redleader74
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2019
- Messages
- 218
Well, I had planned this trip with as much excitement as stress and anxiety, but our first trip to DL with our baby (9.5 mos old) has come and gone. As I discussed in this other thread (https://www.disboards.com/threads/f...irport-logistics.3763045/page-2#post-60955000), most of my stress was from the flight, considering this was baby's first flight and we had no experience with this. But before I go further, just want to thank you all and this forum for the invaluable information! It's funny how the planning and stress feels like it's going on forever and then just like that the trip has come and gone. Thanks to all the advice on gate checking. Although a bit cumbersome, bringing a car seat on the plane and gate checking our stroller worked well. One of the best decision we made was going with a private transport service, which I learned about from this forum. Lansky did a flawless job from start to finish, from meeting us at SNA arrivals holding a sign with our name on it, to getting us to the hotel. It's a set price (not including any gratuities) and included in the price is a grocery stop along the way should you need it. Driver was courteous, knowledgeable, friendly, very helpful with our bags/luggage, and the car (a Suburban) was clean and well kept. Plus, as a professional driver/transport company, they don't need to keep their eyes glued to a GPS to get you around, unlike most Lyft/Uber drivers who typically aren't even from the area and have no idea where they're going, well, that's been my experience anyway. Lansky isn't cheap but it was worth every cent.
As for the DL visit, I knew we weren't going to be chasing down rides, fast passes, like we would without a baby, instead, we did a LOT of eating. This gave us the opportunity to explore some of the food options we'd never tried before, like the pasta at the pizza place next to Space Mountain, which I thought was pretty good. Of course, we had the corn dog and churros. And I don't hear this mentioned as much on this forum, but I love DL's caramel apples. Also never knew about the baked potatoes next to the theater near Small World.
Strollers! I did so much research on this forum regarding strollers at DL, rent? bring? big? small? security? thefts? We decided to bring our own. We use an Uppababy Cruz with the toddler seat. Getting it through the airport with gate checking and all that was a little more work, but it did prove very useful at the park due to it's good wheels, sturdiness and ample storage. For security, I put on a Tile tracker and cable locked one of the rear wheels to the frame of the stroller and then through the straps of our diaper backpack. On top of that I printed out our name on an 8.5x11 sign and pinned that to the canopy. I found these measures to be good enough for me on a "due diligence" level. Not so over the top as to get in the way of my enjoyment but enough to make a thief move on to an easier target.
It was a lot more work with a baby obviously, but we still had a great time because our expectations were to expect just about anything. We're not trying to go on Space Mountain five more time minutes before closing or anything like that. We're already planning our next trip and even though baby probably has no idea where she's just been, her reaction at Small World tells me that something special did happen at least.
As for the DL visit, I knew we weren't going to be chasing down rides, fast passes, like we would without a baby, instead, we did a LOT of eating. This gave us the opportunity to explore some of the food options we'd never tried before, like the pasta at the pizza place next to Space Mountain, which I thought was pretty good. Of course, we had the corn dog and churros. And I don't hear this mentioned as much on this forum, but I love DL's caramel apples. Also never knew about the baked potatoes next to the theater near Small World.
Strollers! I did so much research on this forum regarding strollers at DL, rent? bring? big? small? security? thefts? We decided to bring our own. We use an Uppababy Cruz with the toddler seat. Getting it through the airport with gate checking and all that was a little more work, but it did prove very useful at the park due to it's good wheels, sturdiness and ample storage. For security, I put on a Tile tracker and cable locked one of the rear wheels to the frame of the stroller and then through the straps of our diaper backpack. On top of that I printed out our name on an 8.5x11 sign and pinned that to the canopy. I found these measures to be good enough for me on a "due diligence" level. Not so over the top as to get in the way of my enjoyment but enough to make a thief move on to an easier target.
It was a lot more work with a baby obviously, but we still had a great time because our expectations were to expect just about anything. We're not trying to go on Space Mountain five more time minutes before closing or anything like that. We're already planning our next trip and even though baby probably has no idea where she's just been, her reaction at Small World tells me that something special did happen at least.
) I took my daughter in May (last free trip before she turned 3 in June) and that was her favorite ride. She still asks to watch "the singing dolls" on 
Ahh....parenting (sigh) :/
