First night dinner with an almost 2 year old - would this be pushing it?

[Minnesota!]

So, fellow parents of toddlers, tell me what you think/what you would do. My son is a rambunctious BOY! He is GO GO GO...

So, we will be getting up and moving about 530am the day we leave. 3 hour flight, and we arrive in MCO around 200pm. After getting to CBR via DME (can I use any more abbreviations?), I am assuming it will be close to 4 or so.

So - my question. Do you think it would be wise to schedule dinner at Chef Mickeys for say 7ish? I would get him a quick snack at the resort to tide him over. But, after a full day, do you think heading out for a loud dinner is pushing it? Should we just crash and do the pool and then dinner at CBR? I just thought it would be fun, but have never traveled with a child, so no idea how much it takes out of them. I know I can go all day if need be.

Thanks!!

 

[tjmouse]

We did this on our first trip. Drove all day though instead of flying, but we had dinner at CM's the first night of dd's first trip. She was fine, but I think you'd just have to see how he is doing. Maybe you could put him down for a nap once you get to the resort and then unpack while he is napping. You can always cancel your ADR if you decide he's too tired. It'll make some walk-up family very happy if they get a table, so don't feel guilty about cancelling if you need to.

 

[jcsbama]

I don't know. My advice would be not to plan for CM. If you have never traveled with him for that long, you really don't know how he's going to do. He could take a nap when you get to the resort and be completely refreshed or the reverse could happen. With a toddler, you just never know. I would plan to spend the afternoon/evening at the resort and get in bed early so you'll all be rested for the next day's adventure.

 

[GEM]

Well, I think it would totally depend on the little one's personality.

In December (traveling with out two year old) we flew out of Little Rock at 5:30am, arrived at MCO by 2:30pm, and were in our room at Saratoga Springs by 3:30pm. We crashed for a few hours and then headed to the MK for dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern followed by the Halloween Party! We closed down the party as they were kicking people out at midnight. It was great! Our little guy had a wonderful time and didn't fall asleep until the bus ride home. He never got cranky or anything -despite having gotten up at 3:30am that morning and traveling most of the day.

I know a schedule like that wouldn't work for all toddlers, but Paul is a great traveler and a night owl - even at home. So, it worked for us.

You certainly know your child better than we do. I'm sure you'll get people who will post and tell you it's a recipe for disaster - and it might be for their child. Everybody's different, though.

From my personal point of view, though, your plan sounds perfect. If you get there and it's obvious that he's not up to it, just skip it and stick around the resort. Order pizza and enjoy the pool!

 

[lillygator]

I think I would go ahead and book Chef Mickey's and then play it by ear as to how the traveling day goes. You can always cancel your ADR!

 

[laughinplace199]

Obviously, it depends on the child. If you think it would work for your son, go for it. I would just be sure that he's not up so late that he's too tired to enjoy your first day at the parks.

We could never do a 7:00 dinner with our kids. Most nights they are in bed by 7:30 or 8:00, even on vacation. We like to hit the parks early, so putting the kids to bed early works for us.

Have fun!

 

[Minnesota!]

thanks guys!! I think I will book for like 730 and see what happens. :O) I knew the DIS would get me good advice!!

 

[lauritagoddess]

I'd say it depends on what kind of a traveller your child is. We did Chef Mickeys for our first night and it was a great experience. But we also had much earlier reservations at 5:00. My DS is always up before 6:00 and it's been forever since he's taken a nap so a reservation past 7:00 would be impossible for him.

 

[DisneyArk]

On our first trip my sons were 18 months and 3. My husband had planned a 6:00 AM flight (too early for me ) We checked into our hotel and actually went to MK and then ate at Chef Mickey's. My sons were completely up for it. The kids LOVED the characters and didn't even think about how tired they were! It was me who was tired!

Don't forget about the timezone change. We're central and so it's an hour later in Orlando. A 7:00 dinner is getting really close to their bed time.

As other posters said, you can always skip your ADR if you can't make it!! I think the key to enjoying WDW with a toddler is to be VERY FLEXIBLE with the schedule!

 

[Minnesota!]

DS's normal bedtime is 8 - 830. But that's with one nap - at 11 - 2 or so. I figure he will probably sleep on the plane (one can hope) and then do a quickie nap at the hotel when we get there. So he could be raring to go at that time.

If not, like someone suggested - pizza and pool for us!!

Thanks again!