questions about a trip with a three-year old

[hollygolitely]

We are planning our second trip my son's first for fall. He will be turning three the week of our trip. Could you kindly give your opinions on the following:

1) Ideas for celebrating his birthday at Disney. Including any FYIs on how to arrange.

2) Suggestions on dinner shows and theme park shows you think a three-year old boy would enjoy. AND which shows to avoid!

3) Words of advice for sleeping arrangements. We will be at Wilderness Lodge. Plan to return for naps. Wondering how he will sleep with us in the room for nap time and early bedtime...and wondering what the heck we will do to eat entertain ourselves during his sleep time (light sleeper he is!)

I feel good about understanding the attractions best suited for three-year old and have a loose iternary created. Any other tips for surviving with preschooler of course are welcomed (and encouraged!) HA!

Holly

 

[FutureDis]

Hi Holly! We'll be doing the same in September... our son will turn 3 while at Disney.

Naps will be a must for us too. He's never slept in a "big" bed by himself, so I will request bedrails (free I think from the resort). During his nap time, I'll be doing laundry, perhaps taking turns with hubby and enjoying the hot tub, relaxing, kicking up my feet, and maybe reading a good book. I'm going to try to take advantage of his nap time to recharge myself too. My sons normal bed time at night is 8:30pm. I suspect that will be closer to 9:30-10:00p on a few nights at Disney. I think he will be worn out enough to sleep the sleep of the dead, both at nap time and night time. At night, I'll relax in a hot bath (rather than a shower in the morning) both to unwind and cut some time off getting ready in the morning.

I'm even thinking of bringing the baby monitor with me... if we are right next to the pool (and can SEE our room), we might slip down there with the monitor and relax, or perhaps just sit outside the room with a drink.

I'll be watching the thread for more ideas!

 

[sau418]

We just got back from WL with our 2 and soon to be 3 yo daughters. During nap we relaxed on the balcony, I read or played with my iphone and DH did work. We had a bunk room and the girls shared a bed, we put them down in separate beds and then moved the older one to the other bed. We had planned to get back up and watch tv, snack, read etc, after they were asleep but many nights we ended up going to bed at the same time as them. We were all up and moving around 7am and enjoyed the extra rest.

 

[dismama]

When we took DS for the first time he was 1 month shy of 3. He was a timid child, so we took things slow, and did not force things on him. He had a blast and loved WDW. We were on the dining plan so we would usually eat our large meal, table service, for lunch and then head back to our room. We would usually try to get DS to nap, but he was just too excited, so we would normally head out to the pool and try to get him to just sit and relax for a while before the evening things. DS loved epcot and we spent the most time split between there and MK. We did not do may shows, as they were not DS thing, and a few DH and I had seen on a previous trip and we thought they may be a little too intense for DS. We also too earplugs with us. DS did not like loud noises and they really came in handy for some of the parades, and when we went to see the Muppets 3-D.

As far as routine, we tried to stick to our at home routine for bedtimes and what not, but we were flexible. And as far as sleeping we were usually ready for bed when DS went to sleep, or we would hang out on the balony for a while and then go to bed ourselves.

For his birthday get him a button, and make sure the resturants you are dining at know it is his brithday. Also you may want to arrange for a custom cake at the restuarant you are dining at or delivered to your room, check out the thread in the dining area.

When we were there we went to Chef Mickeys, 50's Prime Time, Boma, Garden Grill, Roaring Forks. They were all fine.

I will say the only real issue we had on the trip was a couple of time we did the parent swap to ride some things DS was too small for and DS got annoyed that he could not ride too.

The best thing is to take it slow, and go with the expectation that you may not see everything.

 

[Mom2JPL]

We are planning our second trip my son's first for fall. He will be turning three the week of our trip. Could you kindly give your opinions on the following:

1) Ideas for celebrating his birthday at Disney. Including any FYIs on how to arrange.

We've celebrated two of our kids b'days at WDW so far. When you check into your resort let them know you're celebrating a birthday and the day. They'll give you a b'day button. They may also ask you who your childs favorite character is - we told them Sleeping Beauty for my daughter and the day of her b'day when we got back to our room there was a card and balloons from Sleeping Beauty...very nice touch! I also arranged through the cake hotline to have a b'day slipper cake for my dd's b'day at our castle breakfast. Very easy to arrange. Also, you might want to think about having it marked on any ADR's that you have that you're celebrating your sons's b'day - they may (usually they do) bring him out a b'day cupcake at the end of the meal.

2) Suggestions on dinner shows and theme park shows you think a three-year old boy would enjoy. AND which shows to avoid!

My kids love all the parks in this order: HS (since Toy Story Mania..their absolute favorite ride!), MK (which was #1 until TSM arrived!), Epcot and AK. They were mesmerized by the Lion King show and Nemo show at AK. They didn't like Bug's Life...we won't be taking them back until they're a little older (their screams were ridiculous! LOL). We've been to most of the character meals, our favorites include Crystal Palace (with Pooh and friends), Tusker House (with Donald and pals, this was a noisey one but lots of fun), 'Ohana breakfast w/Stitch and friends (my sons FAVORITE is Stitchy) and Princess Storybook Dining at Askerhus (sp?) in Epcot...LOTS of princesses but not sure if it's what you want for you little boy, lol!

3) Words of advice for sleeping arrangements. We will be at Wilderness Lodge. Plan to return for naps. Wondering how he will sleep with us in the room for nap time and early bedtime...and wondering what the heck we will do to eat entertain ourselves during his sleep time (light sleeper he is!)

Our kids are OUT when we get back to the room! They're so exhausted from the parks, heat, humidity, etc that they are asleep soon after their bathes and don't wake until the morning! Our kids are early risers, so we were at the parks by rope drop (or before if we had an ADR before park opening), and played until lunch. We would eat lunch in the park and then head back to the room for naps/swim time. They were out again for naps...they're just so tried from the walking (or being in the stroller) for the activity and heat that they just want to lay and veg. After relaxing we'd get ready and head back to a park to eat and play some more, or head to an ADR at a resort and have a relaxing evening.


I feel good about understanding the attractions best suited for three-year old and have a loose iternary created. Any other tips for surviving with preschooler of course are welcomed (and encouraged!) HA!

I say just go with the flow - having a loose itinerary is best since kids can change your plans in an instant! Trust me, I know!!


Have a great trip! Your son will have a blast!!

 

[hollygolitely]

Thanks for the excellent ideas. I like the wine on the balcony the best !

We are debating about the How Down or whatever it is called at Ft Wilderness Camp and the Backyard BBQ with Mickey (same place). Also debating about Fantasmic (oh goodness I am butchering the names, aren't I?). Any thoughts on these night shows for a three-year old?

Thanks again!

Holly