Just booked our stay for late November!

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My wife and I just finished booking our stay for late November (arriving the Sunday after Thanksgiving) and this will be our first time taking a DW trip as a family! Our boys are 3 1/2 and 11 months right now and I cannot put into words just how excited I am for them to experience the magic of DW for the first time. I grew up visiting (from MN) with my family when I was younger and to this day, I still remember the feeling of driving under the WDW sign and knowing we were finally in DW again. We decided to do a split stay so we'll be staying in a one bedroom Boulder Ridge Villa (saw the refurbishment is ongoing and absolutely loved the look of the new rooms) at the WL for the first five nights (so excited as this is one of the resorts I've never stayed at but have always wanted to!) and then we'll be moving over to a one bedroom villa at the Beach Club for the final four nights of our stay. We ended up booking directly through Disney but originally tried to find availability through David's. It didn't end up working out with our initial plan but I talked with multiple employees over the span of the last five or so days and each one was absolutely amazing and we'll definitely work with them in the future.

If anyone has any tips (anything at all, especially in regards to traveling to DW with the little dudes!), we'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks!

 

[Timandalicia]

My wife and I just finished booking our stay for late November (arriving the Sunday after Thanksgiving) and this will be our first time taking a DW trip as a family! Our boys are 3 1/2 and 11 months right now and I cannot put into words just how excited I am for them to experience the magic of DW for the first time. I grew up visiting (from MN) with my family when I was younger and to this day, I still remember the feeling of driving under the WDW sign and knowing we were finally in DW again. We decided to do a split stay so we'll be staying in a one bedroom Boulder Ridge Villa (saw the refurbishment is ongoing and absolutely loved the look of the new rooms) at the WL for the first five nights (so excited as this is one of the resorts I've never stayed at but have always wanted to!) and then we'll be moving over to a one bedroom villa at the Beach Club for the final four nights of our stay. We ended up booking directly through Disney but originally tried to find availability through David's. It didn't end up working out with our initial plan but I talked with multiple employees over the span of the last five or so days and each one was absolutely amazing and we'll definitely work with them in the future.

If anyone has any tips (anything at all, especially in regards to traveling to DW with the little dudes!), we'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks!

My best advice is to read as much as you can about taking kids. “There’s so much you never knew you never knew”.
IOW- There are a ton of questions that you don’t even think to ask. Like: Balloon at beginning or end of trip? Or no balloon? What to do with the balloon at the end of the trip? How do I wrap the balloon around the stroller handle? Do I go high with it to keep it out of people’s faces or low for control? Is it safe to leave it by the stroller? Are balloons lightning rods? There are probably 30 more balloon questions.

My other big advice is: for kids at that age, a character meal is as good as a lightning lane for a 37 minute ride. Take advantage of them. Like do 3.

Excited for you. What a great new chapter! Bringing the kids! My oldest is 17 and still loves it.

 

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My best advice is to read as much as you can about taking kids. “There’s so much you never knew you never knew”.
IOW- There are a ton of questions that you don’t even think to ask. Like: Balloon at beginning or end of trip? Or no balloon? What to do with the balloon at the end of the trip? How do I wrap the balloon around the stroller handle? Do I go high with it to keep it out of people’s faces or low for control? Is it safe to leave it by the stroller? Are balloons lightning rods? There are probably 30 more balloon questions.

My other big advice is: for kids at that age, a character meal is as good as a lightning lane for a 37 minute ride. Take advantage of them. Like do 3.

Hahaha I love it, thank you! And we'll definitely be doing some character meals!

 

[CarolynFH]

Have you found the Disney for Families forum yet? Lots of help there!

 

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Have you found the Disney for Families forum yet? Lots of help there!

I have! Been reading through a ton of posts and it's been so incredibly helpful. Definitely going to keep reading as it's been a long time (14 plus years I think...) since I've been to DW and a lot has changed to say the least!

 

[DL1WDW2]

I hope you invited the grandparents… both sets , cause with that age You‘re gonna need them .
Guarantee a stinky diaper and a need to go to the potty will not occur at the same time and probably within your halfway point to Peter Pan!
I can still perfectly see my 3 year old nephew trying to squeeze thru the fence for DL’s Dumbo cause he was not waiting any longer . And the crying and tears, uncontrollable knowing we were leaving to drive back home . Made it really hard cause we all wanted to cry too!

I think I failed because balloons were harmful to the birds in the sky and I never bought one.
Yes I attended the mean mommy school ….

Sounds like a great trip .The year is flying by already November will be here soon!

 

[bnf0522]

We'll also be there then as well! Can't wait to see what the weather is like at the end of November.

As far as a tip, this can apply to anybody going to WDW. Don't think you can see it all....pick a few must do's and build in some flexible time to enjoy the sights and sounds!

Have a great trip

 

[sc05]

We'll also be there then as well! Can't wait to see what the weather is like at the end of November.

As far as a tip, this can apply to anybody going to WDW. Don't think you can see it all....pick a few must do's and build in some flexible time to enjoy the sights and sounds!

Have a great trip

How fun! Hope you and yours have an amazing trip and thank you for the wonderful advice!

Where will you guys be staying?

 

[Her Dotness]

WOW! That is a plummy stay for a family with young kids.

Both WL and BC are very popular with families, probably the two Deluxe resorts with the most kid appeal.

It can be literally freezing cold at WDW in late November so take lots of layers with warm hats and gloves, extra blankets for stroller use, just in case. Doesn't happen often but is vicious when it does, we can attest from experience. We've had more than one week-before-Tday stay with daytime highs in the low 40s and low 30s nighttime. And I mean 5-6 frigid days that week. Brutal.

 

[bnf0522]

How fun! Hope you and yours have an amazing trip and thank you for the wonderful advice!

Where will you guys be staying?

It's a mother/daughter trip (I'm 38 and still going with my mom)...we're staying at Port Orleans French Quarter again.

My first trip was when I was 3 with my grandparents, cousins and parents...I still have wonderful memories from that trip and I'm sure your kids will too!

 

[sc05]

WOW! That is a plummy stay for a family with young kids.

Both WL and BC are very popular with families, probably the two Deluxe resorts with the most kid appeal.

It can be literally freezing cold at WDW in late November so take lots of layers with warm hats and gloves, extra blankets for stroller use, just in case. Doesn't happen often but is vicious when it does, we can attest from experience. We've had more than one week-before-Tday stay with daytime highs in the low 40s and low 30s nighttime. And I mean 5-6 frigid days that week. Brutal.

Oof, that sounds miserable! I will say, while I know different cold temps can hit differently based on where you are, we are from Minnesota so we're quite used to 0 degree weather (and negative...always fun) so anything is likely to be better than what we have here during our travels. That being said, we are definitely hoping for warmer weather! Thanks for the heads up!

 

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It's a mother/daughter trip (I'm 38 and still going with my mom)...we're staying at Port Orleans French Quarter again.

My first trip was when I was 3 with my grandparents, cousins and parents...I still have wonderful memories from that trip and I'm sure your kids will too!

Aww that's so amazing! I'm hoping to start a similar tradition with our boys and cannot wait for their first visit. Hope you and your mom have such an amazing time!

 

[StevieB81]

Remember that on the day you switch hotels, you are going to be "homeless" for a period of time. That period could include normal nap time. We've normally been lucky with getting earlier check in times, but the one time our room wasn't ready until nearly 6PM even though I went to the front desk to make sure they knew we were there at 9:30. I've also had a room ready before 10:30, so you never know what you'll get. Be prepared for the worst and anything else is good.

Take a picture of your kids every morning on your phone, in case they get lost. The parks are busy and it only takes a moment for a very excited 3 year old to dart off when he sees a character or what have you.

Whatever you plan is not going to go to plan. That's not a bad thing. Some of our very best memories are the little things we experienced after the plan fell apart.

 

[danceintherain]

I don't like to do split stays with my kids. I'm just not organized enough, so there's always something that gets tucked into the wrong bag. I prefer to unpack once and get everything organized.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Oof, that sounds miserable! I will say, while I know different cold temps can hit differently based on where you are, we are from Minnesota so we're quite used to 0 degree weather (and negative...always fun) so anything is likely to be better than what we have here during our travels. That being said, we are definitely hoping for warmer weather! Thanks for the heads up!

You sound like my sister. LOL When we lived in Orlando (from Michigan) she was down for a visit and one night we were getting ready to head to my softball game and we told her the temp will be in the 40's so bring a jacket. She scoffed and said we must have gotten soft after moving to Florida and that 40's is still nice weather in Michigan. Well my wife had to run back to our car during the game to get her a blanket. LOL We told her that it's a "moist" cold and nothing like up north, she said that it felt like her bones were cold

We have been to WDW many times when our DDs were that age and had a great time. We loved having a sit-n-stand stroller, with our DDs never had any melt downs from bing overtired Take it SLOW and just enjoy the sites and sounds and your children's reactions. We did more character meet-n-greets then character meals, because they rarly ate at them because they were always looking out for a character. Fortunitely for us, there are more characters for girls than for boys because a bunch of them are Princesses. We tried sticking to the home schedule and going back to the resort but by the 3rd day we threw the schedule out and since we had a stroller they would nap when they got tired and we would either sit and people watch or my DW may do some shopping while I sat (with a snack of course) or we may just rome around the park.

 

[Genie+]

Those cold mornings and evenings in Orlando can be bone chilling. Standing on lines in the early morning or watching fireworks at night… the cold penetrates, especially when you’re tired and not moving around. For winterish WDW trips, I always bring scarves, thin gloves, hats or hoodies. Those make a big difference when not wearing a true winter coat, which I don’t want to schlep around during the sunny midday. Scarves and gloves roll up nice and small.

 

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Thanks for the advice everyone!