Best tip for going to WDW with young children?

[lovmy2girls]

Take a break mid day. Go back and rest, take a nap. Its hard on young kids going full tilt boogie till 10:00 at night. Thats the best tip I got, and the most important one for us.

 

[karenbaco]

My tip is........
Mark your child somehow with your cell phone number incase they get lost in the crowds. No matter what the age. We lost our 11 year old in December and thankfully she knew her dads cell phone number and we were reunited. Very Important!!!! Someone suggested before, going and getting one of those dog tags engraved with childs name and parents cell numbers and attached it to shoelaces. Or on a necklace.
Good luck!
OOps.... also bring cheap toss out ponchos for unexpected rain they are wonderful!!!!
Karen

 

[english rose 47]

We plan on staying in the park all day too, I'm trying to plan the day so we hit the must do's early and space out the rest of the day with relaxing times in cool places often. A stroller for the 5 year old if he needs a napand having a rest day in the middle of the trip. I loved the stickee idea will add it to my packing list. I also read about using the shower curtain for a privacy curtain at the vanity.

 

[Mr._The_King]

My mom works in Disney and suggests never putting your kids name on them in a visible place. It can be very dangerous. Putting your contact info on your child and teaching them to go to a cast member is the way to go. Also take a digital picture of your little one every morning so you have a current picture. Know the shoes your child has on as well.

 

[uncle_donald]

We took our son, at 10 weeks and 1 1/2; and both times the TTA in Tomorrowland was his favorite place to go. Its a nice long ride, and usually doesn't have a long line (even over Christmas). Every day that we were at MK, he'd fall asleep on the transit authority, and stay asleep for 2 hrs in the park. Allowing the missus and I to still enjoy the park, without leaving for 4 hours.

 

[mikkiwikki]

The flip side of this...is that there is nothing ...and i mean NOTHING......like seeing your baby ...see mickey for the first time!!!

Our last trip we took our kids were 3 and 5. I dont regret it ..not even for a second. We are going again next year! and guess what - we probably will go every year forward. I never understood the "kids are too young" mentality.

First of all if you do no plan on going all the time (I am 12 and have gone once), then make sure it is a time when they can remember it. My parents regret taking me so young because I couldn't go on many of the rides. Secondly, Park Hoppers are a must! Going back to the resort for naps keeps everyone awake. Get maps before leaving online to plan when to go on which rides to keep walking distances short.

 

[SLDL]

The flip side of this...is that there is nothing ...and i mean NOTHING......like seeing your baby ...see mickey for the first time!!!

Our last trip we took our kids were 3 and 5. I dont regret it ..not even for a second. We are going again next year! and guess what - we probably will go every year forward. I never understood the "kids are too young" mentality.

ITA. I have heard that before & you just can't explain that look on their face or that squeal when they see Mickey for the 1st time. And believe me, I take plenty of pictures for memories sake!!

Re: this post, it has been so helpful for me. One thing I'd like to add...my son's 1st trip was a couple of days after his 1st b-day & we've been twice since then (he's 3 1/2)...I suggest bringing small glow sticks or a tiny flashlight just in case he was afraid of the dark in one of the rides. I think we used it once or twice, but I felt better just having it if needed. Also, we always like to stop at the grocery store on the way in & pick up milk & diapers so we don't have to bring any of that with us. Once we rented the fridge for the room & another time we used one of those folding cooler bags & just filled w/ ice everyday (we'll probably bring a big cooler this time since we'll be driving).

I'm also interested in someone who mentioned rides that scared your child which you didn't expect. This time we'll be taking our almost 4 yr. old & 1 yr. old.
And thanks to the mom that suggested bringing extra clothes for older kids...I'm sure my 4 yr. old will get too busy for the bathroom too!

 

[momimouse27]

ITA. I have heard that before & you just can't explain that look on their face or that squeal when they see Mickey for the 1st time. And believe me, I take plenty of pictures for memories sake!!

Re: this post, it has been so helpful for me. One thing I'd like to add...my son's 1st trip was a couple of days after his 1st b-day & we've been twice since then (he's 3 1/2)...I suggest bringing small glow sticks or a tiny flashlight just in case he was afraid of the dark in one of the rides. I think we used it once or twice, but I felt better just having it if needed. Also, we always like to stop at the grocery store on the way in & pick up milk & diapers so we don't have to bring any of that with us. Once we rented the fridge for the room & another time we used one of those folding cooler bags & just filled w/ ice everyday (we'll probably bring a big cooler this time since we'll be driving).

I'm also interested in someone who mentioned rides that scared your child which you didn't expect. This time we'll be taking our almost 4 yr. old & 1 yr. old.
And thanks to the mom that suggested bringing extra clothes for older kids...I'm sure my 4 yr. old will get too busy for the bathroom too!

Im not sure if my message was the one you were referring to...we took my son last Oct.-just turned 3. It never dawned on me that he would be afraid because he is such a daredevil anyway!

Well, the first ride we went on was The Great Movie Ride, and I forgot that it had that Alien thing in it. From that point on, he was petrified when we went into anything. He even screamed when I tried to get him to sit down at Playhouse Disney Live. It took a couple of days to get him calmed down and get him to realize that all the rides were not scary.... I wish I had thought that out more. But when he did calm down, he loved Spaceship Earth and stuff like Aladdins Carpets and Small World. (We ended up riding SE about 5 times!)

 

[sconnell]

What a great thread! There have been some really great tips on here!
I'll add a few.
*If you will be staying for a little longer trip and are flying, ship your things like diapers, snacks, & toys. It can be really inexpensive to have them shipped right to your resort. Just make sure that your package has all of your info on it so they will know who it's for! lol.

*We do put the engraved id tags on our kids' shoes. Our DD4 has a red heart and DS almost2 just got a brand new Superman tag. He loves it. Name, Dad's cell phone, and a contact (grandparent for us) back home in case cell's are not working. If child is missing, one parent call's contact to make sure they are on the alert. Hasn't happend yet, but it puts us at ease. (Plus it makes a little jingle sound so you can hear them in quiet places like stores. lol.)

*personal fans with foam blades- my kids love these. The foam blades make it safer for little fingers. (do make sure to watch them though, as they aren't really toys) They new ones I got have a clip & flashlight!

*If you aren't going into the parks on your last day when you check out. Schedule a Character Breakfast/brunch at a resort (Like Chef Mickey's) so that your kids can say bye-bye to Mickey! (or whoever the characters are at that place)

*Little things that make waiting easier- bubbles, snacks, pipe cleaners, glow-in-the-dark or light-up things, posing for pictures (especially if you have a digital camera & can show them the results immediately, works great with my little hams!)

Oh, gosh I know I have more. I'm going to have to come back.

 

[Karrie Davis]

I've heard from some parents (while we were at WDW last time) that these playgrounds are a nightmare with little ones. We didn't even attempt them last time. Any opinions?

QUOTE]

We were there this past September. 12 of us! Our little travelers were 19 mts, 3, 4 . We LOVED the play areas. You have 2 kids and there are two of you so each of you pick a child and just let them do whatever they want. I think it is easy is you give them space while sill being there close enough but you don't have to be next to them just close. You are going in September so it won't be that crazy, we had some space . Often the of them would just play for ever together in one place, like by the water


My Tips:

Bring extra clothes because they will get SO wet every place you go.

Do water sandles so they have a shoe that can be wet and still be comfortable. We had the wettest tennis on day one and they NEVER dried even after days! Day 2 we put on the nike water sandles and were SO HAPPY we had them, I think our sons feet would have rotted off in his reg. shoes.

We tried the parks commando style at first but out son got so miserable by the the 3rd day that we gave up on the rest of our party and did it our way. It took a few days to recover for him and when we go this November we are doing it slow and just for him We will get the kids night out sitters for 2 times (4-5 hours each) for him to really do nice naps while we ride some big rides. We also are doing a 1 bedroom at OKW so we can do down time well

 

[100AcreWood]

We took dd for the first time at 2 1/2. I would also say make sure you put an ID on your child, get a rain cover for the stroller if you're going during the rainy season, and remember they will have meltdowns.

Also, before the first trip I made a little notebook with pictures of the plane, hotel, Disney bus, Disney rides, etc. Anything I could think of we might encounter including characters. I found lots of great pictures on allearsnet.com. I showed the book to dd almost every day several weeks before the trip to get her used the to idea. I did the same thing for the second trip but by then you just had to say Disney and she jumped up and down!

Also, I had a bad experience at the Pooh's Thoughtful Spot in MK. I still plan to let dd play there - it's a great place to cool off but I am disappointed with parents who don't keep one eye on their child. Dd was playing at one of the sprinklers and another kid came up and was angry and grabbed her by the shirt. I was already up because I had a nasty feeling about the little boy. Fortunately my dd doesn't take much and she gave him what for! Then not two minutes later he purposely STOMPED another kid's hand who was playing with the sprinkler. So my only suggestion is keep an eye on your child but let them have fun!

 

[merrywether]

We're just back from our trip (my 2 yr old's first one) and the tips in this thread were incredibly helpful - so thanks to all!

We were glad we brought our own stroller - it was comfortable for my son and it had plenty of room for us to throw our stuff in it so we were more relaxed hiking to the gate at the airport, and stowing souvenirs in the parks. My son was content to sit in the stroller as there was so much for him to take in around him, he forgot he wasn't running wild!

He surprised my husband and I because we were sure that he was going to get antsy during the 4th of July fireworks in Epcot. When it was done (and they were incredible) he said "more fireworks"!

The walmart squirt bottle/fan came in very handy and the rest of the family kept "borrowing" it as well!

We did find that leaving the park in the middle of the afternoon for a swim/nap was helpful not only for our son, but for us, too. The parks were open late, so it gave plenty of time to get some rest and relaxation and get back to the parks for more fun. We were all much more relaxed.

The one thing I'd do differently next time is forget trying to deal with hurting ears while flying by having my son suck on a pacifier or a sippy cup. He screamed and was shaking with terror the first 45 minutes of the trip. Luckily I had brought benadryl in my carry on and gave him some after feeling helpless to calm or pacify him a half hour into the flight. On the way home, I smartened up and gave him a dose before we got on the plane. He slept the first half of the flight and was content the final half.

The tips were much appreciated, all. You helped make our first major vacation with our son go quite smoothly! Thanks!

Kim

 

[sconnell]

The tips were much appreciated, all. You helped make our first major vacation with our son go quite smoothly! Thanks!

Yeah! So glad your trip went well. Isn't this what the DIS is all about? Helping each other and getting great Disney tips?