First trip for my 3 yo, anything else I should know?

[Bren's Mom]

And I also forgot to mention that we own a Maclaren Volo and are bringing that with us.

QUOTE]

that is a great stroller!!! when i got mine i thought my hubby to be was going to kill me for the price i paid for it, but he loves it too! he says "hey i can actually push him without feeling like i am slumping over" the handles on our umbrella stroller were to short for him!

Somehow I missed this reply! I bought mine new from ebay, $72 including shipping. Ds LOVES it and I love it too, even dh thinks it was worth it. It's SO easy to push. My sister liked the Disney double stroller but her girls are a little older, ds really might need to ride later in the day and I don't want to have to carry him from a bus to our room, etc. It's so light it's really no big deal to take with us!

 

[happymommy]

I agree about taking cabs - if there is a long line for a bus, or you are going somewhere that you can't go directly on a bus, take a cab! With kids, the waiting can be tiring, and it's so worth it!

 

[Bren's Mom]

Happymommy, thanks for those tips.

I'm so torn about where to eat! LOL Really, I totally get why people get stressed about planning a Disney trip now! So, here's our criteria:

We're eating with a 3 yo. He's a good kid in restaurants but there IS a limit as to how long he'll sit if there's nothing to see, etc.

We're also celebrating my mom's 60th b-day, so I was hoping for 1 'nice' dinner as opposed to just cs and character meals.

I've read good and bad reviews for Flying Fish, as well as for many of the other restaurants. We know good Mexican food so San Angel looks like it would be a disappointment. I think mom might like the Japanese hibachi restaurant. Coral Reef looked nice and would be good for ds but it got so-so reviews also. And Garden Grill isn't doing lunch effective just before our trip, so if I switch to a 1 credit meal for dinner I need to use TS credits for bfast or lunch also.

Don't know what to do! LOL

And will keep a cab in the back of my mind in case we need it, thanks to those who suggested that!

 

[lynn432]

We just got back, and my 3-year old LOVED Epcot.

We did the character greetings at the Character Spot, which she really enjoyed, and the aquarium, which was the highlight of the trip, and the Nemo ride - we all enjoyed that - and Turtle Talk with Crush was a hit, and my dd enjoyed the boat ride in Mexico and the Spaceship Earth ride and seeing Snow White (Jasmine and Aladdin are supposed to be in Morocco but we didn't make it over there) and she just generally enjoyed herself all day long. It was the best day of our trip. We also loved Soarin' and my dh liked Mission:Space, but she couldn't go on those.

We had planned to leave in the afternoon and return later, but she fell asleep in the stroller around 2pm, so we stayed in the park and walked around in the World Showcase area and my dh rode a couple of rides while she slept. Then when she woke up and we went and did the boat ride (twice) and other things (and she played in the misters and the little spray areas) and then we went and watched Illuminations. She fell asleep on the way home.

Epcot has Kidcot stations, where they do crafts related to the area you are in - some are good for 3-year olds, some are better for older kids, but they're worth checking out if you think he might like those. We ate at the buffet in the Biergarten in Germany, and that was a good meal - the food was much better than we expected, and the music on-stage kept the kids entertained.

I think you will love it, and I definitely think it is worth a day with a 3-year old.

Have a good trip!

 

[buzzwoody70]

Here is what I have learned over the course of time.
You must leave the park for 4-5 hours during the day to go for naps and relaxation.
If Jr is cranky....get out of there. It is not worth staying if everyone is not having a good time.
Rent a stroller from Disney. The pain of lugging you own stroller around everywhere you go is not worth it. You can leave the stroller on 1 side of the park and show your reciept at the other side of the park and they will issue you another stroller. This is a good stradegy when taking the train....perfect for 3 YO.
Last piece of advice....Make sure you and your partner are having a good time as well. Disney offeres several ways to see rides with young children, such as using Fast Passes and Baby Swap. Don't forgo all of your fun just because your child can't participate in one of the attractions. Disney should be a treat for all.
Good luck

 

[tigergirl]

We took our 3yo son this August and, to echo some of the other posters, he also loved Epcot. How tall is your son? If at least 40 inches, ours loved both Soarin and Test Track.

For your mom's birthday, some other places to consider (although outside the parks) are Boma and Ohana. Boma is in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is gorgeous for walking around and your son might enjoy looking at the animals while waiting before or after dinner. The food is good and a little different than your standard fare. Although it is a buffet, that means that you can get out of there faster if needed .

The other place we enjoyed was Ohanas. Good food, family style (so the meal goes a bit quicker as well), plus the Poly has a nice sand beach for walking before and after the meal, and a view of the castle at night to boot.

 

[MJAJmom]

Have a great time, we'll be there in mid Oct as well, just me and my 3 and 6yo boys. We went in April for 4 full days, here's a few thoughts to share....

- Definitely plan a nap, they'll need it. We started at rope drop and left after lunch for a nap. Both boys napped about 2hrs from all the walking and overstimulation.
- I also brought my own stroller. Helpful for transport to/from the hotel and in/out of the parks, especially handy at night.
- Bring a full change of clothes, including socks/shoes. Put in a ziploc and leave in stroller. My boys loved playing in Pooh's playful spot at MK, but got soaked.
- Bring a bag of small treats/snacks to kill time waiting in lines and for shows, maybe even a small notebook/pen.
- Find out a few of their favorite characters for character meet&greets. My 3yo loved Buzz and Woody, also goofy and pluto, and little einsteins.
- Allow time in your tour plans to let them explore/wander. My son was thrilled to pick up rocks/leaves, jump off curbs, chase ducks and watch squirrels. Wandering at their pace is MUCH slower.

Have fun!!

 

[SnowWhite12]

I'll warn that most little kids seem to be terrified of Nemo the ride at Epcot. It is extremely dark, and the "mean" shark is featured throughout. My DD screamed and cried the whole time. She wasn't the only kid on the ride doing so.

 

[1DISNEYLVR]

Hi. I just got back on Friday from our 1st trip to Disney with DS who is almost 3. I stressed a lot before the trip about our plans, just as you are now. I will tell you what worked and didn't work for me.

#1, I feel like I definately over-planned. I was so pre-occupied with our plan & getting to the next thing that I didn't enjoy things as much as I could have if I just relaxed a little more.

#2, afternoon nap is a must & as someone else mentioned, plan on 4 hrs with the travel time, etc. My son would not sleep in the stroller no matter how tired he was. My plan was to go to a park at opening, stay until after lunch, go back to the resort for nap, then dinner & back out to a park, then back to the resort for bath & bed. The problem with this is that we missed out on hanging out at the resort & enjoying the pool & other fun stuff. There were so many things I wanted him to see & do at the parks that I feel we kind of rushed from one thing to the next.

#3, I wish we had done more character meals. Meeting the characters turned out to be his most favorite thing. Also related to meals, since we had free dining, we had a sit down meal every day. This also eats up a lot of time. Our sit down meals took a minimum of 1 1/2 hrs & usually closer to 2 hrs.

We did have a wonderful time & DS really enjoyed every minute. I have been to Disney many times, but this was the 1st trip for DS & I wanted everything to be perfect. I do have some regrets about not taking the time to "stop and smell the roses" so to speak. Lack of sleep & carrying so much stuff around all the time made me kind of cranky too. If I could do it all again, I would have only planned on doing half as much.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[MJAJmom]

#3, I wish we had done more character meals. Meeting the characters turned out to be his most favorite thing. Also related to meals, since we had free dining, we had a sit down meal every day. This also eats up a lot of time. Our sit down meals took a minimum of 1 1/2 hrs & usually closer to 2 hrs.

That's a great suggestion. You gotta eat, so with little guys, why not eat at a character meal?? Our kids are early risers, so we would book an 8am character breakfast at the park before it opened at 9am. Try Crystal Palace before MK, Hollywood & Vine before HS, and Tusker House before AK. Otherwise, try the character lunches. I agree that TS meals take longer -- but if you waited in line for 4 characters, that would chew up at least 30-45minutes. The character interaction is priceless and magical!

 

[Bren's Mom]

That's a great suggestion. You gotta eat, so with little guys, why not eat at a character meal?? Our kids are early risers, so we would book an 8am character breakfast at the park before it opened at 9am. Try Crystal Palace before MK, Hollywood & Vine before HS, and Tusker House before AK. Otherwise, try the character lunches. I agree that TS meals take longer -- but if you waited in line for 4 characters, that would chew up at least 30-45minutes. The character interaction is priceless and magical!

How do you get from your resort to the parks that early? DS is up before 6 EVERY day so I would be happy to have early ADRs if I can get them and if we can get there easily. (Not terribly interested in spending for a cab, we're on a tight budget for this trip.) Thanks!

 

[awaldo]

A lot of others hit on some of the big things, one small thing that was a great idea for our trips at 2 and 3 were not just glow sticks as previously mentioned, but the skinny glow things that can be attached and made into bracelets, necklaces, etc. You can get a TON of them on eBay for cheap, and while waiting for Spectro or other nighttime things, you guys can play with them. My DD3 never once asked for any of the expensive trinkets the guys were selling on the streets, unlike a lot of other young kids around, because she had her own glow stuff!

 

[Bren's Mom]

I did get some glow things! I saw this suggestion on another thread and happened upon a great deal on glow stuff at Ocean State Job Lot last Friday. I got bracelets, eyeglasses (just the outline in 'glow'), necklaces and glow sticks. They were all $.50 each. I'll pack some and save some for Halloween! It's an awesome idea...thanks!