Disney with Twin Toddlers: Take 2, Our Guide

http://disboards.com/threads/disney-with-twin-toddlers-our-guide.3329925/#post-52288783

If you haven't read our previous thread, the link is above. Our toddlers were 21 months when we travelled to Orlando last year. Now, they are 31 months old...going on 10 years!

Preface: This year's trip was totally different, primarily because we had family joining us in Orlando who did not wish to visit the Disney theme or water parks. As a result, we bought the 4 day Park Hopper with Water Park tickets and didn't have as much park time as we did on our previous trip. Our travel party was my husband, myself, our twins, my sister, her husband, her 7 year old son, and her 5 year old daughter who is all about being a "Queen (not princess)!"

Here was our Schedule:

Friday evening: Arrive, check into Westgate Town Center, and relax
Saturday: Morning at Blizzard Beach with friends, Afternoon at Downtown Disney
Sunday: Day at Cocoa Beach with friends and family
Monday: Morning at Resort, Bippity Boppity Boutique with Niece, and Dinner at Chef Mickeys
Tuesday: Magic Kingdom
Wednesday: Animal Kingdom in the morning, Hollywood Studios in the evening
Thursday: Morning at Resort, Evening at Epcot and Magic Kingdom
Friday: Magic Kingdom, leave in afternoon

I'll create a new post with each set of our experiences with travelling, staying off site as opposed to on site, sleeping arrangements/strategies, strollers, dining, and packing lists (do's and don'ts)!

DRIVING vs FLYING

When we went to Orlando last year, we flew. Flying was great in terms of having more time to enjoy the parks, but we found it very limiting in terms of packing for the needs for our family. Plus, we didn't have a vehicle on Disney property which kept us from being able to drive to visit friends, and we were totally dependent on the busses, which were not ideal for us either in light of the double stroller.

So this year, we decided to save about $500 and drive! Our trip was 11 hours without stops, and our total travel time was 14 hours! We still couldn't bring our stroller, but we were able to bring everything else we needed AND had our vehicle and our car seats to use whenever we wanted!

Things that made our car trip with 2 31 month olds enjoyable:
1. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVDs with cheap Walmart RCA DVD player (since our children are still rear-facing)
2. Frozen DVD
3. New Dollar Tree board books
4. Lovey for each child (a MUST for sleeping and comfort) and Mickey/Minnie stuffed plush toys from last year's trip
5. Small ice chest with low-mess snacks (small crackers in Munchkin snack containers, cheese sticks) and sippy cups (milk and water)
6. Favorite song CD
7. Promising them that we would play and go swimming once we got to our place in Florida!

The key was the DVD player! Our children rarely watch TV at home, but love it in the car...so we brought their favorites and they were great!

Besides time involved, the only other downside to driving was the fact that we did have to pay $17 to park at the parks each day.

OFF SITE vs ON SITE




Our budget for this year's trip was leaner than last year's, so we decided to use our Westgate timeshare that we've owned since 2009 and have never once actually used! We essentially paid $150 for a 2 bedroom condo for the week, which was a huge cost savings over staying on property. Westgate Town Center is 1 mile from the Disney Main Gate entrance, so travel times to the parks were short and easy! It's a super busy and huge resort and lacks the "theming" of on site resorts, but we really appreciated the extra space that the condo afforded us...especially once my sister and her family arrived and stayed 4 nights!

When we arrived, Anna exclaimed, "Mommy...a castle...are we staying in the castle?" I guess the tall building with white moldings resembled a castle to her, so she was more than thrilled to be staying there!

Things we loved about staying off site at Westgate:
1. Getting out of the Disney 24/7 environment.
2. More space. I understand that staying at a DVC resort would be comparable in this regard, but the costs didn't work for us this year.
3. A full kitchen with fridge and freezer. This was huge for ice packs, breakfasts, tons of drinks and snacks, etc.
4. A full size washer and dryer. We used the washer and dryer every day of our trip...so it was a huge plus!
5. Free water park (for Westgate owners) and nice pools...never as crowded as the Disney resort pools often get.
6. Free Swan Boat rides and mini golf. Our toddlers hated the life jackets, but LOVED riding the swan boats!
7 Walking distance to restaurants, pizza take out (cheaper than Disney delivery by far and tasted better), and an ice cream shop!

Things that were not ideal:
1. Traffic! The resort has a huge number of cars and golf carts, so getting out of parking lots at peak times can be annoying!
2. The playground was closed for maintenance while we were there.

Overall, I think the ideal place for a family is a DVC resort. BUT, if budgets are more limited, then a timeshare is a great second alternative. I'm sure we will stay at Westgate again on future trips, though our next trip to WDW will be in 2017 at a DVC condo.

STRATEGIES




We knew that our toddlers were getting a bit long for pack n plays, and frankly...they have never slept well in them since they were a year old! We also knew that when my sister's family arrived, we would need to share one bedroom. My children will not sleep in a bed with us, so sharing a bed wasn't a viable option either. I looked for quite awhile on Amazon and finally bought 2 of the Schrunks beds for toddlers. These are inflatable beds that are very compact for travelling. They come in crib and twin sizes, and we chose the crib size since we figured that 2 twin beds would take up too much space. We were able to buy a combo that included 2 beds, 2 pumps, and 2 carrying bags. We also bought Disney toddler bed sets for each child just for fun and to encourage them to stay in their beds!

While sleeping outside of their cribs was a change, our children loved their beds and stayed in them through the night! Anna tended to roll off of the top occasionally, but it was never a huge issue. Our master bedroom had plenty of space for 2 beds, which was also nice!

In terms of napping, we tried to return to the condo most days for an after-lunch nap. We found that if they went swimming, they tended to eat lunch and then crash for a good 2-3 hours. As adults, we enjoyed this time to relax, clean up, do laundry, and just visit with one another! On the nights we planned to stay out late, we tried especially hard to go to the pool for an hour or so before nap time in order to encourage a 3 hour nap...and that strategy worked wonderfully for us!

We found that our best hours were from 8-12 and from 5-9 each night. The afternoons tended to be super hot, and everyone seemed to need some down time during those hours. So...they were spent at the pool and napping! Ours did nap in a stroller twice on our trip as well when they apparently were tired before we could head back to the resort!

I loved reading your last trip report, we will be taking our twins in October and they will be 21 months old so a lot of useful info in your post. I look forward to following this one along as well, but I have to ask how come your children are still rear facing at 31 months old? I know they recommend rear facing till 2 (even though mine have been forward facing since 13 months)

I thought the car seat rules were by weight, not age. My grand twins were born early and are past two years old and will be rear facing for awhile because of their weight. Maybe that is just our state? Not sure but I know my daughter said they will be that way for awhile.

I believe our state laws (Maryland) say rear facing until 1 year and under 20 lbs. our pediatrian recommends until the age of 2. Once they reached 20 lbs each we switched them to front facing. I didn't like not being able to see them plus with the car seats rear facing my seat had to be way up to fit them and it was very uncomfortable to drive that way.

We will rear face until our children are at least 3.5 years old as a preference. I'm a general surgeon and had extensive trauma experience while training. A child's spinal column isn't ossified until they are around 4 years old, which means that they can actually sever their spinal cord without breaking a bone in a high speed collision while forward facing...thus rendering a young child a quadriplegic. I've seen it happen several times and it's not a risk we are willing to take. It's not the easiest, most comfortable, or most popular choice to make, but for us...it's the right one. As for laws, they are state dependent. Many states now require 2 years old and 25 pounds. Our daughter does not weigh 25 pounds at 31 months old, so legally...she would have to rear face anyway.

We use mirrors attached to the DVD player in one car and mirrors in the other, so we can see our children just fine. I drive a ton in a small SUV and am tall, but I've adapted to having slightly less leg room.

STROLLERS





This year, we just didn't have room in the SUV for our Bumbleride Indie Twin (first photo stroller). We headed the advice of the Disboards and arranged a rental through Kingdom Strollers of a Baby Jogger Citi Mini Double stroller (second photo stroller). Since we planned to leave the park and head straight to GA on our last day, we returned the rented stroller and paid $31 to rent a double stroller at Magic Kingdom for the day (third photo stroller).

To quickly summarize...I will find a way to bring our Bumbleride on future trips, even if we have to buy a vehicle topper!

The Bumbleride has a far more spacious basket that allows our diaper bag (Vera Bradley backpack), a small VB insulated lunch bag, and plenty of other small items to be taken in and out easily. The fold is bulky and can be a bit challenging for those with short arms, but it was really wasn't that much worse than the Citi Mini Double. It weighs a few more pounds, but yet again...the difference wasn't that noticeable to my husband.

Kingdom Strollers was amazing to work with and delivered everything as promised. Somehow, we lost 2 shoulder pads along the trip and I assume our insurance covered the cost of them. However...I HATED this stroller. The basket wouldn't even hold our diaper bag (even when it could be flattened completely), which meant carrying it in the hot humid FL weather all day! The small lunch tote also didn't fit into the basket, so we ended up not being able to carry drinks in and out of the parks as we had planned. The stroller fold was fast and easy, but it was still very bulky and hard to get on and off of the trams. The shoulder pads and harness clips constantly came apart (it's the way they are designed), so keeping up with the pads was impossible with folding and unfolding the stroller. I realize that it's far better than a cheap umbrella stroller, but for us...it just wasn't that great. We won't be renting another one. If we rent again, it will be one of the larger jogging strollers as basket storage is a key issue for us.

The rental stroller was typical. It was hard, had no options, and minimal storage. I felt pretty ripped off paying $31 for the day, which for us was actually only 5 hours. As you can see, we had to place items on top of it and our children napped but were super uncomfortable!

When it comes to strollers, you kind of get what you pay for. We are now super spoiled and I'm so glad I got to try out the City Mini before choosing to buy one for us at home...as I would have been VERY disappointed in it.

Here are some stroller tips:
1. Bring an extra stroller caddy! We used the Britax one provided by Kingdom Strollers and brought our own Freddie and Siebel one from home. That gave us 4 cup holders with 2 central pockets at all times. Since the stroller doesn't have snack trays and cupholders, we needed the 4 for all of us!
2. If you rent a City Mini Double, remove the little shoulder pads at the beginning of the week and store them...that way you won't lose them!
3. Plan on struggling to load two children onto the tram while holding the door open for yourself or your spouse to get on the tram while holding a folded stroller. It's harder than it seems, especially when you have a backpack on your back and are holding a lunch tote!
4. Don't buy souvenirs on your last day if you choose to rent a stroller at the parks, as there's nowhere to put them but on top of the canopy!
5. Take a Stroller Hook with you or a few large carabiners to use to holding bags since the basket is not that useful.
6. Frog Tog Chilly Towels make great drying towels for drying the plastic Disney strollers after rain storms...learned this our last day!
7. Busses are way better than trams when dealing with double strollers, especially now that the trams have "doors"...which is a perk to staying on property.

lucyddr said:

We will rear face until our children are at least 3.5 years old as a preference. I'm a general surgeon and had extensive trauma experience while training. A child's spinal column isn't ossified until they are around 4 years old, which means that they can actually sever their spinal cord without breaking a bone in a high speed collision while forward facing...thus rendering a young child a quadriplegic. I've seen it happen several times and it's not a risk we are willing to take. It's not the easiest, most comfortable, or most popular choice to make, but for us...it's the right one. As for laws, they are state dependent. Many states now require 2 years old and 25 pounds. Our daughter does not weigh 25 pounds at 31 months old, so legally...she would have to rear face anyway.

We use mirrors attached to the DVD player in one car and mirrors in the other, so we can see our children just fine. I drive a ton in a small SUV and am tall, but I've adapted to having slightly less leg room.

Click to expand...

That's very understandable, if our vehicle was bigger I would probably keep them rear facing as well. I drive over a hundred miles a day for work so I need to be comfortable driving.

ParrottFamily said:

That's very understandable, if our vehicle was bigger I would probably keep them rear facing as well. I drive over a hundred miles a day for work so I need to be comfortable driving.

Click to expand...

I find safety far more important than comfort. There is many seats that are compact when rearfacing that will fit in even small vehicles without impacting the drivers comfort. My twins will be 3 in November and are still rear facing and will remain that way until they outgrow the rear facing limits on the their seats at 45 lbs. Since they are only 26 and 30lbs that may be 4 or even 5 years old.

lucyddr said:

To quickly summarize...I will find a way to bring our Bumbleride on future trips, even if we have to buy a vehicle topper!

Click to expand...

Glad to hear this. We brought our bumbleride when we went last November and was considering a different stroller for this trip but hearing this I will definitely bring the Bumbleride again. My twins are going to be 34 mos old when we go in September. I am following your post closely.

DINING





We knew our children LOVED characters and dinosaurs, so that played a role in how we planned our dining for the trip. Since we didn't have the dining plan, we did spend a fair amount on our character meals though felt that the experiences for our twins were worth it! My husband and I have dined at almost every restaurant on Disney property, but this trip was 100% for our children...so we planned accordingly.

Here are the places we dined on property with a brief review of our experience:

1. T Rex Café: We are Landry's Select members and have dined at all of the Landry's chain restaurants multiple times. This was actually our third meal at this restaurant. We prefer T Rex over Rainforest Café, as the food is somewhat better to us. Our children LOVE Icees, so getting the dinosaur Icee was a big hit! My children love the dig site, the little hats, the childrens' menu, and the experience of seeing the Ice Cave and Dinosaurs. For us, it's a must-go for every Orlando trip! The food is nothing amazing, but certainly a good use of the Disney dining plan if you have it.
2. Chef Mickeys: This is another must for us now that we have children. My children LOVE the Fabulous 5, so our character meals primarily centered around the MMCH characters. We dined here as a party of 8. Service was amazingly good and well worth the pre-added gratuity. All 4 children loved seeing each character and the character interactions were good...not the best of our trip, but certainly above expectations. Andrew was so proud to get to hug and kiss Minnie Mouse! He may not be smiling, but trust me...he was in 31 month old heaven! Food here is well above the average buffet in my opinion. We love the fruit, small sushi assortment, lobster shells and cheese, and dessert bar. I don't think anyone left hungry...even my sister who hates buffets!
3. Crystal Palace: This restaurant is a favorite for my husband and I for breakfast at Magic Kingdom. It's our favorite breakfast on property...and trust me...we've had them all! My children enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh characters, though not as much as they enjoyed the others. I love the fresh fruit and honey yogurt, and the service has always been great. Many of the staff here have been present for every trip we've made...since 2004! We will always eat here, but my toddlers could have lived without it as they aren't big Pooh fans.
4. Tusker House: Our main reason for squeezing in this reservation was to see Daisy Duck...as both of our children kept asking for her! The food is typical Disney breakfast buffet, but there was plenty to enjoy. When they did their little "parade," my son wanted to participate but was kind of scared of all of the other kids. Daisy, herself, let him walk up front with her and "lead" the parade. Once again, he was in heaven! Anna didn't care to join in, but she still LOVED seeing and kissing each character! The parade experience and seeing Anna flap her arms like crazy with each character (her sign of happiness and excitement), the experience was well worth the cost despite not being my favorite environment or buffet!
5. Garden Grill: This is another restaurant that we love both for food and character interactions. The food is more home-cooking in style, which is always a welcome break from typical theme park offerings. The restaurant was not full when we were there, so my children had long, fun character interactions. They both loved seeing Chip and Dale, both of which took a nice amount of time with them. My husband and I enjoyed the salad and dinner offerings!

We also ate at Columbia Harbor House, Diamond Horseshoe, Pinnochio Village House, Gaston's Tavern (for drinks), and Back Lot Express. All were fine...nothing special.

I missed having the dining plan on this trip, though we also enjoyed not feeling pressured to use our credits and each every meal at a certain time. If we stay on property next time, we will definitely purchase the deluxe dining plan as our children will be plenty old enough to sit through longer meals and will hopefully have better taste in dining options by then!

One tip for those meeting characters for the first time: If your child is a bit scared, keep them in their seat! Anna did much better at first when she felt secure in the highchair. She was happy to give high-5's and kisses in her chair and requested to get our after the second character at Chef Mickeys. Don't push them towards the characters, as that will definitely fail!

lucyddr said:

We will rear face until our children are at least 3.5 years old as a preference. I'm a general surgeon and had extensive trauma experience while training. A child's spinal column isn't ossified until they are around 4 years old, which means that they can actually sever their spinal cord without breaking a bone in a high speed collision while forward facing...thus rendering a young child a quadriplegic. I've seen it happen several times and it's not a risk we are willing to take. It's not the easiest, most comfortable, or most popular choice to make, but for us...it's the right one. As for laws, they are state dependent. Many states now require 2 years old and 25 pounds. Our daughter does not weigh 25 pounds at 31 months old, so legally...she would have to rear face anyway.

We use mirrors attached to the DVD player in one car and mirrors in the other, so we can see our children just fine. I drive a ton in a small SUV and am tall, but I've adapted to having slightly less leg room.

Click to expand...

I am enjoying reading this trip report!!

We rear faced until she was 3.5 for the same safety reasons you stated. I find the state laws to be woefully behind the times with their requirements, and those at best are the bare minimum. We also didn't add any mirrors or anything inside the car, as I know they can become projectiles. It didn't seem that difficult to monitor her (just took her glasses off in the car, those are trouble!!), as I guess it was all we were used to! Man, makes our car sound so exciting

THINGS WE WERE GLAD WE BROUGHT/BOUGHT





1. Coordinating Swimwear and Clothing: There are two reasons for this...the first is because I love coordinating their outfits! Secondly though, coordinating clothing allowed us to quickly locate our children in various play areas and the beach. We also selected bright colored rash guards and hats for the water parks for similar reasons!
2. iPlay Swim items: These are perfect for toddlers! Since our children break out with disposable swim diapers after an hour or so, we bought a ton of iPlay swim diapers for each child. We wore white ones under our smocked swimwear, and also bought colored ones to wear alone. I probably went overboard, but we should be able to wear them again next year and when we cruise this winter...so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! The rash guards, shoes, and hats from this brand were all wonderful as well in terms of fitting well and staying in place. I have no ownership or financial interest in this brand (other than spending too much money on it)...just disclosing that in case someone wonders.
3. Sunglasses: Last year, keeping sunglasses on our kids was a chore that we just gave up on. This year, they INSISTED on them! We got lucky and bought a ton at the Disney Store for less than $2/pair when they were on clearance, so we took plenty of pairs with us and didn't cry if a pair broke or disappeared!
4. 3-4 Swimsuits per person. Last year, we rarely swam because we were too tired from being at the parks so much. With being at the parks less, we found that we had more down time to enjoy swimming and swam almost every day. Sometimes we even swam twice in one day! By having plenty of suits, we never had to worry about trying to put on a wet one!
5. Inflatable Toddler Beds with Mickey and Minnie toddler bedding sets: The kids loved their special bedding and we knew it would fit properly and be clean. Win! Much easier than dealing with Pack n Plays!
6. Sunscreen and Frog Togg Chilly Towels: We used about 3 tubes through the week and the towels daily. They are handy in the summer!
7. The MMCH Train Set sold at World of Disney and the Emporium: Our children LOVE this and still play with it daily! It was worth dragging around all day in the rain on our last day!
8. Personalized Christmas Ornaments: Treasures forever! We had them shipped to our home, so no worries about breakage!
9. 2 Large Tote Bags: Great for water parks and pools!
10. Water proof "Fanny packs" from Amazon. They held our huge phones with cases and kept everything dry!
11. "Sanity Kit" for the Car: DVDs, snacks, board books, Minion Happy Meal toys, Loveys from home.
12. Puddle Jumpers. Our children cannot swim, so we felt like we needed some sort of life vest. We tried vests, but they always seemed to put our children on their backs (which is what they should do)...but that kept them from enjoying the pools. Technically Anna was 7lbs too light for hers, but we twisted the arms and never allowed her out of our arms' reach...so we felt safe using them. Even though they were bulky and annoying to pack, they were great and worth the irritation!
13. Mossworld Enterprises No Spill Caps from Amazon. These spouts adapt to every bottle except for McDonalds milk, and are wonderful! We put them on PowerAde bottles, water bottles, small Gatorade bottles, etc. I just carried two sets in our diaper bag at all times. MUCH easier than sippy cups!

disneydremr said:

I am enjoying reading this trip report!!

We rear faced until she was 3.5 for the same safety reasons you stated. I find the state laws to be woefully behind the times with their requirements, and those at best are the bare minimum. We also didn't add any mirrors or anything inside the car, as I know they can become projectiles. It didn't seem that difficult to monitor her (just took her glasses off in the car, those are trouble!!), as I guess it was all we were used to! Man, makes our car sound so exciting

Click to expand...

I know about not putting things in the back, but it was a risk we were willing to take. We often had to travel with our preemies to appointments when they first came home from the NICU. Both of them were prone to apnea spells, so we chose to place mirrors so that we could see them. I figured the risk of a child turning blue was far higher (and yes...it happened a few times and we reacted quickly) than the risk that a mirror would fly off and hit them...so we kept them in place. Like everything else, it is a calculated risk and we chose to risk the DVD player, mirrors, and items in the car.

THINGS WE DID NOT NEED



1. Beach Towels: Our condo had plenty of designated pool towels. We brought our own, but they really were not worth the space that they occupied in our luggage! If you really prefer to bring your own, I recommend the thinner ones as the super thick ones are just way too bulky and take forever to dry!
2. Bath Toys: These are usually musts for travelling, but on this trip...we never even opened the bag! Our kiddos loved showering and it worked out to be far easier for us since the condo had a huge shower, so we could have saved that space.
3. Lots of extra clothes. I always over pack, but it really wasn't necessary this trip. With the condo having its own washer and dryer, we found that bringing extras just added space!
4. Tons of Sippy Cups. I packed way too many! We used our Mossworld toppers (you can see the spouts in the picture above) at the parks, so only needed the cups in the condo. One for water and one for milk for each child would have been plenty (and I think I packed like 10)!

Otherwise, we did MUCH better this trip than last year!

FINAL THOUGHTS




We really focused our attention towards our twins on this trip. We know that they hate having their pictures taken, so we minimized the whole park sign/family photo gig. In some ways, I wish we had done them. BUT, in others...our children were happy and that was our goal!

There is a HUGE difference in taking 22 month olds vs 31 month olds! Our children were able to stay up a pinch later and to communicate the majority of their needs, which was so nice! They knew when they were tired, hungry, and really seemed to love the rides!

If we ever see Fantasmic again, we will definitely book a dining package for the priority seating! The walk in seating is now at the very top of the amphitheater and is so far away that we didn't even feel it was worth attending. Lesson learned!

Never underestimate the value of down time at the pool! Our children really looked forward to swimming each day, and we found it to be a nice break for ourselves as well! I'm sure it varies, but ours really didn't care for the splash areas and were the most happy when they were just in the regular pool. No need for fancy water parks!

Ride the train 50 times if you need to...that may just be the highlight of your toddler's trip! We have been home a couple of weeks now and ours are still playing with their MMCH Train set!

Savor the small moments! The highlight of this trip was seeing things through the eyes of the twins. They got so excited with every character and would ask who they were eating with. They hugged, kissed, and interacted with their "heros," and that just iced the cake for our trip!

I've seen a lot of posts asking about 2 year olds, strollers, and breaks...so thought this might be useful to bump!

ParrottFamily said:

I believe our state laws (Maryland) say rear facing until 1 year and under 20 lbs. our pediatrian recommends until the age of 2. Once they reached 20 lbs each we switched them to front facing. I didn't like not being able to see them plus with the car seats rear facing my seat had to be way up to fit them and it was very uncomfortable to drive that way.

Click to expand...

Its now age 2 in MD and we had the same space issue with our twins and our jeep. We traded it in for a minivan. It was only 11 months old, but their safety and our comfort was more important then getting totally killed financially selling a nearly brand new car. The babies were 2 months old and the infant seats were tight. I don't think I could have driven with a toddler seat behind me and still be even remotely comfortable. Ah the joys of being tall! And the twins are really tall so they were out of their infant seats at 5 months!

lucyddr said:

Our daughter does not weigh 25 pounds at 31 months old, so legally...she would have to rear face anyway.

We use mirrors attached to the DVD player in one car and mirrors in the other, so we can see our children just fine. I drive a ton in a small SUV and am tall, but I've adapted to having slightly less leg room.

Click to expand...

What a peanut! My 7 month old girl twin is 21lbs and her twin brother is close to 20. They are in 18 month clothes already! Speaking of that, where did you get the cute clothes? We are heading back in December (and april but who's counting? lol) and I need some of that stuff you have! I think I saw a vendor on etsy that was selling the smocked stuff when I started looking, but I wasn't sure if it would be itchy for them.