Back from very 1st Trip!!!

[trctjs]

We had a good time....but I'm not addicted at all.

We stayed in a kids suite at HOJO's. We had the ET rate for a few of our nights....and they never asked to see our card. Just gave us the rate. Our kids loved the bunk beds and the water park. The walk wasn't so bad in the morning....but it was brutal at the end of the day. I ended up having to wear the baby and push one of the big kids in the stroller while Dh had to carry another.

My biggest mistake was that I thought we could rent a double stroller....well you can't. We took a single stroller from home for the 18 mo old and planned to rent a double for the 6 and 4 year olds. We could only rent a single and always had a walker. A whiney, over tired walker I might add. (should have brought my own double from home....note for the next time...if there is a next time)

We went to DL the night we arrived for a few hours. That was the only night I got to see fireworks because everyone tired out too early the other days. Then we did 2 full days at DL and 1 day at CA.

We ate at Goofy's Kitchen the first morning. It was awesome! The food was really, really good. We saw Goofy, Pluto, Aurora, Mulan, Baloo, Chip and Dale.

Did lunch at Ariel's Grotto the second day. Our daughter LOVED it there! I didn't think the food was good at all though....and my kids didn't eat anything on their plates. it was a giant waste of money food wise.....but the Princesses were great. We saw Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora and Belle. My daughter was disappointed that we never saw Jasmine but I convinced she was just busy

We ate at PCH Grille the last day. The food wasn't that great....but the entertainment was the best. My kids loved Stitch. He was hilarious. Kept coming by our table and being naughty and ended up in a time out. Fun stuff. We saw Pluto, Stitch, Mickey, Daisy and Minnie there. The baby even liked Daisy and Minnie. She kept pinching Minnie's nose.

The last day we were there Dh had to go back to the airport to get our rental car and the kids laid down for a nap....they slept for 4.5 hours But when they woke up they were given the option of the water park or back to DL....they chose the waterpark at HOJO's

Overall it was a good trip...and the stroller is really my only complaint and I guess I'd have known that if I'd read more here. I doubt that we will go back anytime soon though. It was fun and all...and we didn't get to see everything because little legs tired too easily (as did this pg mama) but I'm not so sure what is so great to go year after year. We'll probably wait 5 years and then hit the World. But who knows....that might change. My Dad lives in Phoenix so it was only a 5 hour drive to his house when we left.

eta: we did have one bad ride experience....we were in A Bug's Land waiting in line forever for the silly ladybug ride (sorry I don't remember the name) The sign said the wait was 5 min.....but really it was more like 25. A baby not to far in front of us was chewing on a straw and spit up. It was on the ground.....no food chunks or anything. Just baby spit up. The mom didn't say anything but the guy in line behind her did. The guy working the ride walked over to look at it....and then pulled the guy and his buddy out of line and let them on the ride with the group that had just gotten on. We all continued to wait. When the ride finished and those people all got off...the guy came out and said they were shutting the ride down and didn't know how long it would be. That mom was irate. She was next in line (he had pulled the guys from behind her) and wasn't very happy that we had to leave. I realize that it's probably policy....but seriously it was baby spit up....not grown up stinky vomit. Seemed like a bit of over kill to me....and my kids were less than impressed that we waited in line that long and didn't even get to ride.

 

[amamax2]

I'm glad you had a good trip over all, but agree that sometimes circumstance can make it less than magical.

We go often, but two trips stand out in that category: once it was just so crowded, we felt claustrophobic and ended up cutting the trip short. Another time, my younger DS had a terrible attitude and he and I were having a talk about it while my older DS and DH rode TOT. When they got off the ride, my DH had this look on his face. He then explained my DS had decided to loosen the restraining belt "a lot" on the ride so he could "float." That resulting in a stern talking to by the CM on the ride. That was the last straw for me, and we ended up leaving to go home right then and there.

On a different note, how was the HOJO kids suite? Did you find it noisy? And were the bunk beds normal sized or smaller than normal? We are thinking of trying it on an upcoming trip, but not sure if my DSs (12, 14 at the time) will fit in the beds.

 

[trctjs]

The kids suite was awesome. We didn't think it was noisy at all. Freeway traffic actually had a soothing sound for us and we didn't need our white noise machine.

The beds seemed normal sized to me....but we don't have twin sized beds at our house so no way to compare really. I crawled up on the top and it was fine (though I am only 5ft short )

I think with kids your age....the walk will be fine. Ours were just too little to have to walk that far at the end of the day. Admittedly I was beat too. But I'm also 15 weeks pg....so I'm using that as my excuse! We didn't have any problems with the little store downstairs. Our milk wasn't frozen like another thread said.

We ate at the IHOP one night and about freaked at the bill though. It was $63......we can order the same amount of food at home and it's around $35. We have dubbed it the world's most expensive IHOP but hey the food was good, service was great, no wait and my kids actually ate there....so it was all good.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Well I'm glad you had a sort of good time ~ we love DLR, prefer it very much over WDW *especially with young kids* too bad about the stroller but yes had you asked here you would've been informed. Well if there is a next time I hope it's a better time.

 

[HydroGuy]

We had a good time....but I'm not addicted at all.

...

Overall it was a good trip...and the stroller is really my only complaint and I guess I'd have known that if I'd read more here. I doubt that we will go back anytime soon though. It was fun and all...and we didn't get to see everything because little legs tired too easily (as did this pg mama) but I'm not so sure what is so great to go year after year. We'll probably wait 5 years and then hit the World. But who knows....that might change. My Dad lives in Phoenix so it was only a 5 hour drive to his house when we left.

Well, for some people that is about right. Some people live near SoCal and go every week. I cannot imagine doing that. For us once a year is about right. We do lots of other non-Disney stuff too.

 

[trctjs]

Overall I'd classify it as a very good time. Just very tiring I guess.

And yes I should have asked.....I knew you could rent them at WDW and I never dreamed that somewhere that is geared towards kids wouldn't have doubles. But you know what happens when you assume anything I don't blame anyone but me for that.

Oh...and if anyone ever realizes that their camera memory cards are all full you can go to the main camera place on the corner of Main Street and they can dump all your photos to a disk for you. The disks are just under $12 each and a DVD is around $17 I think. Not that I did that or anything

 

[trctjs]

We took our kids to Newport Beach before heading to Phoenix. That was fun! I loved seeing their faces when they saw the Ocean for the very first time.

Oh but really the look on my daughters face when she saw the Castle was priceless. I wish I'd have had my camera out. Her eyes got huge and she smacked her hand over her open mouth as she almost screamed 'Oh My Gosh!!!!'

 

[kristie73]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I've been thinking about whether or not to rent a stroller for my 7 year old. We will have our stroller for 3 year old ds, but I'm sure my 7 year old will get tired of walking. We are staying at DLH and will have use of the monorail so I'm hoping we won't need to rent a stroller for him. He can suck it up.

Vacations never go exactly as planned no matter how much you prepare. So there is always something to learn.

Oh well. Hope you do come back, when they get a little older and taller for the other rides.

 

[disneydreamerbelle]

For the older kiddo buy a cheap $10 umbrella stroller to take. You can park it somewhere for the day and just pick it up when you need it. If anything happens to it your only out a couple of bucks. You can even find a family to gift it to if you don't want to transport it home - it makes the walk to the hotel at night much easier.

 

[ceezers]

Good to hear about the HOJO's. We just got back too and we stayed at Peacock Suites. Too far to walk. Should have stayed at HOJOs. OUr kids are 3,6,8,10 and they never complained about walking. We took our jogging stroller each day just in case, but it was just used for carrying jackets and lunch.

 

[trctjs]

I don't know what my kids deals were...they seriously can run our entire neighborhood for hours on end and never complain about walking

They are only 42 and 43" tall though...and Dh is 6'5" and sometimes he walks a bit fast.

I forgot....it was the 4 year old (5 in two weeks) that was the trooper. He loved the roller coasters!! He didn't like Space Mountain much and couldn't ride California Screamin' because he's too short but loved everything else he rode!

 

[NovemberMom]

Ok I am so glad that other people are putting their 7 year olds in strollers. I am bringing 2 strollers one for my 3 year old and one for my 7 year old... only because we are planning on walking to Disneyland than taking ART. It's a 20 minute walk that DH and I can do easily but my 7 year old would be tired within the first hour.

 

[ShellyMouse]

i dont see anything wrong with letting a 7yo sit in a stroller if it makes everyones day easier!! its ALOT of walking!!

my dd's 1st trip to the world, she had just turned 6....i rented a stroller without her asking, 1/2 way through our first day. i could tell she was slowing down already, and we had 5 days to goooooo! sometimes she used it, sometimes she pushed her new stuffed animals in it....but everyone was happy, and thats all that counted!

 

[AmyPond]

Well I'm glad you had a sort of good time ~ we love DLR, prefer it very much over WDW *especially with young kids* too bad about the stroller but yes had you asked here you would've been informed. Well if there is a next time I hope it's a better time.

That's how we are. We love both WDW and Disneyland. But we have NO desire to take small children to WDW ever. Disneyland, on the other hand, I would do with toddlers at the drop of a hat. I think it's so much easier with little ones than WDW.

OP, have you been to WDW before with little ones? I'm curious to know if you thought it was easier or more tiring than Disneyland.

 

[Gisele]

Welcome back!


It sounds like overall you and your family had an awesome time! Yay! Some times I wish someone would push me around in a stroller... let me tell ya! It would be a perfect opportunity for me to take a cat nap, or rest my feet.... see what cutie might want to tickle my chin.... yeah.... OK I will stop there.... he he

 

[gethane]

We went for the first time in March (see trip report #1 in sig) and stayed at HoJo. Enjoyed, but only planned to return because of special life circumstances (see report). However, we went again in May, and stayed at DLH, and it was truly magical. I can't wait to go back! (see trip report #2 in sig)

 

[trctjs]

No I've never been to WDW...ever.....We decided on DL because it is smaller and knowing our kids are younger.

We plan to wait 5 years before returning...that way our oldest will be almost 11 and the baby will be 4.5 and hopefully the older two will be able to walk!

I saw a lot of older/bigger kids in strollers. My almost 7 year old would pass for a preschooler though Really she's only 43" tall and only weighs 44lbs. She's itty bitty. Her 'little' brother is 42" tall and weighs 43lbs. LOL I get the twins question a lot.

 

[farmfresh]

Glad to hear it was fun (if not addictive!)

I think waiting a while is a good idea. I know lots of people take their young kids and have an amazing time, but for us it has become a better and better experience as the kids have got older, can enjoy all the rides, and can cope with the walking, crowds and full on stimulation. Maybe that will happen for you too.

We're looking forward to our next trip, which will have some Halloween excitement - just right for the pre-teen in our group!