How do I prepare my DD for Disneyworld?

[puppymouse]

I realise this is a ridiculously middle class and fortunate problem to have but I'm a bit concerned!

DM has booked for us to go to Florida next year. DD will be 5.3. She loves rides and roller coasters so I think she will be pretty wowed, but she doesn't really know what Disney is. She's very unaware of "stuff" and only watches CBeebies on demand. She's seen Frozen and likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Cinderella/original Winnie the Pooh movie but not for quite a while. She isn't really into films

Her key worker has gone to Disneyland this week and I said "oh how lovely. Would you like to go one day?" She said no

She really has no idea what it is, why it would be exciting and I'm so scared DM will get really offended if she doesn't get excited in the build up. We plan to tell her at Christmas with a treasure hunt.

Can anyone give any advice on how I might prepare her and help her get excited about it and what a treat it is?

Show her some ride videos (YouTube)

Lots of Disney isn’t about princesses and classic characters, she’ll love it

Oooh that's a good idea! I'm rubbish with YouTube so I hadn't thought of that. Can definitely do that.

Telling her via a treasure hunt sounds a lovely idea, but for someone who already knows about it and will be excited. Otherwise aren't you expecting a big excitement only to perhaps be disappointed?

Maybe start drip feeding a bit more 'disney' into her TV watching, and then at Christmas/Jan show her the website /clips of the stuff you think will appeal e.g. the rides, or the shows?

My DD2 (13) finds it hard to imagine liking 'new' things, so we always have to be very careful how we introduce the ideas of them. Mainly she loves it when we actually do them though!

We took our 2 year old who wasn't massively into Disney, loved sponge bob who we met butshe came back a frozen addict! We now watch it 3-4 times a week!!' You tube is a good idea

I think focussing on getting her excited about the rides would be best. We went in January though my 6 year old was extremely excited because he absolutely loves disney

You can also pick up Disney reading books from Amazon or supermarkets as well as book shops; the illustrations are lovely. Read them together and she can discover
more stories and characters in addition to those she's seen on film, e.g. The Jungle Book.

Also Disney colouring books from places like Poundland.

If you have a dress up day before Christmas at school (or Halloween?) you could perhaps show her a couple of films in the run up then see if she wants to dress as a character, then include a photo of her in the costume as part of the treasure hunt.

Teen this is also my fear. And why I want to try and "stealth Disney" her so we can get her excited. She is very like your DD by the sounds of it and assumes she won't like new things. Getting her to read different books and watch different programmes can be challenging as she likes what she knows etc

I think I will focus on the rides as I know she loves them and then build in Mickey Mouse 😊

Puppy my daughter is 8 but I had the same problem. She’s grown up in the you tube era and has never really got involved with Disney but we are going for Christmas! I’ve managed to get her mega excited! I’ve shown her some of the fav dvds (lion king!) bought some music cds (she sings a mean circle of life now!) as I know she will be hearing them all there, we are going to universal too so even when not watching we have Harry Potter on loop in the background as I know the tune will be played over and over. Go on eBay and buy some Disney princess dolls for Christmas, show her rides on you tube, buy Disney cup cakes when shopping and remember to pre book a Disney breakfast or dinner or something for when you arrive as I know these are bookable months before you go but fill up quick... I’ve just asked my daughter how to get yours Disney excited and she said “show her EVERYTHING” - I asked her what she meant and she has just shown me loads of rides (buzz light year and slinky were mentioned a LOT) go on the Disneyworld.disney.go site and look at what rides you plan on booking and then get the movies going! Rem nemo and sponge bob crop up too.

Oh yes - If it’s already booked you can use the booking ref to get into the my Disney app. Then you can take a look at what rides are going to be best for her so say load up the ride list for magic k and animal kingdom and check out what will be there🤔

Before you start showing her YouTube clips of the rides make sure you check the height restrictions (the official Disney website and app list the specifications for each ride).
You don’t want to get her massively excited about a particular ride and then face a meltdown when she can’t go on it!
The great thing about Disney though is there are lots of rides/entertainment for all ages.
Make sure you involve her in as much of the planning as possible. This will help her build a picture in her mind about what to expect.
Look up different restaurants etc and view the menu samples.
Familiarise her with Disney songs and characters etc.
I’m sure you’ll all have a wonderful time! I love Disney

i wouldn't bother the build up now? Seems crazy.

Rebecca we aren't telling her until Christmas which is 6 weeks before we go. I just wanted some ideas on how to bring it to life for her so she is excited when we tell her.

Poptart good point thank you - I think at last check there were about 2 in each park that were off limits.

When my dd was little we took her to Disneyland Paris and I had the same concerns- she loves CBeebies but Disney isn’t even on her radar. I started small and focused on characters, every time we went shopping I took her into the Disney Store and we looked at toys together, firstly Mickey and Minnie soft toys and then the Winnie the Pooh characters. Later we watched some Winnie the Pooh animated movies and some Mickey Mouse cartoons. Rather than talking about our holiday I said on the journey we were going to find Mickey/Winnie. We did lots of character meets and meals and she absolutely loved it. Whilst watching the parade she was excited to see the characters she knew but also started taking an interest in other characters such as princesses. From there we have been to the Orlando and Paris parks many times, I think she’ll love Disney for life!