Taking A 3 1/2 Year Old?

[angel659]

Hi

My husband and I are going to Florida in June 2003. We will be taking our 3 1/2 year old with us. We have not been since 1998, we are not sure on what the facilities will be like.

We understand the weather will be hot and we will keep her covered, as we are from England. How many rides are there and are they catering for them. Do they do parent swap for the rides?

We are in a pickle at the moment, coz my husband has got an exam on the day we fly, so it will either be change the date or take his exam next December.

I heard Disney close some of the water parks in the off peak season. Which is why we wanted to go in June.

Any feedback would be great.

Cheers

Michelle

 

[vicb]

We went several years back when my son was 3 1/2 too (we also went last Feb.) My advice for a 3 1/2 year old is... beware of dark rides . On our first day, we were on Spaceship Earth and it broke down in total darkness, DS was so spooked that we had to either skip dark rides (Pirates of Carribian) or drag him on despite his fear (Small world!).

On that trip our then 3 1/2 year old loved Typhoon Lagoon. There was a very nice kiddie play area there and he got a hot dog lunch in a sand pail.

A 3 1/2 year old will love the shows with music and dancing and characters. There is always a good one on the Castle stage.

Hope you have a great time.

 

[lisadam]

I just returned with my 3 1/2 year old son about a week and a half ago. This was our second trip with him.

My best advise... you really can't tell how they'll be - Our son is apparently quite timid - everything scared him - so we swallowed our (minor) disappointment that we don't have the kind of 3 year old that runs after the characters and laughs joyously as he climbs aboard every ride - and we enjoyed doing the things he would do.... he still told us that he had fun - even though some days we went on only 3 different rides and spent the rest of the day taking it all in.

Other children were doing everything - and the rest fell somewhere in between both extremes -

after talking to lots of different parents during both trips it seems that many of us couldn't even predict how our children would react to things - but the ones of us who seemed to have the best time were the ones who just went with the flow - and followed our little ones' lead.

some tricks... explain explain explain, watch things first, bring a tiny flashlight to let your child hold on dark rides (my son liked that) show your child that even mom and dad have rides that they don't like - not so much that they're too scary but that everyone has likes and dislikes (for instance I went on splash mountain but DH hates getting wet) ask the CM at the beginning of rides about how to do the child-swap - its a little different at different rides, take breaks, perhaps eat several small meals frequently rather than sitting down to large long meals, but on the other hand your child may do well with a long calm period before getting active again.... I guess just pay attention to your child even if its hard not to get caught up in the fun.

As for the specific rides that are more geared to children - I think one of the other posters might do better with that - and I know that there are guide books that list the "scare factor" and the child acceptablity for each ride.

Wish your DH good luck on his exam and have fun!
Lisa

 

[R4racing]

They do the parent/child swap on most if not all rides with height restrictions and such. It seems each ride works a little different, so as the CM at the entrance of the line how it is handled for that specific ride.

As far as rides catering to kids, my 2 1/2 year old went on pretty much any ride that did not have a height restriction and was happy to be just tall enough to ride Goofy's Barnstormer. She still talks about how Snow White was a "bit scary" with the witch popping out. She loved the teacups, Barnstormer, Dumbo, magic carpets, the flying dinosaurs at AK.

Be sure to get a good sunscreen and bring a hat with a brim if your little one will wear it. Going in June I would bring or rent a stroller as it is just too hot to be carrying a tired little one.

We have gone in Oct and May, in Oct River Country was always closed, but the other 2 water parks were open. I found on our last trip DD and my 9 year old nephew were just as thrilled with the pools at the hotel (Carribean Beach) that they didn't realize they were missing the water parks.

 

[mergie]

Just returned from a trip with our 7 year old and 3 1/2 years old. They both had a wonderful time. Our youngest, who is normally afraid of a Merry Go Round, loved soooo many rides. Dumbo, Alladin's flying carpet ride, the Tea Cups, Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World. Plus the shows at MGM were very entertaining. There is so much to see, and so many characters to meet.