flynnmnstr
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2000
- Messages
- 390
We had a great time but very different from any other trip....
Here are some major things we learned.
1. Major difference in our 3.5 DS level of fear. At 2.5 he went on every ride he could go on. Being a little dare devil we thought he would have a blast on this trip because he was 41 inches; not so!!! Everything dark scared him this time and we had no warning that that would happen because he is not like that at home. We spent the majority of the trip at Animal Kingdom and Epcot due to this unexpected reaction.
2. STROLLERS!!!! We have been Mac owners since the birth of our first son so that was a no brainer but I questioned which stroller to bring for baby. After posting a question on these boards, I decided on his Mac. It ended up being a big mistake. He did not sleep well in the stroller and it was really tough for my husband with both the Macs on the buses. Luckily my parents were leaving for WDW the day after we arrived and we were able to get in touch with them in time for them to bring the Snap and Go. I know there have been posts about the pros and cons of both, but I really feel now that I have done both that the Snap and GO is much better. Many of the shows and even rides like Jungle Cruise and the Safari allowed us to leave baby in the carrier so we didn't have to wake him. Most importantly it was the stroller he was used to and slept well in. That would be my advice when people ask the stroller question--- Choose the one that your child will be most comfortable in.
3. With two kids three and under pacing is everything. We never got to the parks before they opened so fast passes were really key to getting on some attractions. We were lucky if we got to see four attraction/shows a day. We spent the majority of our time just walking around taking everything in and EATING!!!!
4. FOOD-- we went with all counter service restaurants this trip along with a character breakfast and dinner. Even though the dark scared DS; he LOVED the characters!!! We ate breakfast at the Cape May Cafe (very good food) and Crystal Palace (good food also but very noisy and over stimulating)- the only reason I mention this is because DS3.5 has sensory integration issues and this ended up not being a good choice for us for dinner. After a long day this place could put the most calm child into a tailspin. The food was fantastic for a buffet though. I have to go with the recommendation of eating counter with young kids. Between the two kids we normally only had a half hour of actually eating time and sit downs don't work with that schedule and rarely accomodate that timing. Our favorite was Cantina in Mexico and Flame Tree at Animal Kingdom. Fish and Chips were good too (but I ate them in Mexico).
5. Rooms--Onsite/ Offsite--- I normally always recommend staying onsite; I feel like I makes everything more convienient. This trip we were lucky enough to get a suite at the Dolphin and it was phenonmenal. Our DS 3.5 has a lot of difficulty sleeping out of his own room, we let him take one bedroom and we slept on a Murphy bed with our other DS in a crib. It made the vacation. On past vacations we have been up to all hours of the night trying to get DS to sleep walking around lake area between Dolphin-Boardwalk and BC/YC until 1 in the morning. THis time he was asleep and in bed by 9:30 pm almost every night; some nights earlier. I think I got spoiled this time and I may have to rent two rooms at the Dolphin next trip because I love that resort and its location so much I don't know whether I am going to be able to give it up.
6. Never pack everyones clothes separately. The airline lost my kids luggage!!! And we didn't get it back until the 4th evening of our trip. From now on I am going to pack everyones stuff throughout all the luggage. The stipend that the airlines gave us was ridiculous. Thank god my parents were driving down or it would have cost us a fortune to get clothes for the kids, especially since we did not have a car and were buying disney stuff.
Any questions????
Here are some major things we learned.
1. Major difference in our 3.5 DS level of fear. At 2.5 he went on every ride he could go on. Being a little dare devil we thought he would have a blast on this trip because he was 41 inches; not so!!! Everything dark scared him this time and we had no warning that that would happen because he is not like that at home. We spent the majority of the trip at Animal Kingdom and Epcot due to this unexpected reaction.
2. STROLLERS!!!! We have been Mac owners since the birth of our first son so that was a no brainer but I questioned which stroller to bring for baby. After posting a question on these boards, I decided on his Mac. It ended up being a big mistake. He did not sleep well in the stroller and it was really tough for my husband with both the Macs on the buses. Luckily my parents were leaving for WDW the day after we arrived and we were able to get in touch with them in time for them to bring the Snap and Go. I know there have been posts about the pros and cons of both, but I really feel now that I have done both that the Snap and GO is much better. Many of the shows and even rides like Jungle Cruise and the Safari allowed us to leave baby in the carrier so we didn't have to wake him. Most importantly it was the stroller he was used to and slept well in. That would be my advice when people ask the stroller question--- Choose the one that your child will be most comfortable in.
3. With two kids three and under pacing is everything. We never got to the parks before they opened so fast passes were really key to getting on some attractions. We were lucky if we got to see four attraction/shows a day. We spent the majority of our time just walking around taking everything in and EATING!!!!
4. FOOD-- we went with all counter service restaurants this trip along with a character breakfast and dinner. Even though the dark scared DS; he LOVED the characters!!! We ate breakfast at the Cape May Cafe (very good food) and Crystal Palace (good food also but very noisy and over stimulating)- the only reason I mention this is because DS3.5 has sensory integration issues and this ended up not being a good choice for us for dinner. After a long day this place could put the most calm child into a tailspin. The food was fantastic for a buffet though. I have to go with the recommendation of eating counter with young kids. Between the two kids we normally only had a half hour of actually eating time and sit downs don't work with that schedule and rarely accomodate that timing. Our favorite was Cantina in Mexico and Flame Tree at Animal Kingdom. Fish and Chips were good too (but I ate them in Mexico).
5. Rooms--Onsite/ Offsite--- I normally always recommend staying onsite; I feel like I makes everything more convienient. This trip we were lucky enough to get a suite at the Dolphin and it was phenonmenal. Our DS 3.5 has a lot of difficulty sleeping out of his own room, we let him take one bedroom and we slept on a Murphy bed with our other DS in a crib. It made the vacation. On past vacations we have been up to all hours of the night trying to get DS to sleep walking around lake area between Dolphin-Boardwalk and BC/YC until 1 in the morning. THis time he was asleep and in bed by 9:30 pm almost every night; some nights earlier. I think I got spoiled this time and I may have to rent two rooms at the Dolphin next trip because I love that resort and its location so much I don't know whether I am going to be able to give it up.
6. Never pack everyones clothes separately. The airline lost my kids luggage!!! And we didn't get it back until the 4th evening of our trip. From now on I am going to pack everyones stuff throughout all the luggage. The stipend that the airlines gave us was ridiculous. Thank god my parents were driving down or it would have cost us a fortune to get clothes for the kids, especially since we did not have a car and were buying disney stuff.
Any questions????
