Most little kid friendly way to fit in WOC/Fireworks and F! in two nights =\

[Teddi]

Darn it, we have to make an unanticipated summer trip to DL ! :p

My nephew turns three at the tail end of June, and has never been to DL. My SIL (his mom) hasn't been in about 15 years? Soooo, DH and & I decided to take him for his birthday present.

Is there any variation that gets all three night events done in two nights? (last Tuesday and Wednesday of June). We can only stay til around 5 or 6pm Thursday, as we're heading back to the Bay Area that night, that's as much red eye as I can take.

I realize he's not quite 3, and never been this far away from home, and has never done DL before, so... best laid plans may not pan out no matter what (have no idea how long he can do the parks)...

Also to make it more complicated, we will not be getting into the parks til about 12 noon on Tuesday... so getting Fast Passes would be tricky that day. Though I'd be ok getting the picnic lunches... so I guess I could get around that. Which, also *should* help me be able to pick which show (does anyone know if they still allow that w/the picnic lunches?)

[adriennek]

Ok. I'm going to give you my opinion because you asked for it. ;)

IMO, the most kid friendly way to fit in three night shows in two nights with a not-quite-3-y/o who has never been to DL and never been so far from home is to... Not.

Now, keep in mind, I took my infants to DL when they were less than a month old. So I'm not saying it's not worthwhile to take young children to DL. But that said, a not-quite-3-year-old isn't really going to appreciate all of those shows enough to put him through trying to see them all in 2 nights. There's a good chance he would get scared at Fantasmic (loud, late at night so he'll be tired, and the dragon can be scary especially if you're that little and don't know what's going on.) And if you only have a short visit, I'd personally ask myself if spending that much time waiting for WOC is worth it, especially given his age.

My vote of the three would be to do Fireworks if nothing else. But I just think that what you would have to go through to see all three shows in two nights would be too much for a toddler in two nights.

Now, I don't know your nephew and you might be a lot more easy going about all that stuff to see WOC than I am, so feel free to ignore me. But, like I said, you asked my opinion and this is what totally came to my mind.

:)

[Drince88]

I went recently with my nephews - who were 19 months and almost 4 at the time. I really wanted to see World of Color, their parents really wanted to see Fantasmic, and I wanted to see the boys see the fireworks. We ended up seeing the three shows in 2 nights.

One night, we did World of Color. We got the picnic option, picked it up and brought to to our room to munch on before/after late afternoon break. Ended up breaking a little longer than Aunt Cathy wanted, so ended up in the top (back) section of WOC. There was a bench there, and nobody was using it, so I sat down, knowing that if someone came who 'needed' it, I'd have to stand. So I was in the front of the 'section' - but everyone else stayed near the back rope with the stroller, where they had a little more room. I have no clue if the boys ended up engaged in the show at all. I did end up seeing it a later evening (after they'd left) near Toy Story and I could see that it would be enhanced by actually seeing the surface of the water for the show. So for best viewing, I don't recommend showing up right before the show starts.

Our first night there we hadn't planned on seeing any evening show (didn't know how tired people would be/if they'd nap/etc) but ended up seeing the fireworks near the Village Haus restaurant, where there is no sound piped in. This was actually kind of nice, that way we could judge how the boys would do with loud noises and easily escape if it was an issue. No need for escape, whatsoever. The 19 month old also would clap in glee when particularly 'good' sets of shells were exploded. But that night didn't count! The almost 4 year old said they were better than Uncle T's (another BIL who lives where all fireworks are legal and likes to have safe fun on the 4th of July). (Shhhh don't tell Uncle T)

Because we have some crowd-adverse people in the group (including me) AND because one sister and I had done the dessert seating with our Mom about a year and a half before, we thought that would be the best way to be guaranteed of seeing it. Turns out my BIL is crowd-adverse, too and so we probably wouldn't have dealt with the crowds in the cold February evening to see the show if we hadn't had seating. Then, fireworks were before Fantasmic - so we went to the seating area as soon as we could so we would be 'settled' before fireworks started, and watched the fireworks (this time with sound) from there. Then watched Fantasmic. The 19 month old was free (as would your under 3), though he didn't get his own dessert or chair. They did have a kids price, too, for our almost 4 year old. Not having a seat for the 19 month old wasn't an issue, though, since he could see better on his other Aunt's lap - and we just kept handing him different goodies, and he was in hog heaven (the kid has only met one food he didn't like, and that was mustard greens!) The 4 year old wanted to leave near the end of the villians, because they were just too much for him - but we talked him into staying. The 19 month old again clapped in glee when "Mickey won" at the end.

SO, if you're determined to see the 3 shows with a young one, I'd totally do the dessert seating for Fantasmic and knock out both DL events from the seating area. But again, the villians are pretty intense, and the fireworks are pretty loud. If you don't know how they'll react, that's a lot of money to put down to have to leave because someone wasn't doing well.


When we went with Mom, fireworks were after the first Fantasmic, and we were able to stay in our seats to watch it.

[candles71]

Loud noises, ear plugs, the squishy foam ones. A didn't like loud noises, and they made everything bearable. I would definately do WOC one night and Fantasmic/fireworks the other.

[Teddi]

Adrienne- you make a very valid point. All we can do is plan, since I really don't know, and just be willing to go with the flow.

I'm going to look into the F! and cancellation policy... I'd be willing to pay for SIL and newphew to do that- my kids aren't that big on F! really (i'm the biggest fan in the family) so I am not sure the price justification is worth it... If he seems to be just unable to do it that night, there's really nothing I could do except let SIL see it alone (if i took nephew back to the motel room) which might make a bummer of a way to see it...

I think the picnics may be a good option- at least we get a meal out of it. And if nephew is toasted either me or his mom can leave- at least either me and my kids or her and my kids should be able to do WOC.