Disney with a toddler

[la79al]

We just got back from a 5 day trip with DD (19 months). It is making me (and DH) second guess our spring trip. DD did great. We stayed up late and got up relatively early and she got very short naps and NO tantrums at all! But it was so.much.work. Get up, get myself and DD dressed, luckily she doesn't really eat breakfast so trek to the bus stop, somebody grab diaper bag, somebody collapse and grab stroller, somebody grab baby, hope for seats on the bus, where the stroller won't be too much in the way, get to the parks and go in slow motion for a few hours, only to turn around and do it in reverse. And that's not even taking into account meals..... My DD had tons and tons of fun, and the rest of us did too, but it feels like we got nothing done, did not get to relax at all and ended up spending our last 2 days rushing around to at least get a few things done. I'm hoping that I just needed a learning experience and that things will go smoother in the spring. Please, please tell me that for some reason, I made this trip harder than it needed to be!

 

[ms_missy66]

I think the only thing you may have done wrong is taking deliberate time to relax. I remember when my girls were toddlers, we would go go go and then crash for half a day somewhere in the middle. I know tons of people are fans of the mid-day break for a few hours. I have to admit I am not and never have been. But I also know it's NO fun if you're exhausted. So think about when you were most tired and opt out for a bit.

I remember feeling exactly like you do. In fact, I remember going before I had children and making fun (in my head) of people who came to WDW with tiny kids. It was like mom had the baby, dad had the stroller, grandma had the bag and grandpa had the photographic equipment. I wondered, "how the heck is it worth it?" Since having kids...it is. It gets easier.

 

[MrsGoofyMitchell]

I am going in February with my son who will be 2. Now I'm really hoping everything will go okay! We figure we will just go "Hayden" style and let him lead how things go. I know we are definitely planning on going back to the hotel to relax because he does a noon-3 nap at home. And we are taking free days too. Yikes!

 

[nursegirl]

Agree with PP, you have to schedule the downtime.

How long is your spring trip? If you can work in an afternoon at the pool or skip the park opening in the morning, you may feel a little less rushed. We are different from PP, however, if we are onsite, we go back most days for the midday nap or whatever. The last few years, if we stay a full week, we take an entire day off to shop or play in the arcade and pool, etc. Another thing is that we don't try and see too much at the parks. If you are planning to go lots more, what your DD will enjoy will change and it will get better - all the stuff you have to take will diminish, until you don't even have a stroller!!!

We have certainly felt your pain, though, and have needed a vacation from our vacation.

 

[la79al]

We DID do downtime. We took about 3 hours off from our MK day for the pool (it was supposed to be for a nap but DD had other plans). Our entire next day was at DTD and checking out resort decorations. I think a lot of the problem was the stroller/diaper bag and transportation. I am thinking about taking a different stroller in the spring, or even renting one of the park ones, taking a different kind of diaper bag, and/or renting a car. I'm already trying to talk hubby into flying though (cause there's no way I can help with the drive home if the spring trip is like this trip) so we'll have to see. And I'm going to spend the next few months tweaking the packing lists.
MrsGoofy--you will have tons of fun. Just don't expect to do even half the rides/shows in any park. And don't expect DS to stick to his normal nap schedule. DD naps at home around noon for 1.5 hours. There were days on the trip where she would pass out at 4:30 and be up 20 minutes later. It really is a great trip, just a different kind of trip.

 

[micheleq]

Life with a toddler is exhausting, Disney is no exception LOL! My younger DD was 18 months when we went.

Use a backpack as a diaper bag. Hands-free does make things a bit easier.

Bring a lightweight stroller that you know you can easily fold.

Sounds like your DD was very good, no tantrums or difficulties. You'll have your DH and stepchildren with you on your next trip I assume, so why think of cancelling the trip on the older children just because of the toddler (who just got her own trip)? I'm sure you are just tired after a vacation with a small child. I felt like I needed a vacation after our Disney trip!

Factor in some more down time, and enlist your family to help. Maybe DH or one of the older children wears the backpack or is in charge of the stoller.

You'll be fine, have a great trip with all your kids.

 

[kim_o]

I'm actually not a fan of scheduling in downtime. Everyone says to do the midday breaks, but I couldn't imagine having to get everything back on the bus (only to have the child fall asleep on the bus) and then get back to the room with a child that now has a second wind, and then repeat to get back to the parks. We just plan to be in the parks all day, and the kids always fall asleep in the stroller around 2-3pm and sleep for an hour or two. At which point the adults will sit in the shade and have a snack or just relax.

 

[estherhead]

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it will be no different in the spring. I've taken babies & toddlers of all ages and it is always exhausting for the mom. If it's any consolation, all vacations when you have toddlers are exhausting. Beach vacations, National park vacations, etc.

We've done naps, no naps, scheduled breaks, spontaneous breaks, etc. It doesn't matter. The mom comes home tired. The good news is in a month you'll be able to look at the photos & videos with tears in your eyes and remember the magic and not the exhaustion.

Spring will be the same. If Disney is worth it to you, then go. Knowing there will be magical moments and lots of laughter and you will need at least a week of vacation when you get home.

 

[brockash]

We just got back from a 5 day trip with DD (19 months). It is making me (and DH) second guess our spring trip. DD did great. We stayed up late and got up relatively early and she got very short naps and NO tantrums at all! But it was so.much.work. Get up, get myself and DD dressed, luckily she doesn't really eat breakfast so trek to the bus stop, somebody grab diaper bag, somebody collapse and grab stroller, somebody grab baby, hope for seats on the bus, where the stroller won't be too much in the way, get to the parks and go in slow motion for a few hours, only to turn around and do it in reverse. And that's not even taking into account meals..... My DD had tons and tons of fun, and the rest of us did too, but it feels like we got nothing done, did not get to relax at all and ended up spending our last 2 days rushing around to at least get a few things done. I'm hoping that I just needed a learning experience and that things will go smoother in the spring. Please, please tell me that for some reason, I made this trip harder than it needed to be!

Did you take breaks in the middle of the day and then go back to a park? When we went with my dd (17 months at the time) we started out doing that, but man did that turn out to be a big pita. For me, it was really a lot dealing with the buses/strollers ect. 4 times (for a break) as oppose to just one in the morning and one at night. By the 3rd day, we just stopped doing the breaks, and it really helped for us, and dd did fine sleeping in the stroller when she needed to. We went again when dd was 2 and we only did breaks 2 days and I didn't feel as overwhelmed with the whole stroller/bus thing.
Also, where did you stay? We've stayed at ASMo twice, and while we really do like the resort better, the bus service was always so questionable as to if you'd get a seat ect., and with a baby that's a big deal. We stayed at Pop this past Sept. and the bus service was outstanding. Everything else I liked better at ASMo, but you couldn't beat the buses. We NEVER stood, and at closing they always had bus coming after bus and at least 1/2 the time, there were 2 buses loading at the same time, so you may want to consider that as well, or if you can afford it I'd be staying on the monorail somewhere.
I also agree with the pp that said that vacationing with a baby/toddler anywhere and disney really is no different. We went to the beach when my dd was 15 months, and it was exhausting. We really didn't do much at all, but just the fact that you're somewhere that isn't neccessarily baby proof ect. -it's tiring. I'd go to disney again though in the spring in a second, but it's really up to you guys and if you want to do it all again, but I agree tha it'll basically be the same exhaustion anywhere you go.

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

I'm actually not a fan of scheduling in downtime. Everyone says to do the midday breaks, but I couldn't imagine having to get everything back on the bus (only to have the child fall asleep on the bus) and then get back to the room with a child that now has a second wind, and then repeat to get back to the parks. We just plan to be in the parks all day, and the kids always fall asleep in the stroller around 2-3pm and sleep for an hour or two. At which point the adults will sit in the shade and have a snack or just relax.

I agree! I think the in-and-out of the parks part is the most tiring - once inside, there are lots of places to rest, IMO. Last December, we had DD who was 22 months and I was 7 months pregnant, but we had a WONDERFUL time. We did rest a lot, but we didn't do it going back to our room - we'd just find a relaxing place to sit and chill for a little bit and that made a huge difference. We did take our time with rides, but we were able to go on a lot more than I thought! I'd say we did almost all of the rides that our DD was able to go on (and some more than once). We definitely made use of Fastpass (sent DH if needed) and if we walked by something with a low wait time, we just did it then.

I totally agree about the transportation thing. The busses are a HUGE pain with kids! All the stuff to bring with you, the stroller, and the crowds... ugh! I remember DH and I discussing that the next time we'd love to rent a car. Since we got a good rate on Hotwire, we thankfully are this time! I hope you get good ideas to make your next trip better... personally, even though it's a little bit more work with toddlers, I think it's SO much fun, and I hope you do, too!

 

[alyssa810]

This is another reason why we ALWAYS rent a car. We've only stayed onsite without a car, and that was before we were parents, and we vowed we would never, ever do it again. With the car we can easily jat back to our room for down time, be it for my DH or my DS with a nap or a dip in the pool. Our DS will nap in his stroller, and sometimes the time spent out of the room will make him nice and tired for a good night sleep. We too get up early and tend to stay out late, but we also take cues from how our DS is doing...so we have days that we do take a break, but there are also days where we're out from early morning to late evening.

 

[pmanko]

I could of wrote your post. we just got back from a 6 night stay with our 2 1/2 year son and yes, we are exhausted! It is a lot of work with an active toddler. But, we realize we probably won't do a disney trip every year and this was his first.
We stayed in a one bedroom villa at AKL - Kidani village. At this age, and from traveling 3 to 5 times a year we have learned it is better to spurge and pay for the extra bedroom and kitchen and yes W&D! ALL worth the extra buck - we rented points and it got the room for about $230 a night. Still a lot of money - but, again Disney is going to be expensive and staying in a so called bargain room only to have to eat out 3 times a day and be stone quite while your child is napping/sleeping right next to you just isn't worth it to us.
Now, I some parents will disagree with me - but, if you child needs a nap at home -then they most certainly need a nap during vacation! And they "experts" all agree - naps in strollers/car seats don't count! Kids need naps to grow, shut down, allow them to be happy little individuals.... we saw way too many unhappy, tired, fussy, screaming children with big dark circles under thier eyes... I felt so bad for them. They looked miserable and were making everyone miserable around them!
We got up early most days (by 7:30 AM) and made the rope drop twice. We came back every day for his afternoon nap (usually from 1 to 3) and then got back on the bus to the park for the evening until about 7 or 8. His bedtime did seem to get pushed back about 30 mins to 1 hr later then normal; I think it just took him longer to unwind than normal.
It is hectic - running back to the room for the nap - heading back to park twice a day... no way around that - but, the payoff is having a happy child and to me that is what it is all about.
BUT, every child is different. And the parent who doesn't value the child's sleep at home certainly won't make any changes at Disney... no wonder there is so many sleep deprived people out there - we are creating them!
Just know that every age will come ups and downs and at this age they little faces show so much joy at the simpliest things! God love them!

 

[kpm76]

We just returned with our 2.5 yr old DD and this was her 3rd trip to WDW. It was amazing and it was by far our best trip ever! I think one thing you have to consider is expectations. DH and I never got to ride BTMRR or Splash and we didn't get to take DD on Snow White. She did ride Goofy's Barnstormer about a half a dozen times though! You will never ever see and do everything you want to with a toddler in tow. We were there 8 full days and as I mentioned, we still missed things, but we knew this would happen, we prepared ourselves for it and in the end we were not at all disappointed.

Rent a car next time. We never go to WDW anymore without a car. We did ride Disney transportation a few times because DD wanted to ride the "Disney school busses" as she called them.

Every kid is different with regard to breaks and naps but I could never imagine going from morning until night with DD. She thrives on routine and we tried our best to stick to her normal schedule which meant a break from about noon to 3pm and back to the resort for bed by 7:30pm. Sure, we missed time in the parks but the time we did have in the parks was far more enjoyable because we had a well rested child.

Resort choice can make a difference. We stayed at Pop for the first two nights of our stay before moving over to the BWV. Life was sooooo much easier and more enjoyable when we were at the BW.

Have a great trip in the Spring

 

[princessmorgan]

I was laughing when I read your post, OP, because I was thinking, one child and only one stroller, now that's cake No, but I definitely know what you mean. We have been to Disney many times with our young ones. This last trip and the trip before we had a double stroller and a single stroller And we rode the buses. I will say we (the parents) always come home exhausted, but we never want to come home. I go into it with that expectation. It'll be nice when the kids are older, but I love this stage, too. It's just pure joy and excitement to see the characters.

We kind of play things by ear. Sometimes we do naps, sometimes we don't. Since we've been so many times, we know what our favorite attractions are and which ones we can skip. We also never go during peak season, because a super crowded Disney World would drive me nuts. I will say when we stayed at the Polynesian, it was so nice with the strollers. We never had to collapse them, which was so helpful! Plus we always go to the MK the most, so it was a very pleasant and relaxing time.

 

[PEANUT1]

funny..I agree with above poster..taking one toddler seems easy now that I have 2

seriously though, I agree about not taking buses..I think it is much more work than if you rent a car. You can totally be on your own schedule and lots of times they fall asleep in the car on the way back

 

[pixarmom]

I'll echo some of the previous posts on many points. Princessmorgan and peanut 1, I'm with you! We have 3 very active boys (one is a toddler/preschooler) and we love WDW!

A few thoughts: first, yes to the backpack diaper bag!!!!! I simply could not keep up if I didn't have both hands as free as possible at all times. (And that's not just at Disney!) Second, we don't do naps or hotel breaks, and our three boys do wonderfully (including each one when they were toddlers/preschoolers.) But that's different for everyone, so that really depends on your child - but maybe try it for a day and see if cutting out all that transportation time and back-and-forth makes things better - it did for us. And third, it's not likely to be entirely different in the spring, but maybe that's OK! I know vacations won't be relaxing, but I have a lot of fun and find a lot of peace in having a great time with happy kids. PP mentioned that mom will always be exhausted, but those memories are priceless. I always try to think about that while I'm there and while I'm tired, and it makes me really happy!

 

[kbheap]

It DOES get easier. My sister and I both have annual passes and between the two of us we have 5 kids under the age of 7. We have gotten from the point of going with 1 kid and 5 adults to now my sister and I go just the 2 adults with all 5 kids. You start figuring out which strollers work, which diaper bags work, etc. Here is what my suggestions are:
stroller-combi. They fold up easy, you can carry them on your back and they are very lightweight. They come in single or double. Only downside is small basket.
diaper bag-something easy and small. Put only essentials in it along with money, wallet, and camera. That way when you get in and out of stroller you can just grab the one bag. Put an extra set of clothes, diapers in a clear ziploc in the basket of the stroller. You won't have to check it and it just stays there even when you fold the stroller up to get on/off buses.
carry a small snack bag-this can stay on the stroller at all times and the only time you deal with it is when you are getting on buses.
Drive-If it is feasible for you guys, drive. We live 10 hours away and we drive for every trip. This way when we get there, we don't have to use the bus system if we don't want to. It is always much easier to push kids all the way to the car and unload them there rather than fighting people and bus system.
Nap only if you want to. We never make the kids nap unless they want to at Disney World. If they ALL do, we go back to the hotel. If only one, we get on a slow ride or slow show and let them nap there. It gives them a refresh and lets us all calm down for a minute.

These are only my suggestions. Good luck and remember you won't see it all and do it all but have fun no matter what you do. It will get better.

 

[katied]

It does get much easier with practice. I've been 6 times with DS now - from 6 mo - 32 months of age. Many times I've done whole days in the park, or several days, on my own with DS.

Key tips-

Pack light. I just use a bagglini to hold everything - if it doesn't fit, I don't need it. I can sling the bagglini across my chest, the stroller has a sholder strap, and then I can hold everything (as well as DS) on my own even if I end up standing on the bus.

Somone mentioned the small basket on a stroller as a downside - but really, that's an upside. The key is to travel light, and a larger basket makes you throw more things in the stroller that you then need to pull out to collapse the stroller. You need a light weight umbrella style stroller - Combi, Maclaren, etc.

For the busses, if there is space, once you get in slide the stroller under the seats along the side (not the spots where scooters could go, because you may need to get up). This keeps the stroller well out of the way.

We do head back for breaks sometimes (more if I need them). DS gets a nice rest, I get some time to rest, and lots of times the park is less crowded and we can easily get some more fun in during the evening.

I know since we stay at DVC, that does make it much easier too because DS has his own space to sleep and we have a kitchen to eat in, etc.

 

[Keri]

I don't know, I just expect to come home from Disney exhausted, but it doesn't ruin my fun!

We've been with a 3 & 4.5 year old & pregnant me, a 4 & 5.5 year old & a 7 month old, and when they were 5, 6.5, and 19 months. I've loved every one. This year actually seemed "easiest" in a lot of ways, even though I was really worried ahead of time about how she would do. We did have an extra adult this time, which helped!!!

I don't find riding the bus that much of a PITA, but we stay at Pop, so there is only the one stop & then we're off to the parks. We never waited very long for a bus on either end. Kept the baby in the stroller til the bus was pulling up, grabbed her, collapsed it & passed it on to my DH or MIL. Someone held hands with each big kid & we boarded. No big deal.

We never have gone back to the room. My big kids wouldn't nap, and I don't know what the toddler would do -- she certainly wasn't a huge fan of the PnP, so I imagine that she'd want to play/fuss even more during the day than she did at bedtime. Instead, we left the parks by 7 or so most nights, sometimes as early as 5, twice after 8 (and DD1 fell asleep in the stroller & slept on me on the busride home). She slept a little later than normal, and napped in the stroller for 40 min or so every day. Was it the best sleep ever? No. But she wasn't fussy. She was happy the whole trip. When she fell asleep, I'd let DH take the bigs on a ride or something & I'd walk around with her.

I don't know -- I honestly don't find Disney *more* exhausting than a week at the beach or sitting at home with the kids for a week! It's way more fun & that makes it totally worth it to me!

 

[crisi]

You might want to consider a cruise. Particularly once your daughter gets to "three and potty trained" and can use the kids clubs. The cruise is a much more relaxing trip with toddlers - still very enjoyable.

All our trips when our kids were younger were exhausting. And honestly, they are older now and they are just differently exhausting. Its Disney World - its miles per day of walking, its "can we fit in one more thing before going back to the resort?" It's "if we are going to see Fantasmic, its going to have to be tonight!"