Not sure where to begin . . .

[CrzyforPiglet]

I am so thrilled that I've almost convinced my sister and neice to come to DW that I'm bouncing off the walls more than I was when I knew it was just me and my DH!!

Here is our info - My and DH have only been to DW once!! My sister and neice have never been (she thought epcot was part of the mk and it was one big park like other places). My sister just lost her husband to cancer and this will be her first trip without him. My neice will have just turned 3 (by 3 days) when we arrive. We do know we'll be staying at the Wilderness lodge and at least my and my DH will be there the whole week. So here are the questions . . .

Is the WL good for kids - does it take a long time to get from the parks back to the resort?

What is a good touring schedule? My neice usually gets up around 7 am. From those with experience about how long in the parks is long enough before she will need to unwind in the resort.

Should we expect sensory overload? Right now I can say she is very inquisitive and we've taken her out and she seems fine with new things.

What is the best way to prepare her? She loves all things disney but has only been exposed to the Winnie the pooh characters. Is watching movies a good way to prep her?

Tips?

Sorry for the long post and so many questions but considering what my sister has been though I want this to be the best trip ever for all of us. Any ideas or things to beware of would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you - thank you - thank you!

 

[josierac]

You will love WL. It's a great resort in it's theming and because everything is in one building and not spread out like some of the others. We stayed there last year (jan 2001) and my kids loved it. From the tv in the lobby showing disney movies to the lincoln log table at the entrance to Whispering Canyon to the little bridge in the lobby that goes over the stream.

There are daily kids activities in the lobby. There is a playground in the beach area along with a the sand that she can play in while you relax on one of the chairs there.

The transportation is fine. You can take the boat to the MK (quick ride) and it shows up every 20 minutes. You can take the boat to Fort Wilderness and go to the petting zoo, campfire program, hayride. You can take the boat to the Contemporary and go to any restaurants on the monorail loop along with going to Epcot on the monorail.

This website has great pictures of the wilderness lodge. http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/rescc/costcalc.asp?pageFunction=researcher&resId=WL&submit1=go!

Stop whenever your niece is tired or getting cranky that will stop the sensory overload. If you are going during warm weather bring a change of clothes for her so that if she decides to play in the many fountain/water areas she can.

Have a wonderful time, I think your sister and your niece will absolutely love it.

 

[josierac]

I think that the sing along disney tapes are great.
Disneyland
Halloween
Campfire
Beach Party

They all show parts of the parks, resorts have lots of characters and lots of music.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I hope that you have a very special time, what a sad story.

The Sing along tapes are great. Flik's Musical Adventure shows Animal Kingdom.

If she gets up early, try booking a character breakfast before the park opens. She gets to see the characters and you are inside the park to start touring when it opens. There is all kinds of info on character meals on the resturant board.

She will most likely enjoy Fantasyland the most, and you want to start there as early as possible as the lines get long. She can ride anything that does not have a height requirment, my daughter (now 2) has rode all the Fantasyland rides and many others in all the parks.

Plan the afternoon rest time! You will all need to relax a bit. Don't try to see it all, there is always another time to go. Have a wonderful time.