We are going in 9 days and I have been so excited that over the last couple months, I have spent an inordinate amount of time online reading trip reports, looking at pics and generally anything that is remotely Disney.....

I was showing stuff to my kids, particularly my four year old (who is the only one not completely sick of me) and just yesterday I had a thought.

Do you think it heightens the excitement for kids who have never been to DLR to check these things out or do you think it detracts from the initial experience of actually being there ? I mean, when you first see DL without having any idea of what it is like, it is spectacular.

Thoughts ?

We are going in 9 days and I have been so excited that over the last couple months, I have spent an inordinate amount of time online reading trip reports, looking at pics and generally anything that is remotely Disney.....

I was showing stuff to my kids, particularly my four year old (who is the only one not completely sick of me) and just yesterday I had a thought.

Do you think it heightens the excitement for kids who have never been to DLR to check these things out or do you think it detracts from the initial experience of actually being there ? I mean, when you first see DL without having any idea of what it is like, it is spectacular.

Thoughts ?

Seeing Disneyland online is NOTHING compared to seeing it first in person. The only thing that makes it viewing online better than in person, is minus the crowd. But once you walk through those gates the first time, you're drawn into the magic. There is nothing like seeing it in person for the first time.

I used to show my daughter pictures of disneyland (didn't have a computer 20 years ago) and she already knew what she wanted to ride when we got there...
I took the time to explain about the rides in fantasyland that were dark, could be thought of as scary etc...
I also explained that even though things seemed real, that they were all pretend. I avoided the subject of Mickey, Minnie etc who would be walking through the park.
She was only about 1 1/2 years old and she didn't get scared at all on the trip. She did look at me a lot and say "Mommy this isn't real, its pretend right?!" But I think a lot of things would have scared her a lot if she hadn't been prepared!!
Have a wonderful trip and don't forget to post your trip report for all of us to read!!

I go both ways on this.

For myself, I get caught up in investigating, looking, checking and obsessing about everything at Disneyland in the days prior to the trip.. sometimes to the point that I have sensory overload before I even get there. The information is invaluable to have, especially if policies are changed or certain features are unavailable. So checking it all out before hand is both bad and good.

For a first timer child, I would absolutely try to share things like the layout of the park, the kind of attractions they will see, how it changes at night, etc. But try not to overload them with information.. let them see then ask. Once everything is understood, move on to the next relevant thing. :)

We are going in 9 days and I have been so excited that over the last couple months, I have spent an inordinate amount of time online reading trip reports, looking at pics and generally anything that is remotely Disney.....

I was showing stuff to my kids, particularly my four year old (who is the only one not completely sick of me) and just yesterday I had a thought.

Do you think it heightens the excitement for kids who have never been to DLR to check these things out or do you think it detracts from the initial experience of actually being there ? I mean, when you first see DL without having any idea of what it is like, it is spectacular.

Thoughts ?

I am taking my daughter and her best friend to DL in Feb. Both the girls are 16 yrs old. DDs best friend has not been to DL since she was 2 years old. So this DL trip will be like her first time. Every day we talk about the trip and add a new plan to it as well as we go online and show her all kinds of stuff about DL. She is so excited about going, DD who has been several times is just as excited about going and love to talk about it all the time.

The first time I took my husband to the Kennedy Space Center, I worried about telling him about this one part where you walk out of a room practicallly underneath a spaceship. Finally, I told him, because I figured that the awe of the experience was so wonderful that he would feel it whether I told him or not. I was right. Some things are not diminished by telling. Disney is like that.

Plus, if you have a 4 year old, it's a good thing to give them preparation for what they will see. We took my nephew to Disneyland for the first time when he was 4, and he was totally overwhelmed. He had a terrific time, but he spent most of the trip in a state of awe. A 4 year old doesn't really understand the difference between "real" and "imaginary". When my nephew saw Captain Hook - he SAW Captain Hook! Fortunately, my brother had prepared him by giving him a toy light saber which he could wield at scary things, and we got some great pictures of him having a sword fight with the pirate.

I don't know. I haven't gotten excited aout going to DL in a long time. I enjot going, but I don't get that I can't wait feeling I use to egt when we went once a year. Also, I've always gone to DL once or twice a year ever since I was 8 months old...so I always knew what to expect.

I'm going to Sea World this weekend and I'm REALLY excited about that. I haven't been there in 8 years. I haven't poured over info about the park or searched out pictures. I did get AP's that come with reserved seating and I reserved breakfast with shamu, but other than that I just want to go and absorb it when I'm there...:). The last time I went I loved it. It was so relaxing and fun...:)

probably doesn't help you with DL, btu ti's all I had to compare it to....:)

I was showing stuff to my kids, particularly my four year old (who is the only one not completely sick of me) and just yesterday I had a thought.


This is so me...I did have the thought last year that I might be overloading my kids (then 5 & 3) with info. But I broke everything down like everyone is saying here - sometimes we looked over the maps to see where everything was, other times we talked about the different rides and how tall you have to be to ride (this was huge as my daughter was 39.9" so we had to prepare her to be turned away from some rides). My son was initially excited about ToT opening (because it was something new that no one else we knew would have seen) but then freaked out, so for 4 months he would alternate between, "Okay I'll try it" and "No way, nevermind." My husband wanted to strangle me for creating the craziness :eek:

I think talking about it and looking at pictures (oh, and the DVD) made it a more "real" trip to look forward to. And it got us discussing how to behave there and what our expectations were (when we would attempt certain rides, when we would leave for breaks, where/what we would eat, when we could shop, what we would buy).

Of course, it always depends on the nature of the kids. When they turn away or stare at you blankly, I suppose that's a signal to change the subject ;) But I'm with the others; I can't imagine diminishing the appeal of the park...

enjoy!

I agree with the other poster who said pictures, and videos, things from online don't do the park justice. I think your kids will still everything magical, even if you talk about it and show it to them daily! HAVE FUN!