Shows/Movies to Introduce Toddler to Characters Before Cruise

[leannak]

We're cruising on the Magic in Europe with a little one who doesn't know a lot of Disney characters so we're trying to introduce a few. We've watched some Disney movies and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but I hear there is a Disney Jr. event in the club - which characters would that be? I believe we have the fab 5 at the character breakfast so I don't think Disney Jr. will be there. Is Jake & the Neverland Pirates still part of Disney Jr.? I don't see that showing on the Disney Channel at all.

Any other recommendations for us?

Frozen
Finding Nemo/Dory
Toy Story
Cars
Peter Pan
Tangled
Cinderella
Aladdin
The Little Mermaid
Tarzan
Winnie the Pooh

 

[mmouse37]

Our character breakfast on the Magic had Doc McStuffins and Jake from the Neverland Pirates. I forget who else was there but it was Disney jr. characters...oh I remember....Sofia the First too.

Your list is good....add Lion King to it as well.

MJ

 

[leannak]

Shoot! Well I wonder why don't they have Jake on the Disney Channel then! Grrrr. Or maybe I should say, "Arg."

 

[Geomom]

Yes, on the European cruises, you should have the VIP character breakfast with Mickey/Minnie/Goofy/Pluto. From looking at some of the Mediterranean itineraries--Jake, Capt. Hook, Smee, and Sophia the First are listed in the Character meets section. (And there is a Doc McStuffins activity in the Oceaneer Club--so I'd expect her to be at the Disney Junior event). Lots of character meets with Mickey/Minnie/Goofy/Donald/Daisy/Chip and Dale. For princesses Ariel and Tiana have been listed.

How does your little one do with characters? I know some kids are afraid of them due to their size.

Depending upon how young your child is, I might look for some books about those movies to read vs. watching the actual movies--they can be scary for some kids. When she was little, my oldest loved Ariel...but refused to watch the movie again as she was afraid of Ursula.

 

[Kanga&TwoRoos]

Shoot! Well I wonder why don't they have Jake on the Disney Channel then! Grrrr. Or maybe I should say, "Arg."

Are you looking on the regular Disney Channel or Disney Jr? My kids haven’t been into Disney jr in awhile so I’m not sure if they’re still showing Jake but you’ve got a better chance there than on Disney Channel.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

You could skip Winnie the Pooh, they won't be appearing on the ship. For a toddler, I'm not sure I'd have such an extensive list. I would focus on a few movies and watch them a few times (repetitiveness helps with learning). For a cruise on the Disney Magic, Tangled would be on the top of my list because of the stage show and the restaurant. I would also look at a few of the books that are quick introductions to the characters. There is a series called, "5 minutes Stories" they have princesses, Disney Jr, Frozen, Snuggle (which is a variety of Disney characters).

 

[dprincessmom]

Lilo and Stitch - Stitch was out and about a few times on our cruise (Bahamas)

 

[hnthomps]

I mean, I don't think you "need" to introduce any of them -- my children had seen maybe 1 movie when we took them on their first cruise (ages 2 and 4) and knew the Disney Jr characters pretty well. They had NO IDEA, for example, who Stitch is. And, um, neither did I. But that didn't stop them from interacting with him, and loving it! Your child is either going to be into characters as an idea or not, and if the former will not care at all who it is (and if the latter, you can't force it). My kids have never watched Jake, don't care about his show, and still lined up for photos with him and loved seeing him at the Disney Jr breakfast.

Our second cruise (ages 4&6) they knew a lot more characters, but I don't think it had any impact on overall enjoyment. My kids are pretty sensitive, so they weren't ready for most of those movies as toddlers. We've still only made it through Lion King once with each of them, and can't finish Princess & The Frog because it's "too scary". Oh, and we watched Lilo & Stitch (which none of us had seen) after the second cruise because they had seen some of it in the clubs and loved it, but we had to pause a few times for BOTH kids (and the older one was almost seven!) to talk through how scary the themes were.

You could also let your kid spend a little time on the Disney Jr app and it'll all take care of itself.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

We got a bunch of movies from the library, including princess and the frog. I also got this book when I saw it at Costco - 5-Minute Princess Stories (5-Minute Stories) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1423146573/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_crHvBbCB3E3PC

It totally paid off. My 4 year old knew enough of the characters to be into it. He ran up to hug Louis at Tiana’s, which was really surprising and sweet. He’s not really into characters for characters sake. He’s a shy kid and I think k they still scare him a little if he doesn’t know who they are.

 

[mmouse37]

I'll add that when my husband and I took our 2.3 year old granddaughter on the Magic she truly enjoyed all the main stage shows and I think a lot of it had to do with her being familiar with the songs and the characters. She was riveted sitting there watching with a smile on her face. It was so cute to experience with her.

MJ