A 4 night Dream... with a Toddler (lots of pics) Sept 2011

[MandyMommytoReaghan]

Great TR!! Loved all your pictures!! I too found it easy cruising with a 1 year old in tow We found that our stroller was a life saver at times especially when our sweet baby feel asleep. What kind of camera did you to capture your pictures? It took great shots!!

[ohsoblessed]

Thanks for posting your trip report and sharing your beautiful family. Your pictures are great. We leave in less than two months.

[MagicLovinMama]

Such a wonderful report! We are cruising in April with DS who will be 3 weeks short of a year old. He is a fair-skinned, blue-eyed baby boy like yours These tips are so great and I really enjoyed all of your pictures, too. Looks like everyone had a great time! I look forward to seeing the scanned "official tips" sheet as well.

[annetria]

The pictures are great (I agree the one of you and DS is adorable). My kiddos are older, but it's still great to see the things that you did. Can't wait for my first trip in July.

[jordgubben]

Someone asked what kind of camera we use. We have a couple of different Canons. The majority of the pictures in this report were taken with our Canon PowerShot Elph 300 HS which is an awesome point and shoot. We also have a Canon DSLR but that actually stayed in the bag most of the time on this trip.

Additionally, I use Picasa to edit my photos (adjusting crop, red eye, fill light) before sharing them.

One other thing I did on this trip in an effort to get better pictures was to try and coordinate our outfits a bit. These are pictures I took of DH and DS's outfits in when I was trying to figure out what to pack myself.



Fortunately we all wear similar colors. I packed DS's outfits in a ziplock and included a note which said what shirt DH and I were supposed to wear that day. As for things like the sippy cup matching DS's swim outfit perfectly, that was a happy accident.

I feel like the biggest thing to remember when taking pictures of toddlers and children is to get down to their level. I do a lot of squatting, kneeling and sitting on the floor when I'm taking pictures of DS. DH does a lot of just holding the camera lower and looking down at the LCD instead of having the camera up near his face.

[Conceptualice]

Thank you so much for posting this. While we have gone on a cruise before with our toddler, (non disney), I wasn't sure of some things to expect ( like if he was allowed in the oceanears club). Thankyou so much for posting this story and the tips!

[jedijill]

Great report! Your little man is a doll...so cute!

Jill in CO

[CastleLight]

Thanks so much for posting your report. It is so helpful. We'll be sailing with our 2 little ones.

[Cari2109]

You're son is absolutely adorable!! Thanks for writing such a great review.

[WAHkoMom]

You did a nice job writing this and your pictures were great! I love the one of you and your son at CC in the water - that's a keeper, so no need to apologize for including it!

My kids are older, so I did not need your tips, but I was curious whether or not families that bring toddlers on DCL were able to enjoy themselves. So glad to see you did!

Oh, and my 13yo DD saw one of your pictures on my laptop and squealed, "Oh my gosh, that little boy is so cute!!!"

[sparty7798]

I enjoyed reading your report. We are going in March and will have a 9 month old. I saw your report about the strollers in castaway. How did that work and where did you pick them up?

Thanks!

[WDWLinda]

Thanks for sharing your report and your family pics. My toddler days are over but I'm still happy to read about and see the boat - we'll be going in Nov. 2013. Your info on transfers and staying in the hotel at MCO was helpful. I'm very impressed about the coordinating outfits and pictures of each, and I laughed at the pic of your Mom and Dad on the Aquaduck - that was funny!

Thanks!
Linda

[jordgubben]

I finally got around to adding the the Infant and Toddler tip sheet I promised long ago (sorry! It's been an "interesting" month.). I also scanned in the information from Hyatt MCO regarding luggage transfer for those interested. Thanks for reading and, for those who are booked or looking, enjoy your upcoming cruise!