Honeybee83
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2013
- Messages
- 287
These are tips I have run across in various forums, advice sites, and planning places and thought it would be nice to have them organized into a nice "cheat sheet" for toddler parents. Especially for those who, like myself, are planning their first visit with children to DW. If you have suggestions please add them!
1. Take a break each day to recharge. Whether it be finding a cool spot in the parks or going back to your room for a swim/nap. You'll spend less time in the parks, yes, but the time that you do have will be of far higher quality.
2. Bring light protective rain gear. Orlando can have short, unpredictable rain showers that can drench your spirits as well as your things. One person suggested bringing a collapseable stroller rain cover to leave on your stroller before you leave your stroller to ride a ride. Then if it showers your stroller, and your things stowed in the basket of the stroller, stay dry. Also, bring rain ponchos from home in your luggage and keep them with you in the park to save lots of money over the Disney ponchos.
3. Before you leave for your trip, set aside a small portion of your suitcase to bring some "gifts from Mickey". You can get Disney themed items at the dollar store and other thrifty places, hide them and bring them with you. Then if your child is reluctant to leave the park for "nap time" you have a small harmless bribe in saying, "lets go see what present Mickey left for you in the room and come back to the park later". It also saves money on buying souvenirs.
4. Arrange for sleeping that will be comfortable for your child. If your child still sleeps in a crib and can sleep in a pack n play, I've recently devised a travel system that I feel great about. I hate that the pack n plays have such a thin pad covering the hard bottom portion. It doesn't feel like it would be comfortable at all. You can buy a pack n play sized matress on amazon, babies r us, walmart, etc. It is only about an extra 1" thick but makes a big difference. I then bought a large rolling duffel bag, with exterior pockets included, and was able to fit the collapsed pack n play, matress with extra matress pad and fitted sheet, all into the main compartment of the duffel, leaving external pockets for blankie, lovie, binkies, and sound machine, plus more room to spare. Whether traveling by car or plane you'll appreciate having a condensed bed for your child that can be rolled right to your room, that you know is clean and your child will be familiar with.
5. Prepare your toddler in advance for what to expect in the parks, like meeting characters, riding rides, what they'll see. You can do ride through experiences on youtube and show little one other kids meeting disney characters in the parks. Also watch Disney movies/shows with them so they know some of the characters they'll be seeing.
6. Know your child's height ahead of time as there are some rides they may not be able to ride. Also, try to prepare them for "dark rides", especially things like the haunted mansion where things may be extra scary. One poster mentioned letting them hold a keychain light/glowstick to let them feel a little more "in control". Just make sure it's not bright enough to disturb the other guests.
7. Most posters suggest bringing your own stroller to the park. Disney parks do not let you take their park strollers outside the gates of the park, which leaves gunga dad and super mom to tote heavy tots to bus stops with long waits and back to the room. Strollers aren't allowed on many rides but there are multiple parking areas for strollers in every park. If you feel nervous about leaving your stroller unattended while riding some of the rides several posters have suggested using a bike lock to secure the BACK WHEELS ONLY of the stroller. You can't chain your stroller to a fixed object or make the stroller unmoveable because cast members often have to rearrange strollers to accomodate more guests. One ingenious poster suggested running a bike lock through the back wheels making a thief unable to use it as intended, but if tipped forward on the front wheels it can be repositioned by a CM. You can also secure the straps of diaper bags etc in the lock as well to prevent the bag from being taken. MOST of the posts I've read suggest that even if you do not secure your stroller or belongings AT ALL, they will still be there when you come back to retrieve them, but if you have a high end stroller and don't want to have to buy one just for your trip it may help give your peace of mind. Most people are families just like you trying to have a great time with their kids, not career criminals trying to steal your umbrella stroller. Some people just don't feel comfortable leaving their things unsecured and out of their sight so this may help.
8. Dress them appropriately. Your princess may be super excited about her new "Cinderella" dress, but may lose some of that enchantment at noon in July in Florida. That sweet, sparkly, magical dress may become an itchy, sticky, tantrum inducing nightmare. Bring an extra change of clothes, or two or three if potty training or going on water rides, plus a ziplock bag to put them in if they get wet. One poster recommended putting each outfit in its own easy to grab ziplock bag in the child's suitcase when packing. Then each morning you just grab a bag and go.
9. Bring a couple of snacks for the wait times in the lines. Nothing is less fun than an overtired, cranky toddler with low blood sugar.
10. Remeber that the point is to have FUN. Don't try to do everything or you'll be frusterated and cranky too. If DS or DD wants to chase a butterfly, or look at ducks in a pond, or run on the grass, (Things that they can do for "FREE", at home) don't fret. This will probably happen with a toddler as they are not at all concerned about how much it costs to get to DW. Just take a deep breath and remind yourself that fun family time is the whole point of your trip together and remember that YOU can sit back and smile and remember that you're in Disney World even if your little one doesn't.
That's all I've got off the top of my head. If I think of anything else I'll add it to the feed later. I'd love to hear anyone elses ideas, or tricks that worked when they took their little ones.
1. Take a break each day to recharge. Whether it be finding a cool spot in the parks or going back to your room for a swim/nap. You'll spend less time in the parks, yes, but the time that you do have will be of far higher quality.
2. Bring light protective rain gear. Orlando can have short, unpredictable rain showers that can drench your spirits as well as your things. One person suggested bringing a collapseable stroller rain cover to leave on your stroller before you leave your stroller to ride a ride. Then if it showers your stroller, and your things stowed in the basket of the stroller, stay dry. Also, bring rain ponchos from home in your luggage and keep them with you in the park to save lots of money over the Disney ponchos.
3. Before you leave for your trip, set aside a small portion of your suitcase to bring some "gifts from Mickey". You can get Disney themed items at the dollar store and other thrifty places, hide them and bring them with you. Then if your child is reluctant to leave the park for "nap time" you have a small harmless bribe in saying, "lets go see what present Mickey left for you in the room and come back to the park later". It also saves money on buying souvenirs.
4. Arrange for sleeping that will be comfortable for your child. If your child still sleeps in a crib and can sleep in a pack n play, I've recently devised a travel system that I feel great about. I hate that the pack n plays have such a thin pad covering the hard bottom portion. It doesn't feel like it would be comfortable at all. You can buy a pack n play sized matress on amazon, babies r us, walmart, etc. It is only about an extra 1" thick but makes a big difference. I then bought a large rolling duffel bag, with exterior pockets included, and was able to fit the collapsed pack n play, matress with extra matress pad and fitted sheet, all into the main compartment of the duffel, leaving external pockets for blankie, lovie, binkies, and sound machine, plus more room to spare. Whether traveling by car or plane you'll appreciate having a condensed bed for your child that can be rolled right to your room, that you know is clean and your child will be familiar with.
5. Prepare your toddler in advance for what to expect in the parks, like meeting characters, riding rides, what they'll see. You can do ride through experiences on youtube and show little one other kids meeting disney characters in the parks. Also watch Disney movies/shows with them so they know some of the characters they'll be seeing.
6. Know your child's height ahead of time as there are some rides they may not be able to ride. Also, try to prepare them for "dark rides", especially things like the haunted mansion where things may be extra scary. One poster mentioned letting them hold a keychain light/glowstick to let them feel a little more "in control". Just make sure it's not bright enough to disturb the other guests.
7. Most posters suggest bringing your own stroller to the park. Disney parks do not let you take their park strollers outside the gates of the park, which leaves gunga dad and super mom to tote heavy tots to bus stops with long waits and back to the room. Strollers aren't allowed on many rides but there are multiple parking areas for strollers in every park. If you feel nervous about leaving your stroller unattended while riding some of the rides several posters have suggested using a bike lock to secure the BACK WHEELS ONLY of the stroller. You can't chain your stroller to a fixed object or make the stroller unmoveable because cast members often have to rearrange strollers to accomodate more guests. One ingenious poster suggested running a bike lock through the back wheels making a thief unable to use it as intended, but if tipped forward on the front wheels it can be repositioned by a CM. You can also secure the straps of diaper bags etc in the lock as well to prevent the bag from being taken. MOST of the posts I've read suggest that even if you do not secure your stroller or belongings AT ALL, they will still be there when you come back to retrieve them, but if you have a high end stroller and don't want to have to buy one just for your trip it may help give your peace of mind. Most people are families just like you trying to have a great time with their kids, not career criminals trying to steal your umbrella stroller. Some people just don't feel comfortable leaving their things unsecured and out of their sight so this may help.
8. Dress them appropriately. Your princess may be super excited about her new "Cinderella" dress, but may lose some of that enchantment at noon in July in Florida. That sweet, sparkly, magical dress may become an itchy, sticky, tantrum inducing nightmare. Bring an extra change of clothes, or two or three if potty training or going on water rides, plus a ziplock bag to put them in if they get wet. One poster recommended putting each outfit in its own easy to grab ziplock bag in the child's suitcase when packing. Then each morning you just grab a bag and go.
9. Bring a couple of snacks for the wait times in the lines. Nothing is less fun than an overtired, cranky toddler with low blood sugar.
10. Remeber that the point is to have FUN. Don't try to do everything or you'll be frusterated and cranky too. If DS or DD wants to chase a butterfly, or look at ducks in a pond, or run on the grass, (Things that they can do for "FREE", at home) don't fret. This will probably happen with a toddler as they are not at all concerned about how much it costs to get to DW. Just take a deep breath and remind yourself that fun family time is the whole point of your trip together and remember that YOU can sit back and smile and remember that you're in Disney World even if your little one doesn't.
That's all I've got off the top of my head. If I think of anything else I'll add it to the feed later. I'd love to hear anyone elses ideas, or tricks that worked when they took their little ones.