https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 22 Apr 2026 06:07:56 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2816063 Fri, 13 Apr 2018 06:05:02 +0000 dc yoga bee 2816063@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, for us it was the glimmer in DD’s eye when she first met Mickey. And then the other characters as well but nothing like meeting Mickey. It was the pure joy on her face riding the teacups, the dumbo rides, and don’t even get me started on the shows. It’s hard to explain. I love Disney and DH is not a fan but now even he says it was the most magical experience he’s had and is so glad we took DD. She went when she was 2, and still talks about it and will be three next month. Disney does the whole shebang right. I think the entire experience is worth the $$$. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2816044 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 22:59:06 +0000 hellocupcake 2816044@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The magic is in the details. </p> <p>They really do think of everything for the kids. My kids didn’t really know the characters at first but they loved the parades, the shows, walking around and seeing all the attractions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2816027 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 21:05:26 +0000 808love 2816027@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It is all not real and the imagination can run free. Creativity abounds and everyone is happy and excited because it is a special place. Diversions and novelty are everywhere and nobody expects anything from anyone except having fun. For me, the magic is just being out of the real world and escaping to a child friendly place that promotes play, exploration, curiosity, and surprises. I think as long as you can suspend reality, it can be really enjoyable and unlike anything in daily life. Imagine being in the North Pole for a week with elves, Santa and riding on reindeer!! Fun, right? That is like a kid at Disneyland. Also kind of like Vegas...but not. Lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815951 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 14:31:07 +0000 JCCovi 2815951@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did a Disney cruise when my daughter was just turning 2, she wasn’t familiar with any of the characters. The first time she saw Mickey she lit up like a Christmas tree and ran to him! Not all kids love characters like that, but she sure did. We’re done Disneyland and 2 cruises by now and the kids are familiar with the characters by this point. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815932 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 13:51:53 +0000 irene 2815932@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: Hahaha! This reminds me of my son seeing Mickey the first time at the Disney Cruise. He commented, there IS a person in there, mommy, when is he going to take off his costume? LOL. But then later on he went with it and was happy to take pics with all the characters without pointing out there is a person in there, haha. Even with the Easter bunny brunch we went to, he would point at the Easter Bunny and insisted to the waiter that "he's dressed up!" The waiter was like, "um, that's very nice" lol</p> <p>To me, the magic is when all the grown ups (actors/actresses, employees, parents ...etc) in the park are all playing pretend that magic is real. You can't help but feel and believe it. That's what I felt when we were at the Disney Cruise. </p> <p>It is kinda like the Santa Claus magic - you know it is fake when you are older, but it is magical when you were a little child. </p> <p>Another magical part, I think, it is how could there be a piece of "land" that all these cartoon characters I watch in the movies/on tv actually reside in? And this place is so huge and you see cartoon characters just walking around, and everyone is so happy. It is very different from reality, it is overwhelming, and it is too good to be true for a child. If it is too good to be true it has to be magic. Or that's what I felt when I went to Disneyland as a child. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815925 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 13:27:16 +0000 looch 2815925@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son was intimately familiar with Mickey, but he still freaked out and refused to go near him when we got up close and personal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815917 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 13:10:42 +0000 Madison43 2815917@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PinkElephant: @Iced Tea: my 4 year old has always refused to go near any character, including the Olaf that (randomly) showed up at our towns July 4 parade. She was a little shy, but wasn’t afraid. That said, the character meet up part of the trip was a very small part of their experience and wasn’t part of her “magic.” Particularly bc shes normally so freaked out by them, that she knew that they are just regular people with costumes on. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815914 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 13:00:16 +0000 Mrs D 2815914@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I havent gone to Disney yet, but we did take DD1 to Disney on ice. She had previously always been real excited for "characters" (Santa, Easter Bunny, even our local mascot) and then FREAKS out when they are in front of her. Like - I want to see them, but from a safe distance.</p> <p>At DOI - she couldnt wait to get as close as possible to the princesses, it was crazy how different it was for her.</p> <p>We havent been to DW yet (just booked our first trip for November) but I too worried about the "is she going to freak out when meeting Cinderella" and my nerves have been completely calmed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815912 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 12:48:01 +0000 Iced Tea 2815912@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PinkElephant: Yeah, I'm so curious how it goes if your kids either know nothing about the characters or are terrified by costumed characters. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815886 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 11:51:59 +0000 PinkElephant 2815886@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Iced Tea: My kids are almost 6, almost 4, and 1.5. We don't really "do" Disney in a big way at home - they have a few princess dresses, and have seen Frozen &amp; Moana many times. Beyond that, they haven't been super interested in the movies or products. They've been in school for 2-4 years at this point, and even with classmate influence still don't know much about Disney, other than knowing that classmates have gone to Disney World, and that that's a big deal - but they don't get "what" it is. My oldest is really anti trying new movies. My middle is dancing to a song from The Little Mermaid for her ballet recital this year, but doesn't really associate it with a movie.</p> <p>I'm very curious to see what others respond. Part of me would really like to take them to Disney, but since we're not really a character-driven household, I wonder if they'd be equally enchanted. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815863 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 10:24:16 +0000 Anagram 2815863@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went when our kids were 2 and 4. We're probably going to go again next summer (not this coming summer) when our kids are 4 and 6. I think those are great ages for Disney.</p> <p>So...we were not a "Disney" family. My husband had never been and didn't care, we are a low-tv family and my kids don't watch the Disney channel (well, they do request some shows NOW, but not when we were planning this trip), and when we decided on the trip, neither of my kids had even seen a Disney movie. I went to DW when I was a teenager, so I had fun, but I wouldn't call it "magical". For a teen, I'm not sure much of anything in the world would be magical.</p> <p>But we decided to go because I wanted a big family trip, and my traditional vacations (things like All inclusives, beach vacations) are way less enjoyable with small kids. we've done beach vacations, but it's a marathon of making sure kids don't run into the ocean alone, making sure kids don't get sunburned, making sure kids find time to nap, making sure kid doesn't eat sand, playing constantly in the hot sun because kids (for some crazy reason) aren't happy just sitting reading a book for hours at a time. In short, beach vacations weren't much of a vacation. And our youngest was too young for most kid's clubs and my husband isn't a "kids club" type of parent anyway. So I wanted a vacation that all 4 of us would enjoy and that was kind of affordable. When you compare to flying to a resort in Mexico or Turks for a week, Disney is less in that respect, unless you go absolutely insane on spending. There's a lot of ways to do a more budget friendly trip.</p> <p>So for that, Disney was great. A lot of the gripes about Disney really depend on the person. For some people, nothing will ever live up to expecations--no hotel room is ever clean enough, or nice enough, and the food is never good enough, lines are too long, etc. My husband and I are pretty laid back about stuff, so it's just not in our personality to find fault with everything. If our kids are happy, we're happy. And they were definitely happy at DW. We didn't even have 1 tantrum or issue in our 6 night stay. Disney is made for families, so they make it very easy to operate as a family, and there's tons to keep kids occupied. It's nice.</p> <p>But all of our vacations are more young-child friendly these days. Now I always forgo luxury hotels for hotels that have free breakfast and a suite. If a hotel has an arcade or a great indoor pool, then I get excited because I know my kids will be excited. Like...cheesy magic show? Sign me up! I need low-hassle, kid friendly venues for the next few years, and that's what Disney is.</p> <p>Of course, we went at a low-crowd time, but we only had 1 attraction that was a line (It was meeting Mickey, and I regret standing in a line to do that, but it was day 2 at Magic Kingdom and we'd kind of already did everything else we wanted to do.) Other than that, we never waited more than 15 minutes and most rides we walked right on with a fast pass. The transportation was seamless when we were there. There were lots of food options for us. My kids loved the swimming pools and arcades at the hotel.</p> <p>To "prep" for the trip, I got a few Little Golden Books about disney characters and we watched the few Disney movies my oldest was interested in (turns out she IS into the princess movies, but not interested in other stuff. She'll be 5 this summer, and I still can't get her to watch Cars or Toy Story or anything that doesn't have a disney princess in it--go figure). But by the time we actually went to WDW, she knew almost all the characters from the books and movies and she was *very* excited. We made a little photo album of our trip, and my kids STILL talk about it now. They take out the photos all the time to talk about the trip. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815862 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 10:09:25 +0000 Hypatia 2815862@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We took DD when she was two weeks shy of three. She had only seen Winnie the Pooh, old Mickey cartoons, and Cinderella. She was entranced. We didn't prep her or do anything special. The castle, fireworks, rides, music, and ambiance were enough to enthrall her. </p> <p>I think she'd appreciate it even more now that she's four, but we went when we did because we wanted a special trip before our second daughter was born, and since she was technically two, her admission was free. We plan on going again when she's five and her sister is two. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815861 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 10:03:33 +0000 Charm54 2815861@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Seeing your kids have the time of their lives is pretty special - but a lot of the magic for me comes from the parent perspective and how easy disney makes the whole experience. We don’t have to lug car seats or deal with traffic as we rely on the transportation. we don’t have to even pick up our luggage at the airport - they deliver it right to our room. I don’t have to cook or clean. My kids are entertained all.day.long so I can sit back and actually relax and enjoy them loving life. I can be the kind of mom I always want to be (but life gets in the way). I say yes all week, we do spontaneous silly stuff, and just enjoy each other’s company. It’s stress-free, for me. Obviously other travel destinations allow for quality family time too, but with young kids none have it down to the science that Disney does in my experience. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815859 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 09:45:48 +0000 looch 2815859@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>IMO, the magic is that the experience is the total package. Every little detail is thought out and you're kind of not sure what to look at first, because everything is so interesting.</p> <p>It's kind of sensory overload, which is why we stay off property so that we can get a break. There's still plenty of magic to be had in that experience as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815856 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 09:37:43 +0000 snowjewelz 2815856@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@peachykeen: So true. My 3 year old was talking about Spiderman and I'm like huh?! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815854 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 09:36:46 +0000 Iced Tea 2815854@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@peachykeen: She just turned three, and I’m pretty sure her exposure is minimal. She goes to a montessori school where the materials/toys are natural—no character stuff whatsoever, and the kids aren’t allowed to bring any either. </p> <p>She has watched Frozen and Cars and enjoyed them. </p> <p>So far, every character we’ve encountered in person terrified her, even if she was looking forward to seeing them! That’s another concern I have. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815850 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 09:32:40 +0000 Ajsmommy 2815850@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The magic is real. My DD was just blown away every day we were there. She loves loves loves characters and the princesses and she couldn't believe they were meeting her and talking to her. She loved the parades and the music. She'd see a character and say "Mommy, Anna waved to ME!!" and she felt so special. The staff goes out of their way to greet little girls as "princess" and DD just had so much fun. </p> <p>I do think there is a "right" age for this... I think too young wouldn't appreciate it and too old wouldn't either..... DD was 4 and it was perfect age </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815849 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 09:27:57 +0000 peachykeen 2815849@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Is your 3-year-old in school/daycare? We never really introduced our 3.5 year old to Disney characters (other than Mickey) but she's learned about them this year in 3-year-old preschool solely through playing with her friends... She's apparently learned about superheroes this way too. </p> <p>We gave in and had DH take her to Disney on Ice a month or so ago and it blew her mind. </p> <p>All this to say, your kids may be Disney-exposed despite your best efforts :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815837 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 08:57:08 +0000 Madison43 2815837@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We took our kids to Disney World in November - they were newly 2 and 4. My husband and I are not “Disney” people (I had never even been and my husband had been once) and the only Disney characters my kids really knew were Winnie the Pooh and friends and Mickey and friends - and even though they knew who those characters were, they weren’t obsessed with them or anything. I don’t know how to explain it, but the magic is real. The Magic Kingdom straight up blew my kids’ minds. It’s not any one thing - there is just so much for them to see and to do. There are little shows and musicals that happen all day that they loved, and they were completed amazed by the parades. They didn’t know who Cinderella was when we went, but they LOVED the castle. Because it’s so huge and the lines can be crazy, it is definitely helpful to plan so as to not be overwhelmed, but you don’t have to be OCD about it at all - I definitely wasn’t. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-is-the-disney-magic#post-2815834 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 08:40:29 +0000 Iced Tea 2815834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Tell me, has anyone taken their non-Disney initiated children to Disney World and still experienced the "magic" people speak of? And, can you just show and experience it, or do you have to plan like you have OCD to make it happen?</p> <p>I want to know what the "magic" is. Is it seeing the characters and their worlds come to life? Or is it something else?</p> <p>We don't "do" Disney for the most part. My kids don't know most of the characters. I definitely don't feel like spending big bucks for a Disney trip, however, a relative is talking about maybe doing a group trip. I'm trying to determine whether it is worth it in this case. </p> <p>My kids would probably be 1 or 2 and 3 or 4 years old at the time of the trip. </p>