We regularly solicit feedback for Panel topic and one mom’s feedback inspired this week’s topic: I know there are many threads about park “strategy,” e.g. what rides to hit, etc. But many of those don’t apply to those with younger kids. I know our strategy has changed since going with little kids, heck, it has even changed as the kids get older. I personally would love to hear others’ ideas, especially with how you explain to a 3-year-old why you are going on Dumbo the Flying Elephant now and not “it’s a small world,” (because the line will be longer for Dumbo later)?
Chris, also known as GusMan, is always planning his next family trip to Walt Disney World and loves to help others plan their trips, as well through sharing his experiences. Chris writes:
In the past, I have expressed how I like to include my children in our planning process. To a certain extent, that included my son when he was only a couple years old. After all, I wanted to see what he thought of certain attractions as we looked through our photos, vacation video’s and the like. However, just because his input was a part of the planning, there were different strategies in executing the plans, especially since his sister was nearly 10 years older.
With younger children, Disney can be a real stimuli overload. Between the colors, sounds, and characters, it’s amazing that we just don’t stand in shock the moment we cross under the bridge. However, we found that you have to not only plan your day better with younger children, but you have to make sure you include them in your choices, at least to a certain extent.
In the past, we found that letting the children take turns deciding what we do next helps in sharing the touring responsibility. At the same time, we would stay in control by making up our master plan and only give the kids a couple different choices, which would most likely be in the general vicinity. This way, while we let them choose our next adventure, we don’t go from land to land, walking too much out of our way.
Because my kids had such an age gap, we found that using FastPasses, and Rider Swap passes helped satisfy both kids while also allowing the adults to join in on the fun. I think the key here is not only getting the passes, but have an idea of where the other parent and smaller child will do while the others in the party are enjoying that particular attraction. Not only will this help the younger child do something they want to do, but it will also give an idea of when and where everyone will meet up again after the different attractions. In some cases, this will get the older siblings off the hook from participating in an activity or attraction that they would rather skip.
Since my daughter was experienced at doing Disney vacations by the time her brother came along, we had to set some expectations in how we would do things. At times this meant that she and I would do some attractions while my wife and son would take a break at the baby care center or the resort hotel. The same holds true for enjoying evening Extra Magic Hours benefits and the like. To help with this, my wife and I would determine beforehand who would be the “night owl” for the evening. While this somewhat forced me to break my rule of doing everything as a family, it made me realize that those times alone with my daughter are very precious and valuable. I am sure I will do the same with my son as he gets older as well.
I think the biggest tip that I can share is that it is so important to move at the pace of the children. Granted, when your kids are real young, they may sleep through a lot of the fun, and that is OK. However, as they get just a little older, the stimuli will eventually make that afternoon break that you swore that you would not need will look like the best idea in the world. Instead of thinking of it as a break, think of it as a part of the plan. After all, hanging around the resort pool is not such a bad thing to do after all.
Parenting in the Parks columnist Adrienne Krock’s three boys are now 12, 9, and 6. They’ve been visiting Disneyland since they were each just weeks old and Annual Passholders since their 3rd birthdays. Adrienne writes:
My very first strategy for young children is to not rush them out of their strollers—their own strollers from home! I know this will make me very few friends as strollers crowd more and more areas in the parks but the reality is that young children behave better when they are better rested. In addition, they will be more comfortable surrounded by their own familiar space. A stroller from home provides a comforting, familiar place to rest between attractions. A stroller parked curbside gives children a comfortable seat from which to watch a parade. Not only that, but strollers offer the convenience of being able to carry the essentials all day long. Sweaters, snacks, water bottles, pain relievers, band-aids, toys, even coloring books and crayons or other distractions, can be stored in backpacks, carried with the help of the stroller!
Lines can feel especially long with a young child. When my boys were young, we often carried small bottles of bubbles with us for long attraction lines. (We had to be very careful with these. Some people do not appreciate bubble residue on their clothing or may have skin sensitivities.) Even simple toys can keep the children happy. When my eldest was a baby, a cast member who we came to know at the Baby Care Center gave him a plastic Mickey Mouse doll with movable arms and legs. That Mickey stayed in my Disneyland backpack for years and was a beloved toy even as the grew.
As for our attractions strategy, our plan has stayed pretty consistent over the years: No criss-crossing the parks! We attack the parks as a plan, rotating around the parks, for example: If we want to ride an attraction in Fantasyland, we ride everything we want to ride there before moving to the next land. When we have two adults (or one adult and one responsible older sibling,) we try to take advantage of FastPass by sending one person ahead to collect the passes, reducing any criss-crossing from all of us to just one person. When we pass rides, we asked the boys if the wanted to ride them, letting them know: We are here now, this is your chance to ride this attraction. As the parents, we might arrange our path in the order that made better sense for hitting shorter lines. If the boys asked “Why are we riding Dumbo now instead of ‘it’s a small world,’” we would keep our answers very simple saying something along the lines of “We are here now so we will ride Dumbo now, on the way to ‘it’s a small world.’” They usually just need to be assured that they will get to ride eventually. We try not to get over-burdened with rationalizing with a young child.
I would like you to believe that my strategy is flawless but I will be honest – it is only “Usually Reliable.” Every child wants his or her own way. From the time they were young, my children had some less than pleasant moments of “I want what I want and I want it NOW.” From the beginning, my husband and I have been pretty consistent with choices in the face of potential meltdowns, such as: “You have a choice, you can ride Dumbo now and ‘it’s a small world’ later or we won’t be able to ride either ride.” Usually it only takes one time for the child to push us so far that we have to follow through. Usually they see the value of riding both. Sometimes we still had meltdowns again in the future. And ultimately, we have found that often a meltdown is a sign that they need something else such as food or a nap.
It’s your turn—keep the discussion flowing!
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