Looking for advice on planning 1st first trip with a 1 and a 5 yr old

[tinaver]

Good morning all,
I am just beginning to get my thoughts together on planning a first trip for the family. I've been reading the disboards and various other online resources for a year or two. Now that it's finally time to actually make some decisions, I'd love some feedback.

We are planning a trip from Saturday Nov. 28 - Thursday Dec. 3. We'll be staying close to MK, either at the Wilderness Lodge or the Poly. My mom may join us - and if she does, we'll stay at the Poly for the larger room.

One quick question here - for the boats from WL and the monorail. My understanding is that you can ride on both without needing to fold up the stroller. Is that right? I am assuming the 1 year old will be taking some naps in the stroller.

I am beginning to think about ADRs and how to structure our day. The only thing I know for sure is that we'll be taking midday breaks.

I guess I am wonder what makes the most sense for our ADRs. Character meals/sit down breakfast first thing to start the day with full bellies? Or, light breakfasts and hitting the parks early with a plan for a large lunch?

For those who've visited with children around the same age...what did you find was the best way to outline your day to keep those little ones happy?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[smurphs719]

You guys are going to have so much fun! We took our son when he was 1.5 and again when he was 3.5. We love Disney in the winter.
We don't take midday breaks because DS sleeps like a champ in the stroller and it gives us some grown up time at the park, but we did find that it was all easier if we did reservations for lunch or early dinner. In the morning he is too amped up and ready to go. We usually woke up and fed my son some dry cereal we brought, then would grab real QS breakfast in the park. Then we did a lot of character lunches and a few reserved dinners. The rest of the day we just sort of did what he wanted, which of course, he loved!

 

[crewsn]

Assuming your kids are like mine. Meals at lunchtime were best. My kids normally eat their biggest meal then honestly. By dinner they are usually very restless so mainly stayed away from table service reservations at dinner or one night did an early dinner.

Follow there normal schedules as best fits with the parks. Mine are early risers so rope drops were easy and mornings best for touring. Some parks we did 3/4 days, ie Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios. MK we took midday breaks to see night entertainment. Epcot is more relaxed so a stroller nap worked fine.

 

[crewsn]

And no worries on keeping them happy with anything special. They are at Disney. My children loved it all at those ages.

 

[LaurEm378]

Mornings are so pleasant and you can get a lot done before the crowds roll in, so I wouldn't plan a lot of sit down breakfasts. Definitely book the breakfasts you want to do, but save mornings for park touring in general. My kiddo can usually go go go in the mornings, then we break for lunch and he eats like a horse, then conks out in the stroller.

I agree with the previous poster who said to be wary of dinner ADRs with little kids. They can be tough if nap time didn't go so well, which you won't know until you're living it. ADRs can get backed up and that creates longer waits. I try to book dinner right at a restaurant's opening time, which helps.

I'm not sure about the boats. You can roll a stroller right on to the monorail, but at peak times (like park opening/closing) it can be hard to find a car that's empty enough to fit it. Give yourself extra time in the mornings, and if you're staying for nighttime shows, it might make sense to stay put and wait for the crowds to thin out before even trying for a monorail.

You're going to have a blast. Happy planning!

 

[AspenLL]

We are taking our son for the first time Disney on Wednesday. He is almost 13mo. I made dinner ADRs for around when he normally eats, which is between 5-6pm. I booked CP for one breakfast and Boma for another. We are planning on going back to the hotel (AKL) in the middle of the day to relax and give him some down time. Thankfully he loves napping in the stroller so that's a plus on our side. Can't wait to see how this goes

 

[margaret07013]

I went with 2.5 and 4.5 this past April and stayed at Poly. a year earlier 1.5 and 3.5 - we stayed at WL.

a few suggestions:

- Poly / WL --- both great. Do you take monorail or 10 min boat trip - both my kids didnt mind. both great resorts - if money no object - Poly would be my choice.

- I don't know when you are going but I wouldn't plan any breakfast with kids. none. you give them something quick in the room and go to the park as early as possible. We went in May last year and our plan was always simple:

- extra magic hours, most desirable rides first thing without FP, after 3-4 hrs lunch at 11:30am which served as a break from the heat and break for parents.

- from 1 to 4pm break from parks: swimming and mandatory break.

- from 4pm to closing - dinner and FP+ rides.

I would strongly recommend learning about RiderSwap option and maximize it to your advantage.

 

[azarine]

We are going with a 2 & 5 yr old so had similar questions. We've planned to have breakfast in our room most days to get us to the parks as early as possible, to make the most of the mornings - shortest lines and that's when my kids have the most energy. We've planned most ADR's for lunch because my kids eat the best for lunch and are more likely to behave at lunch than at dinner We are planning hotel breaks from about 1-4 every day, mostly because of the heat. Check out my pre-trip report (link in signature) for our daily plans!

 

[tina.tina]

We all enjoyed a day where we had a light breakfast/snack in the room and the latest breakfast ADR at Crystal Palace that counted as our lunch, but we all really like breakfast food. Then, we had Mickey bars for an afternoon snack. Pooh and friends spent tons of time with us because there was hardly anyone left in the restaurant (and we were there during a busy spring break time). I think that worked really well for an early dinner with small kids.

My DS5 refused to nap even though he had a nap every day at preschool. We all were laying down in the dark for over an hour and he asked if we could get up yet. It was obvious that he hadn't even been asleep even though the rest of us had. He had a slight melt down at DHS before Fantasmic! I always carry a bunch of wash cloths in our park bag for multiple uses and I actually used a sharpie to make a puppet out of a washcloth to cal him down before Fantasmic! So, be flexible.

 

[Mainemama]

Only the larger boat from WL allows roll on. You can always wait for the next launch, but the monorail is far superior for a sleeping child, in my opinion. (And I love WL!) You also have 1 more park you can access without folding the stroller (Epcot) from the Poly. Our best touring days have always been a quick, easy breakfast at resort ( or in stroller waiting for park to open), and a sit down lunch between 11 and 12:30. The beauty of this plan is often, the baby is asleep for part of the meal, which makes waiting easier! We are ready for a break at that point, and head back to the resort after lunch. We have not had good luck with table service dinners, due to kids' energy and typically slower service. If we do breakfast, we have learned not to plan an early morning in the park. It always takes longer than you think to eat! We do breakfast ADR as a rest day meal, or just plan to arrive after opening and use FP, not worrying about other rides.

 

[tinaver]

Thanks for all the feedback! I was leaning against ADRs first thing in the morning and this confirmed those thoughts. Nice not to have the added stress of making a reservation time when you're trying to get LOs ready.

The plan of a very late breakfast/early lunch as a time to take a break makes perfect sense - as well as avoiding table service dinners.

Now to plan where we will be each day and which ADRs to try for.