Disney with 18month and 2 1/2 year old-Advise

disney4mykids

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 22, 2001
Okay everyone!! Please share all of your knowledge with me...Please give me any advise and warnings!!

I will be taking my little bundles of joy to Disney in May...we will do MK, AK,MGM....

Share your wealth of knowledge!!!!

You are all great!!!

LISA :D :D :D :D
 
Just back from Disney with 2 1/2 ds and 4 month ds. Last year we took our ds when he was 20 months.
I suggest e rides if they are having one. This would allow your children to see some of the characters without the wait in line. Also, it allowed my Buzz crazy son to ride Buzz Lightyear a dozen times without waiting in line. Could also see Country Bear Jamboree, ride the Haunted Mansion (did not scare my kids either time).
I would also suggest a character meal. Only one we had was the Crystal Palace, with Pooh. Gave my son time to warm up. Last year, he was terrified of the characters, this year, the sight of one stopped him in his tracks. He loved them.
Last suggestion....good stroller. If you are bringing one from home, get one the is easy to push, comfotable for kids and easy to transport. I am of no help in suggesting on since we took a piece of junk and hated it!!!
I just posted a few other things I learned. You may want to look at that post also.
Have a good time.
 
You don't say if it's just you going, or if another adult will be going also. If there are two adults, I recommend bringing two strollers that both recline. I know my 3-1/2 year old took naps during the day at Disney when we went in September. We also had a 1-1/2 y/o with us and had two strollers and were very glad we took both. We then had two baskets to hold things, each child had a snack tray and plenty of room to relax.

Another things is don't spazz out if they don't eat 'right' while you're there. One week of not eating three meals a day will not hurt them. I tried to be sure they ate a nice, healthy breakfast, then the rest of the day was pretty much what they felt like eating. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean candy and cookies all day long, but if they just wanted french fries for lunch, then that was fine. Ice cream has calcium, peanut butter crackers have protein and iron in them, etc. I made sure they took their vitamin in the morning (made ME feel better, anyway).

I put the baby back on formula for that week (he still liked it) so I could bring powdered formula to the parks and just mix it with water (room(air) temperature) and that worked out good. I'd bring bottles with the proper amount of dry formula in them, water, and an extra bottle to measure out the correct amount of ounces of water, and just pour the water into the formula bottle when he needed a bottle. I kept them all in the Zip Loc bags (the ones with the actual zipper worked out much better than the ones you have to line up and press together).

Which brings me to Zip Loc bags -- they worked out great with the little ones. We had peanut butter crackers in one, licorice in another, etc. Extra pacifiers, camera (in case it rained), loose change, etc. We just things in the bags, and put the bags in our backpack, which was stored in the stroller basket -- then we could easily locate things w/o having to dig through everything.

I recommend getting a hanging thing for the back of the stroller so that things like wipes, a diaper, your sunglasses, water bottle, etc, can be reached easily without having to dig through your bag or the stroller basket. I bought one that is made for a car (to put over the back of one of the front seats) and it fit perfectly on the stroller, and even stayed on (and the items stayed in) while the stroller was reclined (which is what I did when we parked out stroller so our 'stuff' wasn't so out in the open).

Sorry this was so long....hope some of these tips help!

Have fun
 
Even when you think you have thought of it all others come up with great ideas! We have traveled with an 8 month and 3 year old. Though often stated, it bears reminder: the best advice is to relax and go with the flow.

- Hit the MK on EE days so that you can enjoy fantasy land without the crowds.

- We generally tour the parks when they first open then sit down for a late breakfast. We then tour a bit more and head back to the resort for naps and playtime. A must do! One day we decided to stay in the MK as the girls had napped in the stroller, but regreted it later as they were unusually crabby at dinner.

- Make PS arrangements ahead of time as you will appreciate the planning once there. As above, we generally eat a large late breakfast, a light afternoon snack and then dinner.

- Stop to smell the roses, glaze into your children's eyes as they are mesmorized by the magic around them.

- Character meals entertain the children and allow you to eat a few bites. Buffets and family style restaurants are quicker and help avoid embarrassing melt-downs.

- Given the age of your children they will not know if you elect to pace yourselves and skip some attractions, so do not feel pressured to see it all. Select those that you feel will be most enjoyed by all. For example, our girls love music and shows, so we will probably spend a lot of time at MGM.

- Have a sense of humor-there will be times you need it, but what great memories those moments will be!

- Our double stroller was invaluable. We too love to attach and hang all our gear off of it. We take a small soft sided cooler and fill with juice boxes and some finger foods. For baby we also took powdered formula- but instead of measuring into bottles I used the disposable playtex liners and sealed with a rubber band. That way I could premeasure a day's worth at a time and toss into the diaper bag.

-We kept must have-at-our-finger-tips essentials (i.e. wipes, extra diaper)in a large waist fanny pack that my husband wore so they were readily available in lines and attractions, the other gear was stored in diaper bag in stroller.

- A change of clothes takes little space and can be a lifesaver!

- Disposable bibs! We have even found the cutest plastic ones with Disney characters on them in our local drug store.

- Do not store your precious and rare margarita from Mexico in the cup holder on the stroller as when you are retrieving gear from the lower basket you may inadvertently jostle the stoller and spill it over your head and down your back.

3/98 CSR
6/98 Dolphin
4/99 CSR
5/99 DL
7/99 Yacht Club
5/01 CSR
 
We have a 5 year old (just turned five in Feb.) who we have been taking since he was 7 months old and a 18 mo old we have been taking since she was 3 months old. Here is the best advice I have - use the infant/baby changing rooms. There is one in EPCOT near the Mexico attraction, at the Magic Kingdom beside the Crystal Palace restaurant, and at MGM inside of guest services. This is a great place to change diaper in peace and they have microwaves, high chairs, etc. Also, they have a TV lounge at the Magic Kingdom and a playroom at EPCOT so you can concentrate on your littler one. If you are staying on site, go back to the hotel for lunch and a nap.
 
We started bringing our kids when dd had just turned 3 and ds was a little over a year. My favorite tip is to use the baby centers in the parks! Even if your kids aren't infants anymore, they are a wonderful place to relax for a while. They have changing tables, high chairs, private rooms for nursing with rocking chairs in them, microwaves for heating up food, etc. They even have a playroom for the kids with toys and a tv.If you run out of anything, like diapers, wipes or formula, you can buy it there. They are really great places that I don't think people realize exists! :)
 

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