Movies to show 3 year old to prepare??

[Audrey9505]

Hi! We're taking our soon to be 3 year old daughter to Disney in December. I want to get her familiar with some of the characters she's going to see. What do you think are the main movies I should let her watch? I was thinking Nemo- what other characters are heavily featured in the parks? She watches Playhouse Disney sometimes so she's familiar with Mickey, etc.

I hope this question makes sense, she knows most of the characters from seeing them in books or at the Disney store, but I wanted to introduce her to a couple movies. Which ones do you think we will encounter the most in the parks?

Thank you! :animwink:

 

[danpam1024]

No one has mentioned Monsters Inc. It was my son's favorite since he was 2, I swear we watched it 3 x a day for a year:lol:. Get her used to the idea that not all monsters are bad, and you'll be able to get a great picture with Mike and Sully in DHS!!!! There's also the Laugh Floor in MK.

 

[BRER DAD]

My kids......and me included, love watching the vacation video you get for free. It just gets us really excited to go!!

 

[ProfSlim]

If you are preparing your 3 year old for a Magic Kingdom or Disneyland visit, I believe, the best video is Disney's Sing-A-Longs: Disneyland Fun. This is a relatively old video, I beleive it was made in the early/mid eighties, but it has all the 'top' songs, exposure to the characters, and rides.

 

[autigger]

The Peter Pan, Snow White and Winnie the Pooh rides follow the movie story lines very closely. The stage shows Finding Nemo (Animal Kingdom) and Beauty and the Beast (Studios) also follow the story lines of their movie counterparts.

I highly recommend Toy Story. This movie is featured inToy Story Mania, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Woody’s Cowboy Camp and character meet and greats.

The princess movies are also a part of many different attractions at Disney. Fantasmic (Studios), and Mickey’s Philharmagic (Magic Kingdom) combine characters and scenes from many of the princess movies (Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Snow White, Cinderella, Little Mermaid).

1) Snow White
2) Cinderella
3) Toy Story
4) Finding Nemo
5) Peter Pan
6) Winnie the Pooh

 

[TakeMeThere81]

My kids......and me included, love watching the vacation video you get for free. It just gets us really excited to go!!

I second this. When my kids have been anticipating their first trips, these were the best videos, cause it shows the rides, parades, etc. So my kids were looking forward to particular rides, like the Astro Orbiter space ships and The Barnstormer as well as meeting Mickey and Minnie.

I'd also recommend checking out e-bay for old Vacation planning DVDs. They are always a little different. I have the dvds for the past 8 years or so and we keep them and watch them all when we feel like "escaping to Disney" for the day. :wave:

 

[charatijennings]

I bought a WDW Sing Along several years ago on cassette (!) with the book that had all the rides. I'm pretty sure I got it at Toys R Us. I wrapped it and gave it to my son when we left the driveway. He had all the songs memorized by the time we got there eight hours later and was familiar with the rides, etc. (In hindsight, I might should have given it to him halfway down there instead of right at the beginning since eight hours of "It's a Small World", etc. got a little old.)

 

[dclick4968]

Last December, we took our 3 year old daughter and 4 year old son. They watch playhouse Disney, so they knew about the fab 5 and a few other characters. What REALLY helped with them was looking at youtube videos of the rides, parks, fireworks, etc.

We would get on trip reports and look at resort pics, rope drop, etc. They already had their "favorite" rides picked out before we stepped foot into the parks! ("the monorail" is their favorite in case you're wondering! - they even memorized all the colors!!!!!!):lol:

 

[WDWmom64055]

I will confess, I've not read all the posts. Here are my suggestions:

For general park information, use the planning DVD and You Tube videos. The videos are a good idea if you think she might balk at Haunted Mansion, etc.

There are two Disney sing-along videos you MUST get. One is the visit to Disneyland, the other is "camping" at Disney World. These were invaluable for my boys' first trips. The songs show kids playing in the parks and show various characters.

Also, make sure she's seen the original Pooh cartoons, especially The Blustery Day, as this is the movie the Pooh ride is themed around.

Now, as for movies. I'd try to have her familiar with (in no particular order):

Toy Story
Peter Pan
Dumbo
Lilo and Stitch
Lion King
Finding Nemo
Monsters, Inc.
Snow White
Sleeping Beauty
Aladdin

Those are the ones I think she should have seen in order to enjoy the rides. If she's willing, Alice in Wonderland would be a good addition, although kids will enjoy the ride even if they don't know the movie. You might want to show her some of the Silly Symphonies, too, and Fantasia...at least the Sorcerer's Apprentice part. Those are things that are referenced in the park, but that kids don't have to know to enjoy the attractions.