Magic Kingdom strategy with a young child

[CanadianEmily]

We're going in February 2020 with my then 5-year-old son. He's a big Toy Story fan and quite nervous with a lot of things, though he does better on rides than I would expect. However, he's never been on any big rides like at Disney World. He's been on carousels, ferris wheels, scramblers, and a small kid coaster at a carnival. He loves those but then on the flip side he's terrified of climbing stairs that you can see through, won't walk near glass banisters, terrified of dogs, etc. So I really have no clue how this is going to go.

My tentative plan off the top of my head is to get FPs (if I can) for Peter Pan's Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and something else, but I would like to go to Space Ranger Spin first, because he's such a big Toy Story fan, and I would like to ride Barnstormer before SDMT (and SDD at DHS) just in case he actually hates coasters. Or would you consider SDMT to be less intense than Barnstormer?

Should I get a Barnstormer FP? Is Space Ranger Spin a bad thing to do for rope drop? Note that we're not planning on going on any of the other coaster type rides. Jungle Cruise is probably the only other higher priority ride with longer waits.

I also considered going to DHS first so he could enjoy Toy Story Land, but I'm worried he'll be afraid of SDD, so I wanted to start with Barnstormer first.

I know, lots of questions... I have lots of time to figure this out, but I know you all know a lot more than me!

 

[sommergirl25]

Barnstormer would probably be better before SDMT. It is a shorter coaster. I am not sure about fastpassing it. The times we have gone, we wouldn’t have needed a fp for it. I also don’t think it would be unreasonable to ropedrop Space Ranger Spin if you want him to enjoy his first ride and ease him into it. We found Jungle Cruise pretty easy to get extra fp for later in day.

 

[Ellie Webbs]

Maybe show your son some POV videos and ask him if it looks too scary?

 

[CanadianEmily]

Barnstormer would probably be better before SDMT. It is a shorter coaster. I am not sure about fastpassing it. The times we have gone, we wouldn’t have needed a fp for it. I also don’t think it would be unreasonable to ropedrop Space Ranger Spin if you want him to enjoy his first ride and ease him into it. We found Jungle Cruise pretty easy to get extra fp for later in day.

Thanks! If I don't need to FP Barnstormer, we could use our third for Jungle Cruise and try to clump them during midday. I forgot to mention I'm also going to try to get an early lunch ADR at BOG, so if I'm successful with that I'll have to work around it.

 

[CanadianEmily]

Maybe show your son some POV videos and ask him if it looks too scary?

Yes, I've been showing him some and he seems okay with everything on video, lol. Not sure if real life will be a different story. But from all the videos he's obsessed with SDD and also Frozen Ever After, lol. I know he can't grasp the size of SDD though since he's never seen a big roller coaster in real life.

 

[JennyDrake]

Rope Drop is your best friend. Be there at RD with breakfast in your belly and ready to go! You can get a LOT done that first hour. I would not FP Barnstormer, but I would 7DMT and PP. Be prepared that WDW can equal massive overstimulation and he may shut down or fall apart for no apparent reason. Midday breaks are a must, especially with MK. I would plan for several mornings at MK and then leave about noon when the wall of people arrives...

 

[Ellie Webbs]

Rope Drop is your best friend. Be there at RD with breakfast in your belly and ready to go! You can get a LOT done that first hour. I would not FP Barnstormer, but I would 7DMT and PP. Be prepared that WDW can equal massive overstimulation and he may shut down or fall apart for no apparent reason. Midday breaks are a must, especially with MK. I would plan for several mornings at MK and then leave about noon when the wall of people arrives...

This doesn't apply to me as I usually will only eat one meal a day but this is essential for my husband! Rope drop is tiring and the last thing you need is a sugar low, the world always seems like a dark and stressful place when you are hungry

 

[CanadianEmily]

Rope Drop is your best friend. Be there at RD with breakfast in your belly and ready to go! You can get a LOT done that first hour. I would not FP Barnstormer, but I would 7DMT and PP. Be prepared that WDW can equal massive overstimulation and he may shut down or fall apart for no apparent reason. Midday breaks are a must, especially with MK. I would plan for several mornings at MK and then leave about noon when the wall of people arrives...

Yes, we are not planning to pack our days, and I'm going to try my best to not have any expectations. We'll be there for 5 full days, and I was considering a full break day in the middle to either check out Disney Springs for 2-3 hours or maybe go to Animal Kingdom, use 3 FPs and leave. I'm planning two days at Magic Kingdom, but I think what I'll do is get the FPs for Magic Kingdom but if he likes one of the other parks better, we'll go back to whatever he wants for the extra day.

 

[CanadianEmily]

This doesn't apply to me as I usually will only eat one meal a day but this is essential for my husband! Rope drop is tiring and the last thing you need is a sugar low, the world always seems like a dark and stressful place when you are hungry

Haha, yes. We're used to being up early, and I'm considering doing breakfast in the room. We got the QS dining plan, so don't really have credits for breakfast. To save the most time, I was thinking of having cereal and fruit in the room or something like that.

I hope that being up so early means that it won't be so difficult if we want to get an ADR at BOG for right when it opens lol. Give me lunch at practically breakfast time!

 

[Ellie Webbs]

Haha, yes. We're used to being up early, and I'm considering doing breakfast in the room. We got the QS dining plan, so don't really have credits for breakfast. To save the most time, I was thinking of having cereal and fruit in the room or something like that.

I always pack cereal bars or my husband loves these paleo bars we get in aldi. I don't know if they sell them where you are though... https://www.aldi.co.uk/macadamia-&-coconut-paleo-bars/p/071261139647202
I've posted the link just to give you an idea as he says they keep him full longer. They are good to just grab and go too.
It sounds like you've planned this all really well though and I'm sure all your hard work will pay off

 

[CanadianEmily]

I always pack cereal bars or my husband loves these paleo bars we get in aldi. I don't know if they sell them where you are though... https://www.aldi.co.uk/macadamia-&-coconut-paleo-bars/p/071261139647202
I've posted the link just to give you an idea as he says they keep him full longer. They are good to just grab and go too.
It sounds like you've planned this all really well though and I'm sure all your hard work will pay off

Nice! I'm in Canada. I don't know if we have those exact ones, but good idea to try to find something healthier with protein rather than a standard granola bar. My son will eat pretty much anything in bar form, lol.

 

[Smittolis]

Personally I think Barnstormer is more aggressive and throws you around much more than SDMT! As the latter is new and smooth as butter with reciprocating carriages, the ride is fast but smooth. Barnstormer is much less drastic with respect to drops and speed, but it really throws the kids around! lol So I'd be like do Dumbo instead of Barnstormer and then do SDMT! lol

 

[Ellie Webbs]

Nice! I'm in Canada. I don't know if we have those exact ones, but good idea to try to find something healthier with protein rather than a standard granola bar. My son will eat pretty much anything in bar form, lol.

Your son and my husband have that in common I obviously don't know anything about diet or protein v carbs etc, just anecdotal

 

[westie55]

My son is going to try his first big coaster on our trip next week unless he chickens out. We have decided to try Mine Train first, and if that goes well we will do SDD at EMM.

 

[Gatordad815]

We are annual pass holders & go to MK a few times a year. Our 4 year old son’s two favorite rides are Barnstormer and Space Ranger Spin (he’s still too scared to go on Mine Train because it looks too big to him even though it’s pretty tame as far as roller coasters go).

We have rope dropped to Space Ranger Spin several times & it’s easy to do. We typically can hit Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Speedway, Teacups, Barnstormer and Dumbo in the first hour (as long as the Speedway is moving smoothly). If your son is interested in characters, Goofy, Donald, Minnie and Daisy should have short waits in that timeframe too. Lots of bang for your buck considering your son’s age if you turn right when entering the park.

Have fun!

 

[CanadianEmily]

We are annual pass holders & go to MK a few times a year. Our 4 year old son’s two favorite rides are Barnstormer and Space Ranger Spin (he’s still too scared to go on Mine Train because it looks too big to him even though it’s pretty tame as far as roller coasters go).

We have rope dropped to Space Ranger Spin several times & it’s easy to do. We typically can hit Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Speedway, Teacups, Barnstormer and Dumbo in the first hour (as long as the Speedway is moving smoothly). If your son is interested in characters, Goofy, Donald, Minnie and Daisy should have short waits in that timeframe too. Lots of bang for your buck considering your son’s age if you turn right when entering the park.

Have fun!

Thanks! This sounds like a great plan. I think we'll try it!

 

[Klayfish]

So I really have no clue how this is going to go.

That's the key sentence in all of this. You don't really know, and you won't know until you try. So IMO there's no sense in making a big plan. Pick a ride or two that you know he'd like and then moving up to bigger/faster/"scarier" rides as you see fit. You'll have to see how he reacts, what you feel about it and what you want to encourage him to do. You won't know that until you get there. When our kids were younger, we were of the mindset that we were going to make them try everything at least once. Obviously things like Small World and Pooh are easy, they're not thrill rides. But we started with Barnstormer (7DMT didn't exist then). I remember DD11 (who was maybe 5 or 6 at the time) in tears and clinging to my arm as we got on. By the time the ride ended the tears had turned to laughter. If she hadn't like it, fine, at least she could have said she tried.

So I'd suggest not really having a firm plan. You won't know how he'll feel about things until you go and he sees/tries attractions for the first time in person. A YouTube video, while good to give the general idea, isn't the same thing as being there in person.

 

[CanadianEmily]

That's the key sentence in all of this. You don't really know, and you won't know until you try. So IMO there's no sense in making a big plan. Pick a ride or two that you know he'd like and then moving up to bigger/faster/"scarier" rides as you see fit. You'll have to see how he reacts, what you feel about it and what you want to encourage him to do. You won't know that until you get there. When our kids were younger, we were of the mindset that we were going to make them try everything at least once. Obviously things like Small World and Pooh are easy, they're not thrill rides. But we started with Barnstormer (7DMT didn't exist then). I remember DD11 (who was maybe 5 or 6 at the time) in tears and clinging to my arm as we got on. By the time the ride ended the tears had turned to laughter. If she hadn't like it, fine, at least she could have said she tried.

So I'd suggest not really having a firm plan. You won't know how he'll feel about things until you go and he sees/tries attractions for the first time in person. A YouTube video, while good to give the general idea, isn't the same thing as being there in person.

Yes, I'm definitely not setting anything in stone other than trying to plan FPs. My son is very sensitive much like I was, so I can't push him too much. The last time I went to Disney World I was 10 years old and barely went on anything. There was a ride that maybe isn't there now that was Snow White and I was terrified when you went around the corner and the witch was there, lol. The witch doesn't seem as sudden now on SDMT. The only ride I really remember liking was Peter Pan's Flight, and even in that I jumped at the crocodile at 10 years old, lol. But he's been more brave than me at his age in terms of carnival rides, so we'll see.

 

[sponica]

@CanadianEmily my one issue with having barnstormer be first is that it's a 1x1. But you know you're kid best.

My not quite 3 yr old is 42 inches tall, we're going next July and she'll more than likely be tall enough for most of the rides....hopefully things go better than last year when she was terrified on Dumbo.