Any advice on taking a "borrowed" 7yo boy to Disney?

[tonilea]

We are taking my 7yo nephew to Disney (we have no children) and really want to make this a memorable trip for him and for us. So.... let me have it! What is your best advice for taking a 7yo boy to the World?

 

[ReneeQ]

My best advice is to decide up front that the trip is for "him" and not the adults and there will be some things you will have to miss this time. I went to Disney twice with my best friend and her 2 children. My friend is not the Disney nut her kids and I am. So last year I took each child on their own trip. Boy age 7, girl age 3. The ages were too close to take them together with only one adult because everything he wanted to do, she was too small for, and everything she wanted to do, he thought was for babies.

So she went in Sept. and his trip was in Dec. Just the two of us on each trip. They had a blast. I let them call all the shots, where we were going next, what to ride, where we were eating, when we got up, when we went to sleep, etc. I set a $10 limit a day on spending money. This worked pretty well with them both. When she wanted to play in the Epcot sprinklers for ONE HOUR I let her, it gave me a nice rest on the bench watching and video taping her dancing around. I've been to Disney so much I didn't care what we did and they had the time of their lives!

Have fun.

 

[disneyvacationmom]

You can borrow me anytime.LOL

 

[tmfranlk]

I agree with everything ReneeQ said. I took my 5yo sister last year and we are going back at the end of March. Since it is a special thing for us to do together I adopted a mindset similar to ReneeQ's. The trip was for her, my fun was in taking her and experiencing things with her. I made PSs were I thought we would have the most fun, but if we didn't make it, that was fine too. I made her an autograph book and we hunted for characters. We rode only the rides she wanted to (I can always go another time and ride things I want to). The only things she wouldn't/couldn't do were Space Mountain, RnR, Tower of Terror, Dinosaur, Tough to Be a Bug, Honey I Shrunk the Audience - if he's a little braver or taller, he may love any or all of these.

My best suggestion is to make a basic plan, but let him have the lead from there. I decided in advance what parks we would go to on what days, or at least where we would start, and also breakfast for each day. At the parks she would decide which direction to head in and what to ride. The choice was also hers to rest or change parks (and which to change to). She was allowed to eat whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted (knowing she wouldn't opt for all ice cream, all the time). We had a daily amount of money ($10 or $15) for her spending money.

One thing I might suggest is letting him take the Pirate Cruise from the GF or take the Family Magic Tour together (we are doing this in March) I have heard wonderful things about them both.

We didn't do commando in any way yet we saw everything (including 15 rides on the Tea Cups and many other duplications). We just took our time and she kicked back in the stoller (maybe he won't go for that, but she was much happier and lasted the whole day - 8-midnight- with energy to spare because she got to ride).

Basically (now that I've gone on forever), just relax and have a GREAT time. Our trip together was my best one ever!

 

[tmli]

I travel alone to Disney every year with my almost 6 year old son. My only advice is don't be surprised if he's more excited about the hotel pool. My son's best memory of our January trip are the times we spent at the resort, I've heard from others this is quite normal. When we go in August will be choosing a resort with more recreation than the ASMO offered.

 

[josierac]

Make sure that you take a note from his parents that it's ok for him to get on a plane with you. Have a copy of his birth certificate. You will need this with the tighter security.

Also have a note stating that in his parents absence you can make a medical decision if he is hurt.

Even just going to the hospital for an xray or for a bad cold, flu etc will require a parents note.

 

[minEEmoz]

We took my niece and nephew 2 years ago (they were 6 & 8) and are planning another trip this summer. My nephew loved everything at MK (except alien and Space mt, too little) LOVED Buzz, Blizzard Beach, breakfast at Chef Mickey's (huge smiles) and swimming at the resort pool. If you're going in the summer, make sure you take a break in the afternoon for a NAP and/or swim.

If you want a few hours to yourself, the Neverland Club at the Poly is wonderful. When we picked them up at 11, they wanted to stay longer and come back the next day. My nephew was playing Nitendo 64 with another boy and was saying "Just one more minute". They requested a night at the NC this year.

 

[tjmw2727]

Especially great is the advice about a parental consent note for medical treatment in the event of an emergency. Also have his Medical Card or a copy of it just in case.

I go alone with my girls 5&7 a couple times a year and it can be great to enjoy through the eyes of a child.

I would also suggest getting the guidebook for kids I think its For Kids By Kids but not sure as my sil has mine. At 7 he should have a good idea of his must do's, like to do's not interested's. He should be a great help in planning and it will give you a good idea what to expect. Plan for the "lets do it again" even though you know he will like something else better its hard to explain when your in the moment. If you have planned ahead he can make a more informed decision like - if we ride Peter Pan again we may not have time to ride Buzz Lightyear for example. My 7yo gets so stuck in the moment that she has a hard time making a choice but having a loose plan that she helped make eases the transition and gets her as excited about the next ride as she was about the last.

Get an idea now about how well he eats and how much of a sit down restaurant he can deal with. We usually do our main meal at lunch due to cost and the length of time sitting, lunch seems shorter. I assume your close but make sure you do a sleepover and a couple outings alone with him (if you haven't already) to get an idea of what to expect.

Plan for pool breaks and just play time - my girls love to just play on the playground or pool and do "kid things" as well.
Have fun
TJ

 

[Robinrs]

I've been taking my son, 9, three or four times a year since he was 6. Since I'm a little boy in disguise (my best friend's synopsis!) we just go mad in the parks together!! Follow his lead. He will let you know what he likes and you'll probably like the same things.

I did take one of his friends once, and had a few problems because of his height. If he is less than 48", steer him away from RnRC if he's into coasters. It was a nightmare telling the shorter one he couldn't go on rides the taller one could go on. Luckily WDW doesn't have many height restrictions, like USF does.

Have fun. 7 is a GREAT age for little boys, and he must be a great kid if you're volunteering to take him!

 

[ktleyed]

We just got back and my 7 yr. old DS favorites were:

The pool at the Poly
Sci-Fi Dine In
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Adventure
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Splash Mountain
SpectroMagic
The fireworks at the castle
Buzz lightyear
Backlot Tour
Tomorrowland Speedway
Sword in the Stone with Merlyn

Don't even think about Epcot!

Have fun!

 

[tonilea]

Thanks! so much. You all have some wonderful suggestions. DN spends alot of time w/ us. At least one day/night a week and often 3 or 4. He is just a bit over 44" tall and knows that he won't be able to ride RnR. He is quite small for his age weighing in at 40 lbs.

Here are my plans so far:

Breakfast at RFC in AK
Breakfast at Chef Mickeys
Ice Cream Social @ Epcot
Fantasmic Dinner Pkg @ MGM
Counter service for most meals

We have been looking at our pictures from WDW and at Birnbaughs and he really wants to try:

ToT
Buzz Light Year
Indy Speedway
Alien Encounter ( I am very skeptical about this, but we have decided to wait and base our decision of some of the tamer "scary" rides. It scares the bejabbers out of me, but I love it!)
Backlot Tour - He loved my photos of the water/ flash flood part!
Test Track
Video E-mails

He is possibly more excited about the plane ride than the fact that we are going to WDW?!?!?!

59 days to go! WooHoo!

 

[jaret]

If you are interested and have the time to do the world showcase in EPCOT you may want to purchase a passporter for him.You can buy it at the giftshop in Epcot(I bought ours as we went into the world showcase.It has stickers for each country.You find the kid cot station in each country to get a stamp and either then or they will tell you where,you can have someone write in the book in their native language.Most CM's(??)told us the translation and I wrote it in the book for my children.It gave them the incentive to visit all of the countries!!and now they have a nice souvenier(It was 9.95 plus tax)