonim]

Wow, Nancy, what a great blog article! That answered a lot of my questions. Thank you!

 

[DisGirl819]

We saw the 10:15 show with DS (5 months) and DD 2. She sat on daddy's shoulders the whole time and she got scared at the "scary" or more intense parts of the show but she loved it. DS slept in the carrier on my chest the whole time. We were in the yellow section in the very, VERY VERY back. Literally in the back, at the top of the stairs. We had an awesome view though, I didn't see a bad view in the place (at least from where we were). We did a picnic meal earlier in the day and it was perfect for us. And yes you can take your stroller with you, but you'll most likely have to navigate stairs with it. I say, do it and enjoy!