First time at WDW with toddler.

[vballnic3]

I have to start by saying that I am a former CM and felt like I knew everything I needed to know about planning a trip to Disney but everything has changed. We are planning a trip in early December or late January. Our trip will include My husband, myself our almost 3yr (at the time) son, My sister, her husband and 2 1/2 yr old(at time) daughter, and my Mom and Dad. Going for a week or so staying at POP, and getting quick service dining plan.
Any advice on anything- Fastpass +, Character Dining, Memory Maker, Not to miss attractions, rider swap, favorite rest places, quiet places to pump (I'll have a 6month old staying home). What to do on rest days, how many rest days do we need, best places to meet the fab 5.

As you can see I am looking for advice and reassurance on pretty much everything!

Thanks for your time and advice!

 

[kteeter]

First always use the Baby Care centers in each of the parks, it might be a bit out of the way but it was a life saver for us with a 13 month old. It was nice in the building (A/C in summer), hubby could change her if needed, we let her get down and walk around, watch a Disney movie, enjoyed a snack etc. I believe they have rooms for nursing/ pumping mom, so you could take care of that. I believe the First Aid/Medical station in each park will hold on to your brest pump (AKA Medical eqiptment) while you are there so you don't have to carry that arround with you.

Always take advantage of Rider Swap, we booked FP+ for DH and MIL to ride 7DMT while I booked FP+ on Whinnie the Pooh so then I could swap and ride 7DMT with hubby look for FP+ that are in the same area and overlaping times so you and the other family can help each other out. Any ride that doesn't have a height restriction you can take little one on. We liked playing inside Dumbo, we went on the ride one time and just spent another time letting her play in the area. Be ready for the splash "wet" play areas with extra clothes or towel.

You are on QS dinning so I don't know how to help with that we like DDP (1 QS and 1TS/day) we take advantage of the TS meals and go to Charcters one like Crystal place, 1900 Park Fare, Ohana's, Garden Grill, Cape May etc. This way we can have a casual way of meeting the charcters and also eating our fill with out having to stand in long lines. BOG also have QS for lunch so you should make that a proirty, as that was a great break in the day for us, you might need to break you group size down so you can get resies but you can find tables next to each other (Free refills on beverages here) and try the Gray stuff it's delicious.

We like the MM as we don't have to get out our camera or worry about our phones dying, we can all get in the photos together. Plus with the other family going with you can share one account between you just link with them using the MyDisney App. I believe one of you will controll the download but I am sure because you are family you can make that work. Make sure you take advantage of it and stop at lots of the Photo stops, we did like three just going up Main Street, each photog had different things, like kiss on the cheek, or hold our hand out for Tinkerbell to sit on. We had over 1,000 for just 4 days because we took the time to get photos. Plus we visited alot of charcters. We saw most of the Fab 5 in EPCOT at the Charcter Spot get a FP+ for it, works well for little ones.

Our rest day we enjoy the resort but we stay at Mod level so there is usually more to enjoy. I think with Values you can use the other Values pools double check don't want to get you in troble. You can always enjoy Downtown Disney, enjoy a stroll at the Borad Walk enjoy an ice cream from Beaches and Cream Yummy! My hubby like a bit of "him time" so I let him go to Disney Qwest (free coupon with resort stay book) for 2-3 hours while I enjoy walking and shopping at DD. Eat at the Earl of Sandwhich, don't let the long time fool you it moves fast.

On a side note make sure you go to the Dollar Store or Taget/Walmart before you go and pick up little gifts to bring, like stuff animals (way cheaper at home), bubbles in small container (think Wedding favor size) we use these while waiting in line or near the splash zone for fun distraction, we also have a doodle board and a large supply of glow sticks! We brought a story book of Mickey Mouse to use a an autograph book, that way when little one is older they can see the signature of the characher they are reading about.

Enjoy and Have a Magical Trip!

 

[Heidi K]

We've taken 2 1/2-year-olds twice. Completely delightful age for Disney! They buy into the magic--sometimes a little too much!

With characters, try going to Chuck E Cheese or a high school sports game to expose the kids to mascots in advance and gauge their fear levels. At the parks, wait a day or two for character meet & greets to let them warm up to the idea.

We didn't do whole "rest days," but we did stick to bedtimes and nap times as much as possible, with one or two sleep-in days as well. To go back to your resort for a nap, allow a minimum of 4 hours away from the park.

Have a great time!

 

[MichelleMu56]

We didn't do any whole rest days either, but we split each day in half with a long nap in the middle. Some days we did 2 parks and some days we did a park in the morning with swimming and other activities in the evening. My kids favorite character meal was Chef Mickey's. They had no fear of the characters and loved the familiar food (we did breakfast but ate at 11:00 so it was our lunch). They didn't like other character meals as much because of the more exotic meals. Since you have the quick service dining plan we found that eating early (11:00 lunches and 4:45 dinners) worked well to avoid the crowds. We also carried prepackaged snacks with us everywhere, so the kids could snack in line whenever they were hungry.

 

[CamandLaineysMom]

I think the previous posters have great suggestions. When we took our son at 2.5 he WOULD NOT nap the first day as hard as we tried. I think it was all to exciting for him. The rest of the week he would take a nap back at the hotel, or one time in the stroller while we strolled the countries. We did have to leave to make sure we were back at the room when he was getting tired. If he fell asleep on the bus we knew he would not go back to sleep at the hotel and things are so loud and crazy and some that there was no way he was sleeping through us getting to the room.

One morning we got to the Fab 5 character spot in Epcot before it opened, I think we were third in line and that was great. We also did a lot of character meals as we were on that type of dining plan. For other characters we just had to wait in line with everyone else, particularly Woody and Buzz. Some of the less popular ones you just have to be where they are supposed to right before they come out.

One thing I will say is to make sure you eat at the times you normally do at home. This is key to not having meltdowns. Once they are hungry and losing it, there is no turning back until they are fed.

They will have so much fun. We are taking our kids in September. Our son will be 6 and our daughter 2.5, so right around the ages you have going.

 

[lucyddr]

We took ours at 20 months old and are heading back this year at 31 months! Naps were a mess. We tried going back to the room, but they refused to nap there. In the end, we just let them go until the slept. Since we have twins, one would walk around and ride something with the awake kid while the other parent stayed with the napping child in the shade. In hindsight, I wish we had taken more "down" time. Our children enjoyed the water parks immensely! On this trip, we have decided to stay off property in a condo. We are hoping that a "normal" breakfast, a home-like place with separate rooms, and several non-park days will be more enjoyable for us!

 

[vballnic3]

Thank you everyone for your replies. We took our son to the Disney Store for his birthday this weekend and his excitement for everything there just made me even more excited for this upcoming trip.

We are traveling with my Sister, her husband and Daughter who is 6month younger then my son. Has anyone traveled with Family, how did you decide when to go your separate ways, did you book all your fastpasses together?

 

[Heidi K]

We traveled with family before FP+, and it was a much larger group with a wider age gap. We did a few meals together but not many rides.

In your situation, with kids so close in ages, it might make sense to mostly tour together and do some fast passes together. It sounds like it's only 6 (8?) people total, which isn't a huge, unmanageable group.