Advice for First Trip with Kids

[bweagle]

I'm considering taking our first trip to Disney with the kids in June 2007. DH & I have been to WDW in the past, but are looking for suggestions and advice now that we will have a 3 1/2 year old and 1 year old with us? Also wondering what length of trip we should be looking at here? Thanks!

 

[wrighter]

As you are a "veteran," you probably know better than I do about tips and advice! But our children are the same age (DS 3 1/2 and DD 1) and so your inquiry spoke to me.

I can tell you what we chose to do because of our children's young ages: First, we chose to go during a slow time of year (for us, early February.) Shorter lines, moderate weather, less crowds, etc. All of this will make it more enjoyable for them and for us. And, of course, less expensive during "value season." So we chose to stay in a one bedroom villa at Old Key West. It is a longer commute to the parks, but it's like 200 sq. ft. larger than the other one bedroom vacation club villas. With two littles ones on the move, room to run is big deal for us! With a kitchen and laundry in the unit, we'll have breakfast in the room every day and then lunch at the parks. We're waiting to see what the kids do before we decide about dinners. Ordering groceries from Gardengrocer to be delivered - the kids will be able to eat a lot of their "normal" food, while still getting to eat at the parks occasionally and indulge in a few treats, too.

We chose to arrive on a Sunday, spend five full weekdays there, then return on a Saturday. This gives me the Saturday before the trip to pack while my husband is around to help with kids, and then the Sunday after we get back to unpack, do laundry, etc, before he heads back to work. Plus, we'll only be at the parks on weekdays, again reducing crowd size. Also, we figure five full days there is more than enough for little ones - plus it will give us an idea as to what kind of "park kids" they are, and then we can use that knowledge to plan future trips.

Well, those are the big decisions we made based on the fact that we are bringing young kids. Hope something I said might help with some of your decisions. Good luck!!

 

[traci]

We really do things at their pace.

For us, our kids could handle about 3 hours max at the parks. We find it so worthwile to stay at a monorail resort. Most of our time is spent at MK so that monorail is so beneficial. It makes it so easy to go back and forth throughout the day. We took a lot of breaks. I think with little bitty kiddos you can't cram every thing into your trip. There were some things we just couldn't get to. But the things we did experience were so magical. As they get older I know it will be easier to do it all. But it is so wonderful at this age, seeing Disney through their eyes. Both my husband got all teary-eyed watching the parade with our little ones. The first time I saw my son dancing on Main Street I cried.

Just pace it slower than you would if it were just you and DH. Really take your time and just enjoy what you can. Whatever you don't get to this trip, be sure to hit it the next one! Oh, and we love being in that hotel room - just the 4 of us. Sure it gets crowded, but it is so much FUN!

I love Disney at this age

p.s. last year our babies were 8 months and 22 months.
This trip they are almost 2 and 3 years old. We leave in two days and my sone keeps saying, "When are we going to Mickey Mouses house???"

 

[traci]

I forgot length of trip:

First, we take a direct flight.
We stay 5 nights.
Park hoppers for 3 days.
We like to have a day where we just lounge and relax, because this is our vacation too!

 

[HeatherC]

I think it depends on each family, but our first trip and most thereafter, are for 10 days. We would alternate one park day, one pool/hang out day where we would swim, take a nap, shop, explore, etc..

Surprisingly, the kids at the time of our first trip were 5,3 and 1...and never asked when we were going home. It was so much fun for everyone and because we had the extra time, we didn't feel like we had to go "commando".

But I do know that for a lot of people this is too long to be away from home. I am just a travel fanatic and have now passed it on to my children!!!

Have fun.
HeatherC

 

[Abbracio]

We just got back a week ago from our FIRST trip ever to Disney. There was myself, my hubby, my DS who was almost 3 and my DD who was 15 months.

We had a GREAT first trip!!

We did stay at the Contemporary, which made it verrry easy to come back and take naps. (which we did every day, except one)

We did character meals/buffets every day, but they were all either Family Style or buffet so it was "quick" . We didn't have to wait around for food.

For other meals, we did "quick service", again we didn't want to have to wait around with two little ones.

A decision that we made for our family was that we would be back in our room by 7:00 PM each night. This meant missing fireworks, night shows and night parades. We made the decision that our children's schedule was more important than those events. However, after the kids went to sleep, we were able to watch the fireworks from our balcony.
YES - I would have loved to have seen them, but it was more important that my kids had a normal night time routine - playtime, bathtime, storytime, bedtime!! My baby girl goes to bed between 7:30 -8:00 pm and my son between 8:00-8:30pm.

This worked for US.
All families are different and should do whatever is best for their family.

My kids woke up at their normal (6:30-7:00am ) time and were ready for breakfast and the parks.

This was just the first of many trips we will be making to Disney, so I know that we will eventually get to see those nighttime activities.

We also used the Park Hopper, which was great. We would go to one park in the morning, then back to the hotel for naps, then back to another park or whatever for the late afternoon/early evening. Always being back by 7:00 Pm.

We did us Garden Grocer to delivery stuff for us: diapers, wipes, snacks, water, juice, milk, etc..... They were GREAT!!

When we bought something in the parks, we always had it sent to our hotel so we didn't have to drag the stuff around with us.

We used a double stroller and had no problem folding it up and getting it on the buses or monorail.

We loved that the Contemporary was on the Monorail system.

We LOVED that we could walk to Magic Kingdom from the CR. We did this almost each time we were going to Magic Kingdom. It was easier for us and faster. (only 10 minute walk)

My almost 3 year old did GREAT with the characters and rides. He loved them all!!

My daughter didn't like the characters, especially the ones that had their faces covered like Mickey/Pooh, etc... Hopefully, next time we visit in two years she will love them, too!!

It was a Magical vacation!! I can hardly wait to go back!!

Take care
kathryn

 

[traci]

Kathryn,
I am jealous that your kids are so good at going to sleep at bedtime that is our biggest struggle. Even with a schedule!

sorry o/t back to discussion~

 

[DisneyArk]

You've gotten lots of great advice already.

On our first trip my 2 sons were 18 months and 3 years old. It was such a magical trip.

I agree that it's good to go during the school year. We went in early December and it was still warm and the parks weren't crowded. Plus I loved seeing the Christmas decorations. We went in May of this year and it was already hot and fairly crowded.

Take your time and let the kids enjoy themselves. There were somethings that we did over and over and other things that we skipped when they were 1 and 3. But when they were 3 and 5, they were ready to do so much more! Make note of all the playgrounds and let the kids walk around and get out of the stroller.

We also love park hopping, but that's our family!

My sons love the character meals. If you get to WDW and one of your children does not like the characters then you can always cancel your reservation.

My sons loved Typhoon Lagoon and the kiddie area is great. But if you don't have time for it, your kids will probably have just as much fun at the hotel pool.

We like riding the resort buses. We don't mind waiting and the boys like riding on the bus. Getting in a hot car and navigating is not fun for me - but lots of people choose to have a rental car. A difficult part of riding the bus is folding up the stroller and carrying it on while holding the children (especially if they are asleep).

Our first trip was 4 nights with 4 days in the parks. It wasn't very long, but we had lots of fun! The last 2 trips we have stayed an entire week (but the boys are older now). Have fun planning!