Aladdin show at California Adventure

[ktulu]

Or perhaps, just perhaps... you don't take him flying that early... I mean, really... when they're three... they're going to be scared of the characters, unable to do most of the attractions, won't be able to sit still in many that they are able to attend, and even then they're not going to get the jokes on Jungle Cruise.

I respectfully must disagree. Abby has been to DL twice, and WDW once. It's not a matter of age, but the parent being able to judge their child. Abby got restless on the flight home (over-tired, couldn't get her to sleep) and we did get complaints coming back from DLR, but in our defense, the woman was a stuck up bitch with fake tits, the "trophy" wife of the guy (obvious 2nd marriage, 2 older kids and one younger one), he didn't say a word. Even the gate agent who we had meet the plane, agreed :D:

Anyway, Abby had fun on her first trip, characters not so much.

Abby, Age 1, DLR:


Abby, Age 2, DLR. July 2007 (notice the nervous smile):


Abby, Age 2, WDW. September 14, 2007 (first day of trip):


Abby, Age 2, WDW. September 16, 2007:


Abby, Age 2, WDW. September 17, 2007. Abby jumps out of stoller yelling "minnie mouse!" and runs to her, resulting photo:


It's all about if the parent can judge when their child is ready. In July, we got smiling pictures with a fearful child. She loved it when Chip and Dale played with her from a-far at Disneyland. She talked about it the rest of the trip. At WDW, she remembered when we were near rides she liked, the "Horses" (Cinderella's Carousel), Pirates and what turned out to be her favorite ride, Winnie the Pooh. She even asked to ride "cups" :)

She wanted to "drive", ride the "boats" and asked to hold our hands on Pirates, her grip would get stronger on the drop, but she never cried and sang along :) She didn't care for the stretching room on HM, mainly the part at the end with the hanging dude. She did fine on the ride part, not scared at all!

She also got to do fun things like ring around the rosy with princesses:


And the photo that the character host said would piss off other families if they saw it, and said this never happens:


The rest of our pics are here:
http://www.grabowskifamily.net/gallery/ ... p?album=54

And the gallery for Character meets:
http://www.grabowskifamily.net/gallery/ ... p?album=55

[lady ulrike]

I have to agree with ktulu. For Disney it is a lot more about the child than the age. By the time my daughter is 2 she'll be such a Disneyland expert that we could probably take her to any Disney park without a problem.
As far as bratty kids on an airplane, it's one of the few places that I don't get upset about it. Every kid has moments. The family could be visiting other family members and they simply need to fly to get there, if the kid has a breakdown on the flight, it's not like they can leave the airplane. I still think that parents should do all in their power to quiet the child and with a well behaved kid it'll work about 90-95% of the time and there's nothing that can be done the rest of the time. Of course, most bratty kids on flights are probably not well behaved kids and their parents would probably not leave even if it was an option.

[DisneyMom]

we did get complaints coming back from DLR, but in our defense, the woman was a stuck up bitch with fake tits, the "trophy" wife of the guy (obvious 2nd marriage, 2 older kids and one younger one), he didn't say a word. Even the gate agent who we had meet the plane, agreed :D:

Great Pictures!!!
I like the joke I heard-
"Your husband got a Trophy Wife, but it wasn't First Place!" :p:

[mechurchlady]

Well said Kutlu. I grew up at the Pike for the first couple years of my life and fairs. At age 3 I went to Disneyland and rarely gave my parents trouble with rides. By age 5 I was a seasoned veteran of Disneyland.

IF the parents and family slowly emerse the child into a new environment then a kid might get used to parks like your kid. As for airlines the only problems have been adults thankfully and not too many.

[ktulu]

Great Pictures!!!
I like the joke I heard-
"Your husband got a Trophy Wife, but it wasn't First Place!" :p:

Thanks! Yeah, she wasn't a first place winner, but if she gets enough surgery she might just make it as long as she doesn't open her mouth.

[Big Wallaby]

Okay, I agree it is about knowing your child as opposed to their age. However, to those who cannot read their children and understand their needs, I would say I would rather you not bring your child to Disney World rather than scar them for life by forcing them to bone up and ride Space Mountain when they get to the end of the line and are deathly afraid of it.

My only issue on the planes is that the air pressure changes could be painful... I had one acquaintance that took her newborn child of a month or so to see her parents. I thought that was downright awful. But, since I am not the parent, I don't make that choice.

[leftcoaster]

My only issue on the planes is that the air pressure changes could be painful... I had one acquaintance that took her newborn child of a month or so to see her parents. I thought that was downright awful. But, since I am not the parent, I don't make that choice.

Re: my comment about the 3 year old in the seat behind me....

We were on the ground sitting on the tarmac in line to take off. While our delay was rather long, and yes, I do realize there isn't much for a 3 year old to do on an airplane, IMO, the mother should think ahead and provide some amusement not only during the flight, but also before take off. AFAIK, the mother did not rebuke the child at all, even after several dirty looks from me. Was she ignoring the fact that she could not control her child? Not sure. Did she make any attempt to curb his behavior? I don't think so. I believe this to be true by her comment: "What do you want me to do? He's three."

And that is what annoyed me more than anything. :mad:

Screaming because of air pressure changes, I can fully understand. I also have problems equalizing. I consciously have to swallow or chew gum to open my Eustachian tubes. Plus I have noise cancelling headphones. ;)

[SRT_GB]

I, too, agree it shouldn't be about age, but about the individual child's mentality.

The first time we took our son to DL at age 5 months, my friend used her company's perks to get a bunch of us into Club 33 for lunch. While eating, Mickey and Pluto came out and spent some one-on-one time with all the guests (heck of a lot better than dealing with the mobs outside). He was terrified of Mickey and started screaming, but when Pluto came over, he loved it.

During our next trip to DLR when he was 10 months old, we went on Monsters Inc at DCA. We hadn't been on it before, since it opened a month after we moved. We thought he'd like it because he loves the movie and we call him our "little monster." He liked the monsters in the queue area, but when we got onto the ride itself he freaked out. Lesson learned: Don't bring him back there for a while.

Fast forward to last month, when he was 20 months old. We went to meet Mickey at an event here in Seattle, and he was so excited he couldn't stop saying "Mickey Mouse! Mickey Mouse!"

Moral of the story: I wholeheartedly agree it's not right to force a child into something he/she's not ready for. But if he doesn't want to do it, oh well. What I want takes a backseat to what he wants. My son over the course of 1 year overcame his fear of Mickey Mouse. Either that or my wife and I, both former CMs, have brainwashed him.

As for the airline thing, I can't stand when parents don't even try to get their children to behave. Fortunately for us our son has mostly been good on airplanes. That and Sea-Tac Airport has a nice children's playground so he can blow off some energy before our outbound flights. We always bring more entertainment than we think we'll need for the 2-1/2 hour flight we usually take from Seattle to Burbank. This includes books, stuffed toys, laptop computer with DVDs, CDs, etc. Usually that's enough to entertain him for the duration of the flight. If we see another child acting up near us and the parent is making a genuine effort to calm them down, my wife typically lets them borrow one of our books. We've even had a few business travelers (who typically hate children on airplanes) compliment us on how well-behaved our son is on airplanes.

[svickersart]

I've seen little kids go in HM and they were having a blast, and I have seen adults refuse to go on it also, saw one lady almost in tears after the stetch room once. I saw a couple with two little girls, one about 8 and the other 4 or 5 in line at Space Mountain and the little one was screaming in terror. Dad picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and made her ride. I actually asked the CM if I could wait for the next train because of it. I've seen young kids on several occasions pee themselves waiting in line, heck on couple at AK in line at K safaris stripped her down and redresed her in the load area, she started to pee, day ran her over to the bushes and held her there till she was done and a minute later she was dressed in dry clothes. I also had a ride on KS where a kid about 2 cryed the whole time, you dont see any animals up close then. People go to the parks and they want to ride and they make the little ones do things that scare them so they dont miss out. Many dont know about child swap and I get the impression a lot of them are from other countries also. I have often wondered if CM's can say anything to a guest that is about to get on a ride with a screaming kid that doesnt want to go. I have said things to other guest like maybe you shouldnt take the kid on the ride and even told them about child swap. I have also asked to wait for the next ride vehicle so my experience isnt ruined by screaming kids or obnoxious teens.

[dizneeluvr]

first, i think it's wonderful that disney does hire people based on their qualifications, whether or not they are disabled.
second, about the screaming, annoying kids, yes they are young and often it's not their fault they are that way. their parents lack the skills to properly discipline them and teach them. these parents let their kids rule them. and then what's more upsetting is that these children grow up to be annoying adults a/k/a stupid guests. help us all.