I’m in a pixie dust kind of mood today.
We now have less than four months to go until our vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL.
Three months, three weeks, and four days if you want to get specific.
Bunny had her 3 year check-up last week and she measured up at 39 inches! She’s only one inch away from being able to ride Splash Mountain. Now, even though she’ll most likely be tall enough for the ride, she may not be mentally ready. We’re not counting on her actually wanting to get on Splash Mountain when we get there in October. But, we’re doing our best to give her an idea of what to expect from the ride.
How?
Well, we’ve found one of the best tools to prepare young children for Walt Disney World is Youtube.
Before our December trip, I spent time with Bunny watching videos of rides and parades/shows. When we arrived in the World, she felt as if she knew the park and wasn’t totally overwhelmed with the new surroundings. She remembered parts of the videos from rides like The Haunted Mansion and Winnie the Pooh and pointed things out to us on the ride.
For the October trip, I’ve been showing her videos of Splash Mountain. She’s able to get an idea of the length of the ride as well as see there are some dark areas and, of course, a big drop at the end. So far, she seems excited, especially about all of the characters she’s going to meet in the Briar Patch.
(Thank you to Undercover Tourist for posting the video to youtube)
We also use youtube to show Bunny how big the characters are in real life. Children get used to seeing Mickey Mouse as a cartoon and are frightened when they see how large Mr. Mouse is in person. Bunny was still afraid of the characters in December, but I attribute that more to her overall shyness of strangers. She’s much more outgoing now, so I hope that translates into some love for the characters.
Have you used youtube to prepare your children for their time at the parks? How else do you prepare them for their first time on the “big kid rides”?
