Disney World for a very "shy" 3yo

[Still_Learning]

shy isn't the word, I hate that word, but it gets the idea across. He's very very cautious and doesn't take to new experiences very well. He's very sensory and gets overwhelmed easily.

My inlaws have bought us a trip to Disney with the whole family next month.

Will there be things we can do that are very low key and not crazy overstimulating? He just turned 3 in August.

I've never been and am hoping some of you that have can give me some idea of what to expect. I know he'll be afraid of the characters all dressed up (I'm a little uncomfortable with those myself!!)

Ugh

[lucyem]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/
This website has a bunch of forums on disney world. Parents who go all the time who have tons of tips for the trip for example. It would be worth asking there as they are very much up on what is open at the moment. Its been a couple of years since we were there.

We took my son when he was 3. Well we took our german babysitter and my son was 3 at the time. He is very social but had a rough time on any of the little kid rides. What we did was go to the parks after breakfast and stay until lunch. The go back to the hotel and nap. Then pool time. Then dinner and maybe stroll around Epcot or more pool time. Our favorite day was actually the one when we went to Sea World. More low key.

[LuckyMommaToo]

Well, it's pretty easy to avoid the characters. I'd definitely have a stroller so he has a way to "escape" if it's feeling like too much. October is a good time to go.

I'd just not have too many expectations and be open to whatever your DS needs to do to feel comfortable. Hope you have fun!

-Erin

[TheGirls]

Definitely plan to take a break part way through the day. We went when I was 9 and my brother was 5. We went early, then left in the afternoon, went back to the hotel, took a nap, got dinner, then went back for the parade. It worked well for us, but even that much would probably have been too much for a 3 year old. Even if you plan to come back, though, a break mid-day is well worth it.

I also second the stroller suggestion. If he gets overwhelmed, he may be able to hide in there and nap

[julie hope]

just back from disney\

hi. we just got back from disney. my kids are 6 and 4 now but we have been going every year since the oldest was 3 since my parents moved close. my oldest is people shy and now is a great time to go (less people). the magic kingdom is more geared to younger kids, but there are a few "scary rides" that you may want to be cautious about. pirates of the c, snow white, haunted mansion, and peter pan do have scary themes. small world was low key and pooh was nice, but there is music playing and colorful figures dancing. in tomorrow land there is a gentle tram that takes kids around and it is very gentle, the steam train is loud but gentle, and the river boat is nice. my kids have always liked the shows too which surprised me.

I definately vote for the stroller. my kids are older and i still rent their double (easy to push). They are parked at every ride and it gives you a place to put (and leave) your diaper bag. (i've never heard of any getting stollen, just keep valuebles in a fanny pack, a pocket, and carry your cameras. ( I tried to carry everything onto the rides the first year and man was that a mistake).

epcot, universal sudios, and animal kingdom are fun to, but my kids liked the magic kingdom the best (it is just more for the smaller crowd.) I haven't been to typhoon lagoon yet. Have fun. (and don't feel like you have to do everything- you will feel too rushed.)

[Still_Learning]

Thank you all so much for the great advice! I'm writing it all down!

[moondiapers]

FYI they now require you to stick your finger into a machine and take a biometric fingerprint before you can enter Disney World.

[Still_Learning]

Originally Posted by moondiapers

FYI they now require you to stick your finger into a machine and take a biometric fingerprint before you can enter Disney World.

Huh????

[moondiapers]

Originally Posted by Still_Learning

Huh????

yep, they won't let you in if you don't submit to a finger scan.

[moondiapers]

Oops, sorry. She can show phot ID instead.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb...30339/-1/RSS01

"Industry insiders say Walt Disney World has the nation's largest single commercial application of biometrics, a tool that teaches computers to recognize and identify individuals based on their unique characteristics.

And Disney has expressed interest in an even more advanced form of biometric technology -- automated face recognition. It has been touted as a way to pick criminals and terrorists out of a crowd.

Privacy advocates believe Disney has not fully disclosed the purpose of its new fingerprint-scanning system. There are no signs posted at the entrances detailing what information is being collected and how it is being used. Attendants at the entrances will explain the system, if asked."


http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/01/w...ting-everyone/

http://newsinitiative.org/story/2006...he_governments

[Still_Learning]

Wow, I am soooo behind the times. That seems like it's out of some insane movie.

I need to get out more. ...on second thought, I'll stay in my little cacoon that you very much.

[moonmama22]

We just got back from Disney a couple of months ago, and ds was just about to turn 3 when we were there. Just weeks before we went, he started being scared of characters - we were taking him to WNBA games, and he FREAKED out when the mascot came anywhere near us. I was so upset, I thought our trip would be a disaster. Here are some things we learned that were very, very helpful.
We stayed away from characters, though ds was okay with the princesses, because they looked like regular people, so we got some pictures with them. By the last day, he would wave at them from a few feet away...
By the second full day, we were renting a stroller. Ds never used them as an infant, but LOVED riding around in them all day - and it saved our backs from carrying him and our nerves from hearing "I'm tired, carry me," all day! It was well worth the money.
Rides were tough - even the dark parts in Pooh and the puppets in Small World made him a little nervous. But he loved most of the shows, especially Playhouse Disney, and was thrilled with Animal Kingdom and the parades (except when characters approached him!) The characters are pretty good about realizing when a kid is nervous and we noticed they would back away quickly when his eyes widened in fright!
We had planned to do the whole early to the park, break in the afternoon, and return later, but ds is a night owl like us, and we ended up sleeping in, having breakfast, and getting to the parks around 10:00 or 11:00 then staying until close. It's all about what works for your family. That worked for us, especially because ds fell asleep on the bus back every night, and we didn't have to struggle to get him to bed.
Wow - this is long, I'm sorry. I think the biggest thing I had to learn quickly was not to be disappointed by anything, adn just go with the flow. Things did not work out at all like I had "planned", but ds had an amazing time anyway, and I was all about him having the time of his life. Plus, now there is a bunch of stuff we haven't seen or done, that we can get to next time!
There is no possible way to NOT have fun at Disney World!!!

[michaelsmama]

Just went in August (without kids but largely pregnant - no fun at all!) and thinking about my kids being there, I would second Animal kingdom which may not be quite as overwhelmingas the other places. But know that a lot of it (besides rides) may not be exciting to a child so don't be disappointed.

You can also look on the disney site http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw...MagicHoursPage which details the extra magic hours for people who are disney resort guests. I'd use this info one of two ways:
1. If your child is better either early morning or late night, and you are a resort guest, go for the extra magic hours - only resort guests can use these so numbers are lower. Then midday you can go back to your hotel and rest or play in the pool. But beware b/c it means that the park who has extra hours that day is often the more full park, so you could also...
2. AVOID the extra magic hours parks on those days - we did just b/c we couldn't get the Em hours to work for our schedule, and found the parks (even in mid august) to be less crowded than we had imagined.


Good luck!!!!!!!!!

ps if you guys have the disney dining plan, enjoy - it really is a good deal (at least for adults, esp if you're going to spend the money eating disney food anyway) and is very flexible. also has info on the disney website.

[veganf]

Originally Posted by Still_Learning

My inlaws have bought us a trip to Disney with the whole family next month.

Will there be things we can do that are very low key and not crazy overstimulating? He just turned 3 in August.
Ugh

We just got back from Disney World last week! Our very sensitive 3yo shocked us completely by loving roller coasters and all sorts of more intense rides. What he didn't care for were the characters (ie. Buzz Lightyear) that he normally likes to watch or read about at home...in fact both older boys hid their heads or ran back to us when they saw costumed characters.
There are many gentle rides at Disney: the train, the Transit Authority in Tomorrowland (my 3yo had to ride this 3 times and still wanted more), It's A Small World, Dumbo, etc. And there are a few playground-type areas too that they can climb and run around on. There are lots of shows, music and stuff. And plenty of vantage points from which to watch rides instead of ride on them. Even the parking lot transport, monorail, and ferry boat are entertainment in themselves.
I hope you have a great time!!

[veganf]

Originally Posted by moondiapers

FYI they now require you to stick your finger into a machine and take a biometric fingerprint before you can enter Disney World.

Yup. Freaked me out.

Oh, and I second the stroller. My 3 & 4 yos walked the whole park, but they did their share of complaining. But the baby had the stroller and they were perfectly capable. But we left around 5pm so didn't stay the WHOLE day. The baby just napped in the stroller at his usual time.

[Momily]

We didn't make our first trip to Disney until DS was 6, and loved it so much that we went back again at 7, so my advice might be a little off, but I have a few thoughts.

There is no rule that says you have to stay at the parks all day. We spent a lot of time at the pools, the playgrounds etc. . . Usually we'd get to the park at opening when things were cool and there were fewer people, ride a handful of rides for about an hour and a half (Tourguide Mike's site will give you great ideas for getting in a lot of rides in short time period), then see a couple of shows or spend some time playing on one of the playgrounds, or running through the water features they have in most parks, and be on our way out by 10:30 or 11:00. Usually we'd stop somewhere with a fun theme for brunch, like the ice cream fountain at Epcot, or the Crystal Palace to eat with Pooh (yes my 6 year old boy thought eating with Pooh was great), and then we'd spend hours hanging out at the pool -- which was everyone's favorite part of the trip. A couple of times we went back late at night to eat at a restaurant which had a view of the fireworks, or to walk around the World Showcase, but not to do any more rides or indoor shows (WS sometimes has street performers and we'd stop and watch them). We also went to downtown disney to play in their fountain, and to Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the animals and hear the storytellers, and took 2 days off to go to the Beach instead (Coco beach is about an hour's drive). A couple of days we slept in or went to the pool early, and then spent the late afternoon in the wave pool and lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon (my son decided that water slides were not worth waiting in line). On day we slept in, went to the pool, and then ordered room service and watched TV.

If I had toured the way other people I know tour -- get up early, stay late, hop between multiple parks, I'd have been exhausted and cranky after day 2. We tried that one day near the end of the trip, and frankly if we'd started that way I think I'd have packed up and gone home by day 3. If I had made it my goal to ride as many rides as we could (although with 2-3 hours a day for 6 days in the parks we rode almost everything our first year -- the second year DS knew what he liked and we hit all of his favorites a bunch of tie and skipped everything else) I wouldn't have had any fun at all.