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Disney with a 3 yr old?
We're going this winter for a few days. We're staying at one of the On-site
hotels, so should have a lot of flexibility as far as going back and forth from the parks for naps etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as must-sees/dos? |
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Disney with a 3 yr old?
On Nov 18, 8:26 pm, "Donna Metler" wrote:
We're going this winter for a few days. We're staying at one of the On-site hotels, so should have a lot of flexibility as far as going back and forth from the parks for naps etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as must-sees/dos? I am interested in the same question for a 4.5 yo -- my parents are taking my eldest son. |
#3
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Disney with a 3 yr old?
Donna Metler wrote:
We're going this winter for a few days. We're staying at one of the On-site hotels, so should have a lot of flexibility as far as going back and forth from the parks for naps etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as must-sees/dos? Never been there and can't help you out at all with that, but Bob Sehlinger's "Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World" seems to have excellent reviews overall. I've never read this book myself, cannot vouch for it personally, and only stumbled across it by chance because someone with the same name as my husband had two copies of it on his Amazon wish list and that made me curious enough to check it out. Might be worth a look to see if it's as good as most people seem to think, in which case it could help you plan. All the best, Sarah -- http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com "That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell |
#4
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Disney with a 3 yr old?
In article ,
Donna Metler wrote: We're going this winter for a few days. We're staying at one of the On-site hotels, so should have a lot of flexibility as far as going back and forth from the parks for naps etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as must-sees/dos? I found reading www.allearsnet.com to be useful, for Disney World, as well as a written guide to Disney that was specifically geared to kids. The must-sees do depend a lot on your child. For my kids, riding the monorail and train were absolute musts - sometimes we went out of our way to ride the monorail. But you might not have train fanatics. (If you do, when the monorail is not busy, ask to ride up front with the driver.) If your child absolutely must see (and get the autographs of) certain Disney characters, I recommend going to character meals - the advantage is that the characters come to you, rather than you having to find them. Food quality and price does vary though. Some of the rides are scary - this is where reading a guide to Disney helps, because you are the one to know your child's tolerance for roller coasters, being in the dark, etc. Although you probably will at some point wind up in line for Dumbo's flying elephants :-) Things like parades and fireworks can also be quite good - they are fun for all ages and give everyone a chance to rest their feet. Carol |
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Disney with a 3 yr old?
On Nov 18, 8:26 pm, "Donna Metler" wrote:
We're going this winter for a few days. We're staying at one of the On-site hotels, so should have a lot of flexibility as far as going back and forth from the parks for naps etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as must-sees/dos? We went to Disney when DD1 was 2.5 yrs. and again this past summer when DD2 was 3 years old. At that age both had a great time. I think the trip for DD1 was a little more fun for her because we taylored the entire trip around her. DD2 this past year had to suffer through us pandering to the older kids (we went with cousins). I highly recommend the character breakfasts or lunches. If your daughter is into the princesses I've heard great things about the princess breakfast at Cinderella's castle. Both trips we did lunch with Winnie the Pooh at the Crystal palace. Lunch was good and plentiful. It was nice to sit and relax. It was fun to see the characters (although DD2 was quite afraid of them, she did enjoy them from afar). You need to make reservations in advance (call (407) WDW-DINE). Both kids loved the dumbo ride, so with this last trip we hit dumbo as soon as we got to the park (grabbing a fast pass to the winnie the pooh ride I think) and we got to the park right when it opened. That way we could do Dumbo with a minimal wait. Some of the rides are dark and kind of scary, but both girls were fine as long as I let them know ahead of time. Both love rides, though. Neither is big on greeting characters so we didn't meet Mickey or Minnie at their houses (lines were really long). Since you are staying at a resort, be sure to know the magic hours or whatever they call them. That is the time that the parks are open just for people staying at Disney resorts. I expect it would help with the lines alot. As for parks - the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom were probably the best fits for the 3 year old. We did have fun at MGM and at Epcot, but the older kids got more out of those. Have fun, we had a grand time! Mary W. |
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Disney with a 3 yr old?
Sarah Vaughan wrote:
Donna Metler wrote: We're going this winter for a few days. We're staying at one of the On-site hotels, so should have a lot of flexibility as far as going back and forth from the parks for naps etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as must-sees/dos? Never been there and can't help you out at all with that, but Bob Sehlinger's "Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World" seems to have excellent reviews overall. I've never read this book myself, cannot vouch for it personally, and only stumbled across it by chance because someone with the same name as my husband had two copies of it on his Amazon wish list and that made me curious enough to check it out. Might be worth a look to see if it's as good as most people seem to think, in which case it could help you plan. My mom took us all in 1999, at which point she had 10 great grandchildren ranging from 19 years old to 8 months. http://cache.virtualtourist.com/3605...en-Orlando.jpg [DD#1 had three children 19, 17 and 5; DD#2 had two children 5 and 8 months; DD#3 had one child age 20 months, DS had two children age 6 and 3, and my nephew had children age 5 and 3. Photo has all but the oldest two great grands] Dd#1 had a book that was somewhat similar to this and it had recommendations and dis-recommendations for various ages as well as strategies. I thought it was quite good- she lent it to me before we went, and I was able to figure out what I personally would want to see. One of the recommendations that I remember was for parents to go out to whatever park had early opening that day in the morning, and then come back after lunch for a nap and then to play in the pool at the hotel in the afternoon. I think that is what dd#2 did. I took her ds out into the park early one morning before the park opened for real. http://cache.virtualtourist.com/7765...on-Orlando.jpg We rode one of his favorite rides, plus it was cooler then We did one huge enormous family dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (after which we all gave our cameras to bystanders so we could all be in a group portrait), and we did Mickey's breakfast the next morning http://cache.virtualtourist.com/7765...sr-Orlando.jpg and that all seemed to work well. None of the children got terribly cranky or at least I didn't notice if they did. |
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Disney with a 3 yr old?
On Nov 18, 8:26�pm, "Donna Metler" wrote:
We're going this winter for a few days. We're staying at one of the On-site hotels, so should have a lot of flexibility as far as going back and forth from the parks for naps etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as must-sees/dos? Each park has attractions that are appealing to children of that age group, with the park really targeting that age as the Magic Kingdom. You would be very hard pressed to see everything all in one day in any one park. Gatorland was fun for my kids at that age, as was Sea World. You can get cheaper tickets online, and the last time I checked Sea World offered a second-day pass free online (rather than waiting in a huge crowd at the gates before leaving to get one). Gatorland offers a good one-day park experience that is doable and the kids can sit on gators (little ones with their mouths taped shut) for a picture that appears they are wrestling it, touch all sorts of lizards, etc. Lots of animal experiences there, but each photo opportunity is expensive. You can feed the gators hot dogs by throwing them over the partitions too. I don't recommend the Animal Kingdom really until maybe 5'ish. Check out the Disney website for any special events they are having too. Last year we took our kids to the special Pirates and Princesses party where they got after-hours admission and rides on all of the Magic Kingdom rides that were appealing to them. They also got treasure maps to hunt for chocolate dubloons (sp?) and beaded necklaces (treasure). They had a ball. |
#8
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Disney with a 3 yr old?
"Donna Metler" writes:
We're going this winter for a few days. We're staying at one of the On-site hotels, so should have a lot of flexibility as far as going back and forth from the parks for naps etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as must-sees/dos? I've only been once, and our kids were older than 3 at the time, but I think I can offer some basic advice. Get a guide book and read it ahead of time! We liked the Unofficial Guide. You can also find lots of websites, allearsnet.com was my favorite, but I think a guide book you can read wherever you are and bookmark and highlight to your heart's content still beats the Web. The place is huge and if you don't have some idea what's important, you'll just spend your days wandering around looking at the park maps. If anyone in the family isn't used to walking, make sure they get there before the trip. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you'll just keep the three-year-old in the stroller - he will be walking more than you think! (Our 4.5YO declared that strollers were for babies and would have nothing to do with them. His little legs put a lot of miles on them that week....) Figure on some breaks - the nap is an excellent idea, but also know that your child is going to want to blow off steam in the playground areas and need to just sit and rest for a bit during the day. It will slow you down, but you'll enjoy your time much more. The physical exercise is only half of it; Disney really sends you into sensory overload, especially the Magic Kingdom. It's tremendous fun, but anybody's brain is going to need a break from time to time, small children especially. We were there a week in January almost three years ago. We were at the parks as soon as they opened each day and spent about the first hour walking right onto the rides. It was beautiful. We were really lucky with the weather, too, and our younger boy's favorite memory is swimming in the (heated!) hotel pool, with a Mickey Mouse/Sorcerer's Apprentice fountain spraying water on him. For a Scandinavian kid, the idea of swimming OUTDOORS! in JANUARY! was just too incredible to believe. I'm told the week after we were there it was cool and rainy, though. Oh, yeah, and ride Dumbo. I'm such a sap, that was my favorite ride. - Cindy Kandolf, mamma to Kenneth (13) and Robert (7) ****** Bærum, Norway Bilingual Families Web Page: http://www.nethelp.no/cindy/biling-fam.html |
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