Preparing a toddler

[Eponine]

We will be taking our son, who will be almost 3, on his first WDW trip at the beginning of February. He's been to Disneyland, and remembers it well and fondly, but I'd really like to use the time before we go to expose him to things that will maximize his enjoyment this trip. The only characters he knows are Mickey and the Pooh and Bug's Life characters, as well as those in the Playhouse Disney show. I have plans to rent Toy Story for him today. Can anyone (especially those who have recently been to WDW) give me suggestions for other must-see Disney movies for him, based on what characters he'll be most likely to come across right now, as well as to help him get comfortable with some of the rides? His comfort level is relatively low - he adores the Fantasyland attractions, but POTC, my favorite at his age, was a definite mistake. He does fine with characters, though...meeting Mickey was the highlight of his DL trip!

I believe that the familiarity of Toy Story and other movies will help with his enjoyment of, say, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, as well as give him another set of characters that he'll want to interact with.

Any other ideas besides particular movies to get him prepared and excited would also be appreciated!

 

[laughinplace199]

We went to WDW in October with our 3 year old and 1 year old. Before we went, we watched some Disney Sing Along Videos. They have video/music segments from different Disney movies on each tape. That way, you get to see clips from a bunch of different movies without having to watch the entire movie. I think these videos helped (at least our older child) because the characters and story lines were familiar. Also, we bought some Disney story books and listened to lots of Disney music.

Have a great time!

 

[wilderness01]

Find the disneyland sing-a-long movie. That helped my 2 year old when we were going to WDW.

 

[maps]

if you're going to AK definitely rent the movie The Lion King beforehand. my kids loved the show at AK!

 

[DisneyPhD]

My DD is hooked on the sing along videos. The best are the beach party at WDW and Disneyland fun. There is also a camping one (ok, but can't see much of WDW other then Fort Wilderness and river country. ) These are all "live action" filmed in the parks and have kids singing with them. The Disney land one has more shots of the park and charactars on it. They can be found at most Targets or Toys are Us for around 6.99 each. Also on line a Amazon.com. (for 9.99 each)

Be careful, my DD (now 21 months old) insists on waching these at least once a day.

I have been thinking about your next trip non stop since Christmas, not much else to do around Michigan until then.

 

[mommystieg]

We also watched the Beach Party at WDW, Campout at WDW and Disneyland Fun sing-a-long videos to help prepare our 2 y\o for her meeting with "big" Mickey. There is also an Animal Kingdom video but there are not as many characters in it. These are good because they show the characters interacting with kids. She also enjoyed watching the free vacation video. The first time she encountered Mickey in the parks, she was shy but at least she wasn't terrified. By the end of our trip she was chasing the characters with her autograph book and pen!!

 

[crisi]

My kids (2 and 3 at travel) really enjoyed the Peter Pan ride at MK - that is one where its helpful if you know the story.

Having a broad background in characters really helped - the only ones my kids were confused by were the Alice characters - we hadn't seen Alice. So I'd start full immersion immediately.

 

[Eponine]

Thanks, everyone! I didn't realize that there were sing-along videos with park footage. How perfect!

We did get Toy Story 2, and he LOVED it...sat right through the whole thing! Beauty and the Beast, not so much. He was bored by the time the "Bonjour" song was over, and asking for Toy Story again. I'm going to try BatB again today, and just skip to the middle of the movie. The castle characters might hold his attention better. Then I'll be checking out some of these recommendations!

Woohoo...it won't be long now!

 

[pennylynn]

I think that watching the video's is a great idea. When we were there two years ago I loved Splash Mountain but was surprised that my niece's children didn't know any of the characters on the ride. That was one of the first movies they watched when they got home and now they can't wait to go back and ride again.