What are your best tips for first timers with young kids?

[Drew*smom]

Friends have been asking me...so, I thought I'd ask you all as well. What are your best tips for WDW with young kids (say 5 and under)?

Thanks in advance!
-Maria

 

[Perditamarie]

Here is what worked for us:

* bring your own stroller

* bring in a cooler bag w/juice (often hard to find at snack carts and no lines if you bring with) and familiar snacks....avoids lines and meltdowns!

* plan time for the pool....kids love the pool as much as the parks

* limit restaurant time unless kids used to eating out...takes a lot of time and parents won't get to eat while it is hot anyway! However, Character buffets are great and save time waiting in lines to meet the characters in the parks

* Try to stick to normal bedtimes.....also, kids may not like fireworks...too loud and not worth staying up late for if kids will be cranky.

 

[Redbudlover]

NAPS. In a word, naps. Even if your kids have outgrown them. The stimulas of the parks and the excitement is exhausting - and that is even above and beyond the walking. Make the trip about stuff they love. If an adult wants to ride a roller coaster or something have the other adult take the child to one of the play areas. Do not try to do everything. Let the child have fun looking at stuff and sniffing flowers and playing in the fountains. Have relaxed short easy meals and take them back for a nap. Lie down with them in a cool, dark room. Then go back at 5 when you are rested and happy. Watch all the cranky, tired, crying kids leaving the park with cranky parents and rejoice. This is a happy place. Be happy. Remember you are there to give the kids a good time, not to ride very ride n the park or to get autographs from every character while you stand in long hot lines.

I take my now just turned 4 year old DGD every year by myself - and I am an older grandmother. We both nap. We play. We watch ducks.

 

[lathamary]

My advice:

Move Slow; be relaxed. You aren't going to be able to see and do everything.

Be flexible; we avoid scheduling anything. We don't do table service for meals, because you generally need a reservation, and we don't want to have to be anywhere at any certain time. We like to maintain our flexibility. We eat when we're hungry. Easy peasy.

Patience, patience, and more patience

 

[Wendybird55]

Plan the trip for your kids and be flexible to change them when needed.

I had been to Disney many time before I brought my son (who was almost 2 at the time) for the first time (he also wente when he was almost 3 and his third trip is planned for this Sept when he'll almost be 4.) When planning the trips he was the top priority. I picked restaurants that I thought would be fun for him with an atmosphere that would keep him occupied. I looked at the menus on allears to make sure there was some food he liked. I made our ADRS based on his usual meal schedule at home.

We went on rides and attractions best suited for him. If there was something he really liked and wanted to do again - we did. If there was something that scred him, I didn't force him.

We brought his own stroller, snacks he likes, small toys to occupy him in restaurants. My son usually isn't a napper, but if he seemed to be getting over tired we took him back to the room. The first year I didn't plan any late evening events (Spectro, fireworks, etc) because I knew my son would go all day without a nap and then crash in the evening.

Disney is fun, wonderful and overwhelming for any age. And there is so much to see and do sometimes it's hard not to want to do it all. Plus, it's not the cheapest vacation going so you want to make sure you "get your money's worth".

If it's a first time for both parents and young children I couldn't stress enough to plan the trip for the kids. Don't expect to see and do everything and don't plan on keeping up a fast pace. If they don't think they will go back to Disney soon or that this is their one big Disney trip then maybe they should wait until the kids are older so they (both kids and parents) can do and see more. Remember we're all big kids at Disney and I think sometimes kids get so cranky and tired because first-time Disney parents are as excited and want to see and do it all and the kids can't keep up.

If you've been to Disney before then it's much easier in that you've seen and done many of the things you wanted already and you won't feel as obligated to do them this time around. Plus you already have an idea of how things go at Disney.

If your toddler is happy then you are happy. Sure, a signature restaurant has great food and the fireworks and nighttime parades are wonderful to watch, but if you're with a restless, cranky, overtired kid, trust me they won't be as wonderful as they could be. A buffet at a character meal with my kid happy, eating the chicken nuggets and ice cream and occupied by the characters is much more enjoyable for me then a 5-star restuarant with gourmet food that is to die for and a fidgety, noisey, unhappy toddler.

 

[laughinplace199]

Try to keep mealtimes and nap/bedtimes as close to your regular routine as possible. We've been taking our kids to Disney since they were infants (oldest is now 10) and we have avoided major meltdowns by doing this.

 

[2Tiggers]

This is what we did:

tour early making sure to get in 3-4 of the have to do's done. If anything gets done after that it's a bonus. We had that mentality. We wanted to enjoy and not do commando. But, if that is what someone likes, go for it. It's not for us.

Then back to the hotel swim and enjoy...

Then dinner reservations if you have them and maybe (and I say maybe) tour some more.

We really liked having lunch TS. That meant we could do morning touring have lunch and then what ever happened, happened.

I will say that what mostly happened was the trip to the pool in the afternoon. And laying in the hammocks while the kids played in the sand. We stayed at CBR... That always insured a nice balance between parks and resorts. With a nice TS mixed in.

I know not everyone vacations the same way, but for us with little kids we were not going to stress out.

I hope they have a magical time....who wouldn't

 

[MamaJessie]

Get up and out early while they are filled with energy

Don't overschedule. Have a general idea of what you want to do but don't push them. If they're tired and you insist they ride something because they should or it's one of the classics... well that's how meltdowns happen.

Stop and try to see the park through their eyes. Seriously. It makes you slow down for a minute and it is amazing.

Do one character meet & greet or breakfast. Watching my daughter-2 with Minnie (her hero) brought DH to tears and may be my favorite memory ever.

 

[grace&philipsmom]

Definitely plan a mid afternoon break. We also tried to stick to our kids regular schedules - regular meals etc.

We knew we would be back again, so we took our time. We picked a couple of things we wanted to do in each park and anything extra was a bonus.

We find disney with our small kids to be a family fun and relaxing vacation.

 

[monorailsilver]

NAPS. In a word, naps. Even if your kids have outgrown them. The stimulas of the parks and the excitement is exhausting - and that is even above and beyond the walking. Make the trip about stuff they love. If an adult wants to ride a roller coaster or something have the other adult take the child to one of the play areas. Do not try to do everything. Let the child have fun looking at stuff and sniffing flowers and playing in the fountains. Have relaxed short easy meals and take them back for a nap. Lie down with them in a cool, dark room. Then go back at 5 when you are rested and happy. Watch all the cranky, tired, crying kids leaving the park with cranky parents and rejoice. This is a happy place. Be happy. Remember you are there to give the kids a good time, not to ride very ride n the park or to get autographs from every character while you stand in long hot lines.

I take my now just turned 4 year old DGD every year by myself - and I am an older grandmother. We both nap. We play. We watch ducks.

I couldn't agree with you more about those naps. They are important. I was fortunate to take one my last trip. The other days I ran around doing laundry while my husband & my then 7½ dd, nearly 5 yo ds & 2½ dd napped (OK my ds wouldn't nap but he did have quiet time with the lights off/tv off/curtains closed).

We get up at the crack of dawn & do the EMH park (and get there before it opens). We have lunch there & head back to our room for nap/rest time. Then we head back at dinner time with well rested kids & a dad but a tired mom but she is in Disney & figures she (well I) can live with out sleep for a few more days. My kids did fine staying up until 11 with out the cranky pants attitudes.

We do a non park day. Last trip I was lucky to have 2 non-park days to recoup.

We bring breakfast & eat it in our room. Our kids eat while dh & I take turns showering. OK, reality, I wake up at 6, take a quick shower (I take another one after rest time), get the kids clothes out & start opening the blinds at which time my dh finally wakes up. So we eat & are ready to go to the park vs us getting ready & just sitting there waiting to go & grab a bite to eat somewhere.

I am OK with the fact that I didn't ride Space Mountain in 2002. I had riden it every trip I had previously taken except in 1975 since I was not quite 4 then. But it was OK, just seeing my dd, then 15 months old, be so happy, I didn't care anymore about Space Mountain or Spash Mountain or Test Track, etc... It was all about her.

It is OK if the kids get soaked under the various sprinklers. They will dry off (but I go in the summer so the do need that cool down).

Have water bottles for the parks & some small snacks while waiting in line.

Use a stroller if your kid is still of age or even just over that OK age.

Just enjoy your self & don't over do it.

 

[carolinagirl121]

Bring your own stroller. Bring everything disposable you can. Being able to throw away bibs and such is much easier than hauling all that stuff with you. Underschedule yourself. If you do more without meltdowns, you can be pleasantly suprised rather than being disappointed. Plan for a mid-visit recharge (a full day if possible). Lastly, enjoy your trip!