First Time with 4 Year Old Questions.

[chrisdadrocks]

So I booked the bounce back offer in Sep for next year in September at Port Orleans Riverside for my parents my son who will be 4 when we go and will be his first time. So I have a few questions. First this is going to be a surprise and its getting tougher for me to not say anything, should I drop hints? We are going back in Sept so a long long way away. Second never flown with a 4 yo we are going out of Boston. Do I need any type of papers for him at the airport I couldn't find any info on the Delta website. His first plane flight also how did your kids handle thier first time? Any advise would be great thanks in advance everyone.

 

[Disneykidder]

If it is a surprise, then try to keep it as so. Put it out of your mind. 9 months is a long time to wait and if you end up telling him, he will be asking you every other day for the next 9 months.

My son has been to Disney 3 times. He first went when he was 2 1/2. (He will be 5 in 10 days) He was an angel on the plane each time. He slept about half of the way the first time and colored/drew the other half. Try to book a flight when you know he may be wanting to sleep. That may help. Bring a bag of his fav. small toys that do not make noise and a few of his fav. snacks.

Nope, no papers are needed to take your little guy aboard the plane.

Have fun! Port Orleans Riverside is beautiful!! It is large so request a building near the main hub/pool.

 

[marcriss]

As far as papers are concerned, we always bring copies of our kids' birth certificates just in case.

Bring lollipops and make sure to get some water in the terminal before you board. The s__________g and drinking can alleviate pressure in the ears. Also, you can buy ear plugs (called earplanes) for children. They twist into the ears and can help with pressure. They can also help out if the fireworks prove to loud at the parks.

 

[mouselvrmom]

How exciting! I'm sure your son is going to have a blast!

The plane can be a long experience for kids. We have four and I always feel so relieved when we make it to where we're going. :lol:

I have found with my kids that they love to chew gum while taking off and landing. It really helps with the ear pressure/pain and it is something that they don't usually get so it's a real treat for them!

I also make sure we are stocked up with a lot of quiet things to do. We bring along a bag of crayons and coloring books, activity books, and movies to watch during the flight.

I also bring along a bottle of juice or water for the times before and after the drink service and a few small snacks that they can munch on.

 

[coltow]

So I booked the bounce back offer in Sep for next year in September at Port Orleans Riverside for my parents my son who will be 4 when we go and will be his first time. So I have a few questions. First this is going to be a surprise and its getting tougher for me to not say anything, should I drop hints? We are going back in Sept so a long long way away. Second never flown with a 4 yo we are going out of Boston. Do I need any type of papers for him at the airport I couldn't find any info on the Delta website. His first plane flight also how did your kids handle thier first time? Any advise would be great thanks in advance everyone.

OMG! So exciting. Ok first my oldest is about to turn 5 and he has been 4 times before. We go next week for his 5th trip. This trip is a complete surprise to him. We are going for his birthday. We plan to pick him up from Pre-K and go. He gets out of school at 11:30am and our flight out of Boston is at 2pm so we are going to have the car pack when we pick him up. We have not dropped any hints except that we will go back some day and stay at the "hawaii" hotel.

Our last trip we traveled with 18 people so there was alot of organizing and we began talking about it a year ahead of time, it was too long. We stated saying that we would go until after certain people bdays. And after each of those passed he did understand it was getting closer. If you can get away with not teling him until it's closer it may be easier.

You need no papers to travel, but I do bring a birth certificate with me in case there is ever any sort of emergency. It is a 3 hour flight from Boston. Think about a car ride and what would you bring him to do in the car for 3 hours. We fly Jet Blue so he has the tv's to watch. That covers him for about 1/2 the trip. We bring a few little toys maybe books and snacks to cover the rest of the time. I try to get a few new little things so that he doesn't get bored with them quick. He also now has a Nintendo DS which we know with occupy him for the whole 3 hours if we need it.

 

[disneynut4u]

I love the "secret surprise" idea. We've done it before. We actually did this for my son's first trip. We went for his birthday. I planned different gifts to be used for the trip. Each gift was a clue for the "final" gift, which was the trip.

We also did this for my mom & stepdad. I think it was for his birthday. We played a version of Wheel of Fortune where the "phrase" or "event" (I can't remember which) was WE ARE GOING TO WALT DISNEY WORLD. It was "rigged" so that my mom or stepdad would solve the puzzle.

We have a lot of fun planning surprises (which is probably why my son HATES surprises), but we are planning another one for all of my nieces and nephews in 2010. It's hard to keep the surprise, but it is SO worth it when they see the gates to the World and realize where they are.

 

[heliumalias]

I also bring along a bottle of juice or water for the times before and after the drink service and a few small snacks that they can munch on.

Be aware that you can still only take a maximum 3 ounce container of liquid through security so it's often better to buy drinks at the airport (after security). If your child is prone to motion sickness (i.e. car travel) then I'd recommend taking some anti-sickness medicine. If it has a drowsiness side-effect then other passengers will probably appreciate it! The important thing is to make his/her first flight fun. Not telling them where it is you're going might help with that.

 

[C.M.O]

I stocked up on new coloring books, books and travel games for our trip and put them in a special backpack. We also have a portable DVD player. It kept her busy. This last time on the plane (she was fine the 1st 2 times) her ears really bothered her during the landing, the gum and lollipops did not help. I am going to try the earplanes someone mentioned earlier, hopefully this will help.
Snacks too, don't forget the snacks!

 

[mouselvrmom]

Be aware that you can still only take a maximum 3 ounce container of liquid through security so it's often better to buy drinks at the airport (after security). If your child is prone to motion sickness (i.e. car travel) then I'd recommend taking some anti-sickness medicine. If it has a drowsiness side-effect then other passengers will probably appreciate it! The important thing is to make his/her first flight fun. Not telling them where it is you're going might help with that.

Sorry, that's what I meant. We leave early in the morning, so after we get through security, we hit the quick service and pick up some muffins and juice. That is the juice that we bring on the plane.

 

[erstwo]

So excited for you! I hope we get to go back next fall (How crazy is that? Already looking forward to the next trip when we haven't even gone on our trip this month yet!)

First - if your 4 year old is anything like my 5 year old, he will drive you nutso asking when he is going to Disney if you told him a week before, much less a year before! But he's your DS, so you know him best!

Second - DD (2) and DS (5) go on about 5 round trip plane flights in the continental US each year. We never need any paper work for them except for their plane ticket. The TSA agent just asks us which child is which and sends us on our way!

Last - My kids were both infants when they started flying, but we swear by the snack, DVD (laptop or portable), nap method. Usually we give our kids a snack while we are waiting to take off, then once "approved portable electronic devices" are allowed we watch a movie, and usually - if we are lucky!- we all nap for the last part of the flight.

So excited for you. What a wonderful gift to give your little guy!

 

[Katybug]

Take it from me because I'm in the situation with a 3 & 5 year old boys. We told them right when we found out we were going in March and our trip isn't until this coming March. EVERY TIME we get in the car they ask, "Are we going to Disney World today?" all excited and I have to say no not today and they start balling. :brick:Why did I tell them? I guess because I was so excited myself. This will be the boys 1st trip as well. I would wait until at least the month if not the week before you go. He will be excited about going until you say in a couple months. I think he will be more excited if you waiting until a little closer. You can actually look on some websites and get Mickey Mouse or some other characters to call him to let him know he is coming. Good luck!

 

[BigB911]

Our first trip was this past Sept. with our 4 y/o. We didn't keep it from her; we had her input from the get go on what to do and where to eat. We told her when we were going and showed her on the calendar and we counted down the days. She also earned Disney Dollars by doing simple tasks around the house and for good behavior.

As for the plane ride, how does he react to seeing a plane in the sky? My DD is absolutely facinated by seeing a plane or helicopter in the air. DW is terrified of flying, and told DD that she is afraid to fly. Me, although I was somewhat scared to fly, I had to be the tough dad and tell her I was not afraid. Since she knew that daddy wasn't afraid, she wasn't either. She absoluetly loved the plane ride, staring out the window the whole time and making me look with her. We did her homework (yes, preschoolers have homework now!) and had her chew gum. On the flight back, she slept pretty much the whole time, being it was a late flight, and I think she was just so exhausted from the trip.

If he might be afraid of flying , definately try to quell his fears well before you go. And as others have said, no papers needed, just his plane ticket.

Also, something else to keep in mind if he has allergies: Make sure you take his meds with you! The air on the plane had my daughter congested and sneezing as soon as we landed. The air in the room wasn't much better, and she was pretty clogged up the entire trip.

We booked the bounceback too for September and I'm already way too excited!!!:wave:

 

[lac628]

I am going to try the earplanes someone mentioned earlier, hopefully this will help.

Trust me...THEY WORK!!!
I have had ear problems since I was a kid. My ENT told my Mom when I was little that I may not ever be able to fly. Well, I flew for the first time when I was like 15. It hurt so bad when we were descending and my ears were clogged for days afterwards. I always took a straight flight (no layover) bc descending 2x would be a nightmare for my ears. That was until I had a flight scheduled for the week after 9/11 and they changed ALL flights to stopovers. During the first leg, I thought my ears were going to explode. When I was walking around Atlanta airport during my layover, I discovered EarPlanes. They were like $7 (Walmart has them for around $4), but I figured if they work, they would be worth that (even more than that). Boy, what a difference it made! I had no pain and no after flight ear clogging! What a life, er, ear saver!!!