What movies to watch before a trip?

hllb

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 24, 2009
We are going at the end of January. My 13 and 14 year olds have been there twice. My 7 year old was there once but was only 2 so it'll all be new for him. We are telling them at Christmas. I had planned on having them all watch Avatar before we go so they understand that section and then I started thinking there are other movies too. For example, I don't think they've ever seen the cartoon Peter Pan.

So, what movies tie in to rides so the experience is better if you've seen the movie? I think we'll spend the month before watching movies.
 
We watched the Science of Disney Imagineering series before we went to WDW last time. It has a similar format to Bill Nye with a Disney imagineer explaining the science behind rides/attractions. We all enjoyed the series (me, DH, and DD) and were excited to see and experience the different things we learned about. I learned about the series here on the DIS and found it at my local library.
 
Other than the usual canon...

Song of the South (if you can find a copy) - for Splash Mountain
 
The Little Mermaid for Journey of the Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo for The Seas; Aladdin, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, maybe Fantasia for Philharmagic (and others); maybe Pirates of the Caribbean; I'd say Mary Poppins just because.
 


Any movie that puts you in a Disney state of mind. For us it would be the Aristocats, in spite of the fact it isn't represented in the parks.
 
Any movie that puts you in a Disney state of mind. For us it would be the Aristocats, in spite of the fact it isn't represented in the parks.

You should go to Disney Paris. Her and Remy are all over there!
 


My favorite thing to do is watch TV shows that go to Disney World. Your kids probably haven't seen any of them though since none are on the air anymore, although I think Blackish just did one to Disney. Boy Meets World, Full House, Rosanne (they all have an episode going to the parks)
 
one regret I had when I took my grandparents to see the Frozen sing-along (which my whole family LOVES) in DHS was that we didn't show them Frozen beforehand. I think they would have enjoyed it even more if they had.
 
If you're up for studying, I'd watch the movies of obscure characters you may meet there whose movies you haven't seen or know little about. Might give you some talking points.
 
History Channel did a Modern Marvel with Disney World. Pirates of the Caribbean. ( These are probably more for your older ones ).

Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy.
 
I need to see Avatar before my husband and I leave. Since it's Halloween, I'd probably watch Halloweentown.
 
Magic Kingdom
  • Peter Pan
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie-The-Pooh
  • Cinderella
  • Dumbo
  • Beauty & The Beast
  • Little Mermaid
  • Tomorrowland
  • Monsters, Inc.
  • The Haunted Mansion
  • Song of the South
  • Swiss Family Robinson
  • Aladdin
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
Hollywood Studios
  • Toy Story
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • Fantasia
  • Star Wars
Animal Kingdom
  • Avatar
  • Lion King
Epcot
  • Finding Nemo
  • Frozen
  • Snow White
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Mulan
  • Mary Poppins
 
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