How to keep 3 year old excitied for first WDW trip

[IMA*WDW*ADDICT]

I'm planning a big family trip to WDW Nov. 2010 for 8 days. This will be the first trip for my parents,sister and nephew. :sohappy:

My nephew is 3 right now and going to be 4 when we actually go. I already have showed him pictures/videos/etc from my trips and online things I have found. He is SO excited already ...and I want to keep him excited up until the day we leave!

The only thing I could think of was to do a calendar countdown once we like a month from the trip.... but I would like to do things in between that and now!! Any suggestions on how to keep him excited.. I know he's young so there is only so much you can do.. but I would appreciate ideas!

Also any suggestions on how to make his trip extra special?? :shrug: *My sister is a single mom and the family is helping her pay for this trip, so I am not sure when he'll be able to go back...so this has to be THE BEST trip ever! :sohappy::sohappy:


Thanks for all your help!

 

[DisneyJoe]

Don't.

You may set his expectations too high and he may possibly be disappointed when the day finally comes.

I'd start slow, maybe drop a hint once a month or even less at first, but build more excitement as the trip gets closer.

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

I agree. It's a long time between now and then, and kids that age will be wondering 'OK, you've been talking about it, when we goin?' It's even hard for me to explain to our 3 year that we're not seeing Imagination Movers until next month.

To make the trip extra special you could incorporate character meals but for not much money, hone in on the characters he really likes and figure out where to meet them (and take lots of pictures/video).

Congrats on the trip.

P.S. Our 3 year old LOVED riding the monorails. He asks quite often to watch our video of it.

 

[TinkSassy]

We did Disney night once a month for the kids. It seems they know so much about the movies - but we forget they might not know the classics - Peter Pan, Song of the South, Snow White, etc. We did a special treat and a movie night (didn't mention the parks much - just had fun). They loved the rides more when they were there because they had a point of reference.

We also went to the dollar store and got light up necklaces, bracelets, wands, etc. It helped because the night shows all had stuff and our budget didn't allow for much of that type of thing. They were decked out head to toe for a couple bucks for the whole time.

 

[brich]

Do what I do with my kids...
We get into my truck in the driveway. I put all the windows down.
I yell, "5..... 4..... 3..... 2..... 1.... " Crank up the Aerosmith and gun it out of the driveway into traffic and down the street at about 60mph!!!

Then, we go to the local Mall and we drive past the stores REAL SLOW with the windows still down. I put on "Its a Small Word" real loud and all the people stop and look at us with blank stares and kind of seem to rock back and forth...:lookaroun

And finally, when we get back home, I go speeding into my driveway and slam on the breaks trying not to hit the trash barrels with my anti lock breaks. :lookaroun

We go in the house and the kids always tell my wife, "Mom, we can't wait to go to Disney!!! " :sohappy:

Anyway, thats what I do. Works like a charm... Good luck. :shrug:

 

[PryncessLace]

It's kinda cheesy, but if you go to the Disney site you can order a free "planning" dvd. It shows all the rides & stuff. My 3 yr. old DD loves it. She always asks to watch it. It's only about 20 min. cause we skip the "adult" stuff and just watch the parts about the rides & shows.

 

[marcriss]

I agree with the idea of going slow. Movie night once a month is great, as is listening to Cds, both from the movies and the parks. Kids really light up when they make the connection.

What we do about a month before we go is make a countdown calendar like an advent calendar. Each pocket has something Disney on it (we bought the parks stickers, so they have rides and Epcot , AK, DHS stickers) . Each night we quiz them on what the sticker means and then there's a chocolate in each pocket. I t gets them excited and gives them a visual idea of when we're going. A year is a really long time for that age, he could drive you crazy asking when he's going, and it's hard for them to grasp anything beyond tomorrow.

One more tip, we do what we call the "Gift Card Christmas" (and birthdays too). Instead of giving stuff that no one needs we give gift cards. We always get Disney ones (even though we've just gotten back from Disney). This way we have extra money for our trips. My dad loves his birthday and christmas gift cards. He buys something special each year with them. We have last year's christmas gift cards all ready to go when we go this year. You can also buy Disney Dollars that you can give as gifts too. It's a good way to save for a splurge (like a character breakfast or maybe the Pirate League?).

Have a great trip!

 

[Susan Savia]

A year is a long time for a small child to have to wait on Disney... I'd let it go for now and when your nearing your trip, say a month out, then begin. Start by looking at the Disney planning video, maybe a Disney movie, and on the last week before you go, give him a small gift each day...An autograph book, stickers, Disney coloring book, etc. Let him be apart of the packing process.

 

[bgraham34]

A year is a long time for a small child to have to wait on Disney... I'd let it go for now and when your nearing your trip, say a month out, then begin. Start by looking at the Disney planning video, maybe a Disney movie, and on the last week before you go, give him a small gift each day...An autograph book, stickers, Disney coloring book, etc. Let him be apart of the packing process.

Of all the people I have talked to about this the less time you talk about it the better.