Questions on going with 19 mo??

[jupers]

Hi All!

So, after getting the free dining pin I convinced DH to go. DD will be 6 and DS 19 months. My parents are coming too.We are going in August.

Anyway, how challenging is it? He's almost done with bottles now, so I don't expect to worry about that. I know to go slow and more at his pace but what other tips can you offer?

Also, DD is very small for her age, should I consider renting a double stroller? I could see her maybe needing it, but is she too big? When we went and she was 4 she lived in it.

Lastly, any dining suggestions for kids this age? Thinking of CM, CP and LTT (I know there aren't anymore characters but keep hoping!)

 

[jenseib]

My DD was just over 2 the first time she went. She rarely sat in the stroller that year, but it was wonderful to have. Last year (at 3) she practically lived in the stroller. LOL! I have seen really big kids cram themselves into a stroller, so I would for sure get a double if you are renting. Rentin is costly though. My sister just was down a few weeks ago and it's 18 a day for a single, and I think she said 31 for a double. Might be better to bring your own double.

Just pace yourself slow. (something I still need to learn and concentrate on)

 

[GoofItUp]

I loved going with my DS at that age! He was so amazed by all the characters and just really took everything in. Seeing that little grin on his face constantly was just magical! We did take a stroller for him, but he was in and out of it. You might consider taking one that either child could ride in and letting them swap out. Or, you could always check out the double stroller swaps on the budget board if you want to have one just in case. My DS is a very good eater, so we didn't have any problems finding things he liked. He enjoyed any meal with characters. Really, there's so much theming at the restaurants that he was mesmerized everywhere we went.

Enjoy your trip. This is one of the best ages to take them, IMO! (Well, until you take them on the next one! )

 

[Kim68]

We went to Disney with almost that exact configuration of people at the end of 2007 - my husband and I, my 20 month old son, my 5 year old son and my parents. We brought our own stroller for the little one, but rented a single stroller for my 5 year old son. He is big for his age (I think then about 55 lbs), but fit completely fine in the single stroller and loved having his own space to rest.

We went in the very beginning of December, so the parks were not very crowded at all. We took our time with everything - got to the parks at about 10am and stayed to near closing time. My kids loved every minute. No breakdowns at all! We went to the parks 6 days (3 days, a break, then 3 more days).

We stayed at a time share off property for 7 nights and then moved to a family suite (and a regular room for my parents) at All Star Music. It was nice to be able to have a kitchen to have breakfast in and start off the day in a relaxed mode.

As far as other dining, we did all counter service meals for lunch and a couple of dinners. In fact, I don't think we did any table service on property that trip. Other dinners, we did chain eateries near our time share.

So...I would go with renting a single stroller for your big child and just take your time with everything. Your kids will be your gage as to how much then can handle every day. Don't get frustrated. There's no way you will be able to see everything in one trip. Relax and have a wonderful time!

 

[brockash]

Hi All!

So, after getting the free dining pin I convinced DH to go. DD will be 6 and DS 19 months. My parents are coming too.We are going in August.

Anyway, how challenging is it? He's almost done with bottles now, so I don't expect to worry about that. I know to go slow and more at his pace but what other tips can you offer?

Also, DD is very small for her age, should I consider renting a double stroller? I could see her maybe needing it, but is she too big? When we went and she was 4 she lived in it.

Lastly, any dining suggestions for kids this age? Thinking of CM, CP and LTT (I know there aren't anymore characters but keep hoping!)

We went last Sept. with DD (17 months at time) and DS (6 at the time.) It really was fine and we didn't have any problems. I personally bought a sit n stand stroller just for our trip so my DS would have a place to sit if he got tired. He didn't use it very often, but I'm so glad I got it. I can't tell you the peace of mind it gave me to make him get in at closing or during crowded times and know I had everything and could just concentrate on navigating the crowds without having to try to keep track of him as well. It really worked well for us, and we'll be taking it again this year when they'll be 2 and 7.

I think your TS meals look great, the great thing about the buffet type places and family style is that your DS will be able to have his own plate too.

The best tip I got on here last year, that I never even thought of was to bring a collapsable cooler thing for DD's bottles/sippy cups. We wen the first part of Sept. and it was a life saver. I got a larger one that would fit 4 cups/bottles comfortably and 5 if needed. I would throw the bottles in in the morning with an ice pack and we were good to go. Also, there are a few great little kid areas to play at in MK. My DD loved Pooh's playful spot and she had a lot of fun at the little play area under the train tracks around Splash Mountain while the older folks would ride that and BTM. The other thing I did that really made me feel better was I got a couple little rubber id type bracelett's for each kiddo before we left. We went to DL when my DS was 5 in a pretty large group and my DS was "lost" for about 3 minutes, scared the crap out of me and so they'll be having these when we go to Disney from now on It basically just had my cell # on it and I showed DS how to find a CM and show him the bracelett if needed. Generally he knows my cell, but it made me feel better that it was written down in case he panicked ect. I also put one on my DD's ankle, just to be safe than sorry. Thankfully we didn't need them, but they'll be going again this year. Have a great time.

 

[jupers]

Thanks so much for the encouragement. DH is worried about DS's age. I will definitely consider a stroller for DD too. I figure DS will be pretty mesmerized by everything. Hope you all have great trips and it looks like some of you will be there at the same time.

 

[lnh'smom]

Thanks so much for the encouragement. DH is worried about DS's age. I will definitely consider a stroller for DD too. I figure DS will be pretty mesmerized by everything. Hope you all have great trips and it looks like some of you will be there at the same time.

Sounds just like us except DS will be 17 months and in addition to him and DD6 we will have DS9. My husband thinks it is a bad idea to go when our last one will be so young.

 

[blessedby3]

We are going in 9 days with an DD18, DS13, DD9, and DD17mos. We took youngest dd at 3 1/2 mos and she was very easy. I am a bit more worried about her at 17mos, but there is no way that we wouldnt take her. I have taken the others at various ages and we just deal with what comes our way. I am taking her stroller, her puppy backpack leash for standing in line, and I have ordered soymilk, juice, yogurt, etc. from Garden Grocer.
We will play it by ear as to if we hop back to the resort for her to have a rest. We usually just stay all day, but are staying at the Poly so it will be easy to go back from MK and Epcot if need be.
My DD isnt great at restraunts so we are limiting our ts dining to 3 max. We are on the QS dining plan and will pay oop for those.

 

[lnh'smom]

I have ordered soymilk, juice, yogurt, etc. from Garden Grocer.

Is it cheaper to order that stuff through garden grocer? Never had to worry about this before as my other kids were older. Can't you just get milk and stuff at the resort? sorry, like I said, my older DK were 4 and 6 first time we went and didn't need extra milk and stuff!

 

[brockash]

Is it cheaper to order that stuff through garden grocer? Never had to worry about this before as my other kids were older. Can't you just get milk and stuff at the resort? sorry, like I said, my older DK were 4 and 6 first time we went and didn't need extra milk and stuff!

You can get milk and stuff at the resort. The first time we ordered groceries was last year for my 17 month old at the time, because she couldn't drink regular milk only soy, and I didn't even think to see if they had it there (BTW the do.) Anyways, we placed an order of cases of water, soy milk, lots of juice and a few snacks ect. and I think it worked out much better for us. We'll be doing it again this year. The grocery items are pretty resonable and I think the delivery charge is like $15. You can pick a window of time for them to deliver it, and even if you're not there yet they'll deliver it to the resort and your resort will keep cold items cold ect. In just the money I saved in bottled water alone, I think we saved money. Something to look into.

 

[ashlansmom]

Your little one will be fine and will LOVE it! The toughest thing is to not overdo it for them, they just are so stimulated and tire more easily!

As far as it went when we took our little one last year, she was 18 months then, we planned only a couple sit down meals and we did them either after naptime as early dinner or first thing in the morning. THe others we grabbed quick service or fed her in our room and had quick service ourselves. We ordered a lot of stuff from garden grocer because our daughter has an egg allergy which can make feeding her "out" a challenge. But we had milk, yogurt, water, diapers and snacks sent in from Garden Grocer. We were relying so much on the food in the room that buying those items at quick service would have ended up more expensive. We also had snacks brought in for ourselves since we wanted to be able to snack in the afternoon and maybe after she went to bed. We had the fridge in the room automatically so that was easy as far as refrigeration went.

If you are flying and planning on getting groceries, I really recommend buying your diapers there too just to save trouble packing. I brought enough diapers to get down there, plus a few extra, but I had diapers brought in with the groceries to save on packing space. I just bought a small pack so I didn't have a ton leftover at the end of the trip. Also, don't forget swim diapers!!

ENJOY!