General Advice and Observations
1. Plan on your Disney vacation to be a TON of work. With twin toddlers, your only “relaxation” time will be when they nap…and that’s if you are lucky enough for them to nap at the same time. The old margarita-in-the-beach-chair-looking-at-the-pool-type-vacation days are over! Mornings require sun screening everyone, dressing everyone, and loading the diaper bag/stroller for the day’s activities. Evenings require time to snack, bathe kids, wash cups, treat stains, etc. To be honest, I was ready for bed most nights before the kids were able to fall asleep!
2. Plan on NOT doing your favorite Disney Fun-List things. For me, the highlight of going to Disney is seeing the fireworks and nightly shows. I love every one of them. In 8 nights, we saw fireworks once…the Frozen ones at Hollywood Studios. Our toddlers just could not be out that late…and they proved it on the one night we tried it. Over-tired toddlers make for a frustrated couple (especially when your husband doesn’t like fireworks and didn’t want the kids out that late). To be honest, it’s a touch disappointing to spend thousands of hard-earned dollars on a tip and not get to do the one thing you love. BUT, get used to it…I think that’s just life once you have kids and are crazy enough to try going to Disney with two toddlers!
3. Always have food and a drink available! Our kids did not eat on their normal schedule, despite us making a hard effort to maintain it. They refused to eat in the resort room, though were starving as we entered the parks. Andrew’s first and biggest meltdown was at the Epcot entrance, all because he decided that he was starving to death! Unfortunately, we didn’t figure out why he was having such a fit until he polished off a whole blueberry muffin from Starbucks! One Dad told me, as I was carrying a tantrum-throwing 26 pound toddler, “This is the happiest place on Earth. You just keep telling yourself that!” If they melt down, try food…it might save you!
4. Swim Diaper Advice and Observations: I brought way too much swimwear for our kids…some of it was never worn! I purchased and iPlay swim diaper and long sleeved rash guard for each baby through
Amazon. I also had several typical swim suits, so brought Huggies Little Swimmer diapers as well. On our Typhoon Lagoon beach day, we put the kids in the Huggies. We smelled them often and did not think they were soiled (even when we peaked into them). We also changed them half way through our 5 hour trip to the park. Somewhere along the way though, Andrew did poop. When we returned to the hotel, he had little poop fragments all over the inside of the diaper and against his skin. Everywhere they touched and where his swim trunk liner must have been rubbing his thigh (I didn’t think to be sure it was in his crease…didn’t done on me.), he had a huge red spot that was very painful to him. These were essentially like burns…red and super tender. I assume they were the result of the swim diapers, chafe, moisture, and poop. I had packed some Aloe Vesta ointment (something we use in wound care) and began treating it immediately. He seemed fine the next day, but it took about 5 days for the areas to go away. After this, I highly recommend that you pack some Caldesene Powder and some sort of ointment (Aquaphor, Desitin Max, etc) just in case. On our second pool day at the resort, we used the iPlay swim diapers. These worked great for us, though when Anna did poop…we were not real sure what to do! We ended up dumping (pardon the pun) the poop in the toilet, rinsing the diaper well, and washing it in the resort sink…all while putting her in a disposable swim diaper and new bottoms to finish out our day! If you use these, you need to bring some little bags to put them in wet if they are soiled.
5. Plan on a wrecked schedule (despite all of your efforts). Adam struggles with being flexible, while I far more easy-going. This made for some frustrating marital moments for us. If possible, discuss your expectations of the trip beforehand and agree that there may HAVE to be some flexibility here and there. Our kids were screwed up, even on the days where we obsessively kept “their” schedule in place. It happens…try not to be like Adam about it!
6. Prepare for tantrums…and way more than you’ve ever seen at home! It’s hot, the beds aren’t what they have at home, foods are different, schedules are different, rides are super fun, and the kids are just over-stimulated. They happen. We kept ours to a minimum (only 4 the entire trip with Andrew and 2 with Anna that were mild), but it was a struggle. Our major screaming fits were actually at bedtime. Neither kid was willing to just go to sleep, despite being totally exhausted. We tried putting them in our bed; cry it out techniques, laying them back down when they stood up, etc. Nights were HARD (6 of 8 of them at least). Just plan on it.
7. Get to Magic Kingdom about 45 minutes before it opens. Seeing the opening show on the first park day of our trip was a dream come true for us…a truly magical vacation moment. Don’t miss it!
8. Ride the train around Magic Kingdom! Do the whole circle more than once! This was a highlight of our trip for our kids! They learned that the train went, “Choo Choo,” after their first Disney Railroad ride!
9. Get an empty cup, straw, and lid for each kid. A leaf or napkin just ices the cake! The entertainment these simple items provide is absolutely amazing and will save you when waiting for shows and parades!
10. After paying for the resort, park tickets, and meal plan, I would budget $150/day. You won’t likely need this much, but things add up super fast at Disney! We averaged $100/day in the end, but it’s always better to come home with extra than to run short! If you don’t have meal plans, I’d look at
www.allearsnet.com for the menus and pricings so that you can budget accordingly! Our service was always great, so we ended up tipping 20% with each meal…something to keep in mind when budgeting.
11. Regardless of whether you have the dining plan or not, it is critical that you reserve your sit-down meals. The days of walking up to the counter and getting a seat in a restaurant at Disney are over…and with two hungry toddlers…you are playing with fire to try! Character meals book months in advance. Try to book them when you book your trip and if you can’t get what you want, check back several times a day. We managed to get every single meal we wanted, but it did take some effort!
12. With toddlers, trying to book FastPass+ 3 times a day is just super tough because you have to work around so many variables (nap times, meal times, etc.). I would use this feature mainly for parades, fireworks viewing areas (if your kids can handle being up that late), and a few select attractions (Little Mermaid, Enchanted Tales with Belle, character meets if you aren’t doing character meals, Peter Pan, Nemo: The Musical, Lion King, and the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom).
13. Plan on one outfit per person per day, 2 extra outfits total per baby (never needed them, but better safe than sorry), pj’s for all (we brought 2 sets for each of us), and 2-3 swimsuits each. We LOVED our long sleeved rash guards for all of us, as it made sunscreen application far easier and faster!
14. Take a billion photographs! Adam brought his tiny DVD recorder, but I found that I used my iPhone for everything! I bought a Life Proof case prior to our trip, so I didn’t have to worry about it getting wet. I never immersed the case (too scared), but I felt good about it on rides and in the rain. I thought I took a ton of photos and videos, but now that I’m home…I wish I had taken more! Don’t skimp…you won’t regret taking too many! On the flip side though, I didn’t want us to spend our trips behind the camera. And on that note, we didn’t and we truly just savored our moments and memories!
15. Plan on a “down” day (i.e. day at resort pool) at least once every 2-3 days. I think our meltdowns might have been easier if we had heeded this advice.
16. A 7 might trip seems to us to be the perfect length. We stayed 8, but felt that it was a tad much for the kids. You won’t see and do everything, but that’s ok!
17. If you can only afford to take your children to Disney once…ever…wait until they are at least 4 years old! If you know you’ll be back, then take your two toddlers and have a blast! They won’t remember it, but trust me…you will!
18. Stop and smell the roses! Some of our best trip moments were in totally unexpected places! Our toddlers LOVED the “street shows” at the parks. They danced and clapped and just had a wonderful time! They loved dancing on the musical squares at Epcot’s Imagination area and playing with the “computers” there. Sometimes, the not-so-popular things are best for this age! Obviously, when they are happy…everyone is happy! Let them enjoy things they don’t get at home (ice cream, chocolate milk, frozen lemonades, etc.). It’s vacation! And trust me, they went right back to their schedule/diet at home with no issues…I think they were relieved to return to it!
All in all, taking the twins to Disney was a wonderful first family vacation. I couldn’t help but tear up almost once a day, just from watching them experience something for the first time…and totally LOVE it! It was tough at times, but I’ve come to the conclusion that vacations with young children are going to be a bit challenging. Dress them comfortably and cutely (splurge on embroidered shirts, even if they are ruined by mac and cheese the first time they are worn to the parks), buy them a few things they don’t need (stuffed animals and a First Trip t-shirt), and just bask in the blessings of parenthood and making new memories! For us, this was truly the manifestation of all of our dreams come true! After all of the infertility issues and NICU struggles, I often thought we would never have any children to bring to Disney. The magic we experienced on this trip and experience every day made it all worth every struggle and penny spent! Our next trip is planned for May 2017 (to WDW)...but I'm pretty sure we'll be cruising Disney next fall!
Best wishes to all who read this! I hope it has been useful!!!
