1st timer - need to know where to start

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
1st timer - need to know where to start
15
Tue, 05-30-2006 - 11:20am

Gosh I had no idea planning a Disney trip would be so confusing.

andrea1.gif picture by ascherm 

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 05-30-2006 - 3:46pm

Thank you. Please note that if you are looking at the age 3 column, that just because it's blank doesn't mean it is not appropriate for a 3 year old.

3 months before our first trip to Disney, we took Aly to Sea World San Antonio. They have a log flume ride with as tall a drop as Splash Mountain, just not as steep (like a 30º drop instead of a 45º drop). Well, anyone who was at least 1 year old without health problems is allowed on that. I didn't know the drop was so high, so I took her on it. BIG MISTAKE! We had to PUT her on a boat ride at the San Antonio Zoo even though she didn't want to just to show her that not all boats will "drop" you...lol.

So, my point about Disney is, she was very cautious on her first trip. I forced her on Mexico's boat ride (it's my favorite), she enjoyed it and we rode it's a small world 5 times that trip! If I hadn't made her go on Mexico, she wouldn't have done small world either. We didn't even do Dumbo because I was afraid she'd be scared because it was so high (another big mistake...we went the next year and she couldn't get enough of it!).

Also, there were some attractions that just weren't open yet when she was almost 3. Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Philharmagic, etc.

HTH

Alysha


Avatar for cl_ktbugsmom
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 05-30-2006 - 7:45pm

Wow, a lot of your questions are totally dependant on your family since there's no one size fits all vacation, especially at WDW. Glancing over the replies you've gotten it seems that most of the major websites and books were reccomended to you. With a guide book I highly reccomend getting it at the library first. They all have the same information in them, it's just how it's presented that varies - A LOT!. So you really don't want to plunk down $20-25 for a guidebook only to find out that you don't like the way the authors write. The only one you probably won't be able to find in the library is the Passporter (my fav) beucase it's also a workbook and journal. But the website gives you a good feel for the way the authors write.


Now your questions.



  1. September is still hot, sometimes very much so. It's also still prime hurricane season which means that the humidity is often higher. But crowds are low and hours are still good. We went during Francis and while it was hot and humid and rained, it really didn't effect our trip that much (I was also 7 mo pg). October the temps cool off some, the threat of hurricanes lessens and the hours shorten. You've also got conventions, Mickey's not so scary halloween party and the beginnings of the Food and Wine Festival that draw in some semi locals for extended weekends, so crowds are flexible.

  2. This is completely subjective. I suggest getting a free planning video, some guide books, look online at allearsnet.com etc and let your son have some input on what he wants to do. Kim Wright Wiley's guide to WDW with kids is also great because it lists any potential scare factor for every ride. Like Peter Pan is innocent enough the ride vehicle (pirate ship) goes along a steady track. Totally tame, it's like riding through the movie.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 05-30-2006 - 11:14pm

Like Peter Pan is innocent enough the ride vehicle (pirate ship) goes along a steady track. Totally tame, it's like riding through the movie. Potential scare factors listed for that would be that the ride vehicles are suspended from the ceiling so the attraction is below you, the attraction is in the dark with black light effects, there's a tiny dip at one point. It really lists anything that

AND if Captain Hook decides to steal candy from your child when she is not even 3, she may not like the ride because Captain Hook is in it.....lol. I was able to get Aly on this ride ONE time in 5 trips and it doesn't even matter that you see him in a very bad fix at the end...lol.

Of course, Aly also has the weird scare factor from Muppets 3-D in which she absolutely hates the bug-bird thing and hasn't gone back to that show either! And she loves the 3-D shows she has been to!

Alysha


iVillage Member
Registered: 01-27-2004
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 1:01am

Hey stranger!


    

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 05-31-2006 - 11:40am

Thanks everyone!

andrea1.gif picture by ascherm 

Pages