Help me... trip with a toddler (and newborn?)

[AlmaGurl218]

Four questions for you guys...

number one, if you had to choose between 1900 Park Fare Cinderella
Dinner or Chef Mickeys Dinner which would you choose and why? (my DD
will be almost 3 when we go)

Second question, I will have an almost 3 year old (33 or so months)
when I go to Disney and most likely an infant about 2 months old. I
thought about getting a double stroller but I am just not sure. Which
would you get and why:
a. Typical Tandem Stroller
b. Sit and Stand Stroller
c. An umbrella stroller for the 3 year old and a Graco snugrider "frame" stroller for the baby and the carseat

Third: Is there a charge for the resort provided crib / pack and play?
If so, what is it? Would you put a 2-6 month old in it?!?!

Fourth: Could you fit 5 adults, an almost three year old, and an
infant plus all their luggage in a minivan? (think stroller, golf
clubs for one adult, suitcases, and maybe a pack and play if it would
fit) Yes, I know if it will fit it will be TIGHT but we want to take
one vehicle for economy's sake. We have a 10-12 hour drive.

Thanks in advance,
Jennifer

 

[tinkerlisa]

Four questions for you guys...

number one, if you had to choose between 1900 Park Fare Cinderella
Dinner or Chef Mickeys Dinner which would you choose and why? (my DD
will be almost 3 when we go)

Second question, I will have an almost 3 year old (33 or so months)
when I go to Disney and most likely an infant about 2 months old. I
thought about getting a double stroller but I am just not sure. Which
would you get and why:
a. Typical Tandem Stroller
b. Sit and Stand Stroller
c. An umbrella stroller for the 3 year old and a Graco snugrider "frame" stroller for the baby and the carseat

Third: Is there a charge for the resort provided crib / pack and play?
If so, what is it? Would you put a 2-6 month old in it?!?!

Fourth: Could you fit 5 adults, an almost three year old, and an
infant plus all their luggage in a minivan? (think stroller, golf
clubs for one adult, suitcases, and maybe a pack and play if it would
fit) Yes, I know if it will fit it will be TIGHT but we want to take
one vehicle for economy's sake. We have a 10-12 hour drive.

Thanks in advance,
Jennifer

I can't help you too much but since you said you have a DD I would go with 1900 park faire. That way she can meet cinderella and its a lot cheaper than cinderella castle restaurant!!! I have too boys so i wouldn't know about "girly" things like that. I heard that Chef Mickey's for breakfast is better than Chef mickeys for dinner. I cant help you with anything else though but i hope i helped you with your dinner plans!

 

[mdurette]

I'm going to help you out with #3

All disney resorts have pack and plays standard in the rooms. Personally I have seen some very clean and some ..... well not as clean as I would like them to be. I would bring along your own set of pack and play sheets AND a can of Lysol to spray the thing down.

On a similar note - I am not sure if this only applies to DVC resorts - but we have requested and received regular cribs from Disney. They are the tiny version - but still much better than the pack and play. (special request through housekeeping). You can also request a high chair.

All above - no cost.

 

[mccathy]

I would suggest getting a Sit-n-Stand, especially since you'll be driving, I'm assuming you'll drive to the parks - so finding room on the bus won't be hard. Plus, my son was just about 2 and a half when his little brother was born and he LOVES our sit-n-stand still - at 4 years old. So, I think you'll get more wear out of a sit and stand. The only problem is you won't be able to have your older DD take a nap in the stroller - UNLESS, you can carry the baby in a sling for awhile and give your daughter a chance to ride in the seat part! (We have the Joovey Caboose Light. And I love it) (And by the way, not sure if you are a sling person, I wasn't with my first, but having a sling for the second made all the difference in the world. I could carry the baby around when he was fussy and still play with the older one.)

The pack n plays are free in the rooms.

Have fun planning!

 

[AlmaGurl218]

I should add that we are driving but will probably have tight quarters, once at the resort we plan to take the buses to the parks. We will be there during off season (Jan/Feb) time so hopefully the crowds won't be too bad?

With 5 adults, I thought it might be easier to have two strollers so if the infant was sleeping the 3 year old wouldn't necessarily bother her... I don't know... two strollers to push, but my mom says she would be more than willing....

 

[ChristusG]

Hi!! I'll try to answer some of your questions....

1. At that age, I would and have always chosen Chef Mickey's. At 2 and 3 years old my DD had no idea who Cinderella/Alice was. They are face characters and she just thought they were just another person. She's almost 4.5 years old now and just now getting into the princess thing. But at that age, definitely Chef Mickey's with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto.


2. As for strollers, we got a Phil & Ted's Sport Buggy (which is the newer model of the E3) when DD#2 was born. My oldest had just turned 3 at that time. It is the size of a single stroller but is really a double! The newborn can be "tucked away" where other people cannot even see her if she wants to sleep. Lots of times, no one even knew we had a newborn back there when the stroller was in the newborn position. And if she gets tired of laying in the newborn position, just switch the stroller around and put the 2nd seat in the back. We did that when DD was about 2 months old.....she couldnt sit up, but we reclined the seat and she was able to sit in the crook of the seat and look around. I highly recommend the Sport Buggy. We love ours.

3. Not sure about the resort crib. We've never used one. We co-sleep with our babies, so I'm not too familiar with cribs.

4. I really dont think you can fit that many people into a mini van. We have one, and there's just no way. Especailly with 2 car seats and luggage too. And for that long of a trip. I really dont think there is any way to work that out.

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

My boys and DD LOVED 1900 Park Fare. We haven't done Chef Mickey's yet though... but 1900 Park Fare was PERFECT! I was in love when Prince Charming danced with Cinderella... ohhhh and how he stopped doing everything when they announced her and watched her come out. OMG it was romantic LOL. Yes, I know I sound like a weirdo. BTW, Why can't my husband be like the Prince?

and and yes, I agree with the Phil & Teds. We have one and it is the BEST double stroller ever! I can't imagine using a normal double ever again.

I can fit 8 people in my minivan. It's a Toyota Sienna 8 passenger. We travel to Disney frequently with 3 adults, 4 kids and luggage. It can be done, but not all of the luggage is always in the trunk. I think the biggest worry would be that the stroller wouldn't fit with all of the luggage and people? If you try to consolidate people into 1-2 suitcases and use a lot of smaller bags that you can put at the feet of the carseat kids

 

[mjkacmom]

We're a family of 7, and we have a carrier on the top of our van for roadtrips. Long drives are tough, especially wearing luggage! Seriously, we camp every memorial day weekend, which means extra clothes, tent, air mattresses, bedding, etc., and my kids get a lot of stuffed packed around them - no one can move!

 

[Princess Roo]

I think you'll get varied opinions on these questions, but our most recent trip was for our DS' 3rd birthday and my DD was 3 months, so I'll chime in, too.

I think Chef Mickey would be best for this trip. It's high energy and so FUN and because it's loud even if the new baby gets fussy (happened to us until I could get her to fall asleep in the sling) no one will be able to hear.

For the stroller, we actually only brought one umbrella stroller that had a recline and one cheap-o umbrella. The cheap-o we mostly just used to get from the car/bus into the center of the park, and then parked it. We also brought a Baby Bjorn and sling and my DS liked to walk most of the time anyways. With those combinations, everyone was happy. Something I read about here that also sounded great was to get a stroller connector if you have 2 umbrellas that are similar enough to be connected. If there are 5 adults, then I do think there could be significant benefit to having 2 separate strollers if people want to split up. We personally hated the sit-and-stands (uncomfortable, not enough recline for baby, etc) but others love them.

We've had good luck with the PackNPlays in the hotels. I think if you get a yucky one you could call and ask for a different one. We do bring an extra sheet, mostly in case the other one got dirty.

For the minivan, how "large" are the adults? We regularly put 5 adults and 3 kids with carseats in my parents' minivan for 3-4 hours trips with bunches of luggage. But all but two adults are thin and less than 6' tall, so the tall one and heavyset one sit in the two front seats... Sure, it's not as comfy as splitting up, but we like each others' company and saving the gas money.

 

[patchchild]

I would seriously recommend looking into a good sling/carrier for your babe. Something like a Mei Tai (google it, there are a bunch of makers of them) what you can wear for long periods of time. You can actually keep your babe in it for a lot of the slow rides, one less transfer.

 

[AmyBWV99]

Last October we took our 2 DS's 2.5 years and 3 weeks and 2 strollers worked better overall altho we did take a double too, we had the room. It's an Aria SBS that wasn't easy the toddler was touching the baby all the time and now we have the opposite probelm. So we are purchasing a new double for our next trip (looking at a Jane Powertwin but this will be too big for your space needs I'd look at a P&T as the PP suggested since both seats recline)

Since we are flying we won't have the space to take mulitple strollers. I had issues with a sit n stand for my DS#1 since he wanted to lounge out when we were walking so a little board on the back wasn't going to cut it still won't and he's 3.5 now, so I think you'd have to gage that on your child.

I agree that to fit that many people and car seats in a minivan you're going to have get a car top carrier if you plan to bring any clothes. If you put both car sets in the 3rd row seats an adult can sit between and you can load things under the kids feet are (we load up under them)

We bring PnP sheets from home as well then we know if they've been washed lately. We haven't gotten a dirty PnP anytime we've been there.

 

[lundve]

With 5 adults, I thought it might be easier to have two strollers so if the infant was sleeping the 3 year old wouldn't necessarily bother her... I don't know... two strollers to push, but my mom says she would be more than willing....

Amen - we did this last year when DS was 2 and younger DS was 2 1/2 months. On more than one occasion two strollers was a sanity saver for us!!!

 

[GoofItUp]

We're going in Mar with a 2.5 yr old and a 5-mo-old. We're seriously considering just taking one stroller that the baby and toddler can both fit in - particularly for nap time. But, I am also taking my ring sling and will probably keep the infant in that quite a bit. If we do decide they each need a stroller seat, we will definitely take 2 strollers. We are going with some extended family, and if they want to go ahead while I feed the baby or something, we can each take a kid/stroller and meet up later.

I've done both 1900 & CM's, and I think I would choose CM's. I just think CM's is more fun and upbeat. But, it really depends on what characters you think your DD will enjoy meeting more.

We took my DS for the first time when he was 9 months old and used the resort PNP. It was fine - a standard PNP - but I will admit I felt weird about using it. If he tried to put his mouth on the side of it or something, I would wonder how many other kids had slobbered all over it. I know kids get germs and I try not to be a crazy mother, but it did make me a little paranoid.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I am going from memory here, so if I go out of order my appologies.
CHEF MICKEY'S--- It is the best and your kids will love it. We do it twice every visit, Thanksgiving dinner and our last meal right after we check out and head home. This is one tradition that I had the nerve of suggesting we cut back on and got a HUGE NO!!!! from my family (mostly hubby witch surprised me!)
We have taken double stroller and 2 single strollers and I have to say, if you descide to seperate, you will be happy to have seperate strollers.
The van, I feel for you. It actually cossed our minds for this trip too for about a second. We have a 21+ hour ride and did it once (part way, picked up family along the way.) It was hard I have to say. I wish mini vans had more room, but let's face it, they really don't. We have 3 kids, we take out 1/2 the back seat for more storage room. God Bless You if you can do it, I don't think we could.
The pack and play, ours was fine the one time we used it, but they don't use fitted sheets for it, just a folded over full sheet (at last at the time they didn't), so you might want to bring your own, it sure can't hurt.

Have a great time, I know you will...

 

[cerberus]

We just got back and took our DD 17 mon and 3yo. I vote for Chef Mickey's. Both my gorls LOVED Chef Mickey's. While my 3yo loves "princesses", she was really shy around them because they look like people, not characters.....so a princess diner woul dnot have been good for us.

As for the stroller....
I have a Phil and Teds, and did not take it because it takes up so much room in the car, plus it is heavy and sometimes a pain...not easy to fold. So we took a simple tandem. It was great, easy and quick to fold and not so bad to push.