Mardonna

Disney Magic....3 adults...4 kids 8, 5, 5 and 2 1/2.......

Disney tells me they are docking in Frihamnen.....

Highlights to hit....

1) vasa Museum

2)City hall - Blue and Gold room (heard you have to be guided....may not work for us with young kids

3) Royal Palace ----probably to look at Crown jewels

4) gamla Stan (walk around

5) Pippi Longsticking author museum (thought it might be a nice break for kids)

I know Ho ho bus stops at all these.....and the idea was to entertain the kids with out bothering other people.....(they like the dd buses and like ear plug commentary- we did this in Barcelona)

We are thinking Stockholm pass for admissions and then Bus for getting around and entertainment for kids....

The shore excursions would be great but they chharge for kids where most of the attractions and transport on own do not.....huge cost difference.

I actually have a pretty good idea of what to see.....just not sure what to see first?

We are traveling on Disney magic and a party of 3 adults and 4 children under 8....I have watched the John lawrence DVD as well as Rick Steves book.....and I have to say it wasn't as through as some of the other cities I covered....

We are thinking of doing HO HO Bus with kids and Stockholm Pass for admission.....it sounds like 1 of my kids will only be charged because 3 are under 6 which is nice.....

I am trying to figure out what order to see things in....if we use the HO HO it may not always be direct route.....but figured if we got stuck we could ask and get on public transport....

Is there 1 ho ho company....if so which one do I use?

Help!

You should try and get to Vasa first. Most people try and get there as arly as possible, before the crowds start to fill the place up. from there youcan do a boat ride to the Palace and the Changing of the Guard, and after that, Gamla Stan is a short walk from the Palace.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

Thanks......so the Drottigham palace is a seperate day.....no way it could be fit in......

 

Marlo

We will be traveling on the Disney magic in Late June......Unfortunately the excursions on the ship are all 1/2 day tours and don't really give an option of a 1 day over view of what we want to see plus the expense is high since they charge for kids 3-9.....

We are 2 adults, and 4 kids 2-9, and based on Stockholm card we would only need to apy for the 2 adults and 1 child making it a much better deal. I have reviewed and it seems we should see the following things?

Vasa-I have heard and 1 hour there is plenty with kids

Jundbjorn - Pippi Longstocking place (have no idea how long to stay there)

we were going to skip Skanson because it sounds a bit like something we could find here in the states

Hoping to do City hall (mainly to see blue room for noble banquet) Royal palace....chaning of guard and the treasury exhibit)

Glam stmna

Would love to do the Drottingham area but not sure this would work as far as timing....

I have no idea how to pace my day and what is the best route and such.....is there a guide that would help with this.....

Love to hear your thoughts>

We did the Baltic in August with our 4 1/2 year old daughter and she did great. She was right in the middle of her "princess phase" and so she loved all the castles and palaces. We started in London and my mother bought her a crown at Kensington Palace which she wore EVERY DAY. I learned to say "princess" in so many languages! We only had 2 ports in common with your trip - Copenhagen and St. Petersburg. Our plan, though, would work in any port.

 

We came up with a "dossier" for each port. She was a special agent and had an assignment for each day. It really helped her understand that she was in a different country each day - a hard thing for a child this age to understand. Her assignments included tasting special treats (i.e. salt licorice ice cream in Sweden, Dutch pancakes in Amsterdam, Blini is St. P, etc), finding certain landmarks (i.e. The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, the czar's winter palace in St Pete, etc) or doing certain things (i.e. riding a double decker bus in London and a water taxi in Amsterdam, finding a sweets museum in Tallin or finding a painting from a certain book she has at home in one of the museums.) It kept her totally engaged and we all had some interesting new experiences. Some other parents on our cruise told us that their kids were really jealous and wanted to do the same thing. They wanted us to publish these dossiers but frankly, I would have no idea how to do that...

 

In Copenhagen head straight for Tivoli. It's a beautiful amusement park and garden. One warning - do not buy an unlimited ride pass for the 5 year old unless a parent has one too. The ticket clerk convinced me that my daughter was big enough to ride on many, many rides by herself. NOT TRUE. There were only about 4 "baby" rides she could go on without an adult. After her being in tears being turned away from ride after ride I was able to convince the management to trade it in for individual ride tickets. She was able to go on 3 really good rides with one of us for the same price and she enjoyed it so much more.

 

In St Petersburg arrange for a private guide who will customize a more kid friendly tour. You can then go on roll call and find another family or 2 to share it with you so your kids will have companions. My daughter loved playing in the fountains at Peterhof (bring a change of clothes and shoes), the canal cruise and any place where she could see a real throne. I'm surprised you're not going to Tallin - my daughter loved exploring the medieval walls and towers and having lunch in a real medieval restaurant. The marzipan museum there was one of her highlights!

 

We did not have the option of leaving her aboard since we did not use ship's tours. As I said, though, she did great and it wasn't necessary. Just don't try to do too much and let the kids be a part of choosing the activities. We got our daughter a kid safe camera so she could take her own pictures which really made her feel like a part of things. A portable dvd player (or ipod) was very helpful for the long rides in the van in St Petersburg.

 

Let me know if you need any more specifics about anything. Have a great trip.

We will be in London for 8 nights before our Disney Cruise.....not sure if Disney would have anything like this....and since we aren't doing many of their excursions probably wouldn't have access anyway.....would you be so kind to email me mmaragon@prodigy.net