Talk to Me About Taking a Toddler (infant info included!)

[SRUAlmn]

Thanks! That definitely helps! DS did well at 7 mos & slept in the stroller so we were able to stay in the parks from like 10-5 & then do his regular bedtime. We have the same habit of holding him to sleep for naps! I have to hold him the whole time unless he falls asleep in the stroller (but that only happens in WDW). He’s still 9 mos now so maybe we can start working on that!

The hardest part was making ourselves leave the park when we knew we needed to because we were having so much fun. Like, around 2:30 we knew we should probably leave because of the walk to the bus, waiting for the bus, walk to our room, milk and settling for nap time, etc... which we knew would probably take an hour+ in total. But then it was like omg, there’s Pluto with only 3 people in line and he’s obsessed with Pluto. Or, let’s just ride this one quick ride with no line. And then it’s an hour later and the nap is late and then the nap runs into bedtime because it started late. I think we let our excitement and fun get in the way of him napping on time in the afternoon. I think it’s a trade off you have to decide on. First trip we prioritized the sleep and we had fun. Second trip we prioritized fun and we had a BLAST, but were very tired. Haha!!

 

[KrazeeK120]

Does your DS usually sleep better at home? Did y’all keep his schedule in WDW? And, was it going to sleep or staying asleep or what? And, has he returned to “normal” now that y’all are home? Hope you don’t mind me asking. My DS is a great sleeper & I don’t want to mess that up!!

I see your son will be 17 months when you go. My 3 year old has always been a great sleeper. We took him at 18 months (and the week before his 3rd birthday). He’s always been an early riser, so making rope drop is never an issue for us. On both trips, we kept bedtime the same as at home. On the first trip, we made the mistake one day of going back to the resort at nap time. No nap was had that day. It was better to just let him fall asleep in the stroller. He was apparently not into the idea of a forced nap on vacation. He slept fantastic at night. We rented a crib from a 3rd party, so it was really similar to what we had at home.

On the trip before he turned 3, he napped some days and not some days (like at home). Again, we just did stroller naps. He slept pretty well at night, but he was a lot more aware of what was going on this trip and way excited to be in a big bed (vs his toddler bed at home), so bedtime was a little trickier. Not horrible though.

He did fine transitioning back to normal at home. We’ve done trips other than Disney and he never has problems returning home.

 

[LSUmiss]

I see your son will be 17 months when you go. My 3 year old has always been a great sleeper. We took him at 18 months (and the week before his 3rd birthday). He’s always been an early riser, so making rope drop is never an issue for us. On both trips, we kept bedtime the same as at home. On the first trip, we made the mistake one day of going back to the resort at nap time. No nap was had that day. It was better to just let him fall asleep in the stroller. He was apparently not into the idea of a forced nap on vacation. He slept fantastic at night. We rented a crib from a 3rd party, so it was really similar to what we had at home.

On the trip before he turned 3, he napped some days and not some days (like at home). Again, we just did stroller naps. He slept pretty well at night, but he was a lot more aware of what was going on this trip and way excited to be in a big bed (vs his toddler bed at home), so bedtime was a little trickier. Not horrible though.

He did fine transitioning back to normal at home. We’ve done trips other than Disney and he never has problems returning home.

Great to hear! We just took him at 7 mos & did basically exactly this. He has never been a stroller napper but napped in the stroller at wdw no problem. That wasn’t really the plan, but he crashed a few times before we could even get him to the front of the park so for the rest of the trip, we knew he would. We kept his bedtime & also rented a crib just like his at home. On our next trip he’ll be 17 mos so I wasn’t sure how much he’ll change between now & then as far as wdw is concerned. It would be so much easier if he would nap in the stroller again. We are staying at AKL so getting back to the room for naps would not be ideal. So far he doesn’t really have a nap “schedule” b/c he does what he wants lol! But, he does have a bedtime schedule & we know better than to mess with that! He doesn’t handle that well AT ALL! Thank you for the advice!

 

[snm2017]

Yay!! Glad it’s helping!! I wanted to start it so there could be a place where there was info all in one place specific to this age group! It is COMPLETELY different than going as 2 adults. Many pros and definitely some things that can feel like cons, haha! We were always night time park people so it has felt very different for us to be back to our room by 8:00-9:00 and not see most of the fireworks, but the joy of seeing him have so much fun definitely outweighs that!

Our little guy hadn’t had any experience with characters outside of WDW. We took him at 7 months old and he would sort of sheepishly smile or laugh if they played peek a boo. Taking him at 17 months, he was hysterically laughing and so insanely joyful and smiling ear to ear! He does watch Disney Jr so I think that helped him recognize the characters and he loves them on TV and as stuffies so I was hoping that love would transfer. He was very cautious with new people/CMs/face characters that talked to him but the costumed characters were his JAM!!

Oh good! We have started letting our girl watch more disney Jr and movies in hopes she will recognize the characters and be excited!

Another question I just thought of. Did you use a carrier at all for lines/places the stroller wasn’t allowed or did you just tough it out and carry him in your arms? I’ve seen them recommended for little babies a lot, but haven’t seen any recommendations for toddlers. She already gets heavy so quickly!

 

[SRUAlmn]

Oh good! We have started letting our girl watch more disney Jr and movies in hopes she will recognize the characters and be excited!

Another question I just thought of. Did you use a carrier at all for lines/places the stroller wasn’t allowed or did you just tough it out and carry him in your arms? I’ve seen them recommended for little babies a lot, but haven’t seen any recommendations for toddlers. She already gets heavy so quickly!

Great question!!

I didn’t! I wished when he was 7 months old that I had, so I seriously considered taking one this time. However, I am very large chested and carriers are insanely uncomfortable for me. Plus, my little guy is so active so I knew he wasn’t about to just hang there, strapped in while we waited. We really just stuck to things we had fastpasses for and never were in line for more than 5-10 mins so it wasn’t too bad. There were a couple occasions in which we had to wait for a character to take a break or a fastpass line that was slightly longer so Daddy and I just kept taking turns and passing him back and forth. I do remember being in the fastpass line for Mickey in the MK and he was SOO squirmy that we literally passed him back and forth like 30 times, ha!! That line can feel like an eternity when you have a squirmy toddler and once we got into the room where you can see Mickey and he saw him, it was all over! He was so excited and wanted to get to him immediately and didn’t understand that he had to wait.

I would say the toughest part sometimes was places where the stroller parking was far from where we were going and we had to carry him that distance, plus hold him in line. Luckily this trip wasn’t at a busy time of year so it was never really unbearable!

Also wanted to note, our little guy is TALL and only 22-23 lbs so he gets heavy quickly but maybe not as quickly as a stockier little one might. Just wanted to add that for reference

 

[danikoski]

Oh good! We have started letting our girl watch more disney Jr and movies in hopes she will recognize the characters and be excited!

Another question I just thought of. Did you use a carrier at all for lines/places the stroller wasn’t allowed or did you just tough it out and carry him in your arms? I’ve seen them recommended for little babies a lot, but haven’t seen any recommendations for toddlers. She already gets heavy so quickly!

We are taking a 19 month old in June. He likes to hip carry so we are taking his ring sling with us, along with a stroller. The sling is for specifically standing in lines. I wouldn't want him in it for more than 30 minutes or so. The great thing about the ring sling is it's easy to get him in and out so he doesn't have to stay in it the whole time in line.

 

[snm2017]

Great question!!

I didn’t! I wished when he was 7 months old that I had, so I seriously considered taking one this time. However, I am very large chested and carriers are insanely uncomfortable for me. Plus, my little guy is so active so I knew he wasn’t about to just hang there, strapped in while we waited. We really just stuck to things we had fastpasses for and never were in line for more than 5-10 mins so it wasn’t too bad. There were a couple occasions in which we had to wait for a character to take a break or a fastpass line that was slightly longer so Daddy and I just kept taking turns and passing him back and forth. I do remember being in the fastpass line for Mickey in the MK and he was SOO squirmy that we literally passed him back and forth like 30 times, ha!! That line can feel like an eternity when you have a squirmy toddler and once we got into the room where you can see Mickey and he saw him, it was all over! He was so excited and wanted to get to him immediately and didn’t understand that he had to wait.

I would say the toughest part sometimes was places where the stroller parking was far from where we were going and we had to carry him that distance, plus hold him in line. Luckily this trip wasn’t at a busy time of year so it was never really unbearable!

Also wanted to note, our little guy is TALL and only 22-23 lbs so he gets heavy quickly but maybe not as quickly as a stockier little one might. Just wanted to add that for reference

I think we might get one and start wearing her around to get her used to it just to be prepared. Right now she really likes to be held, but I know a lot can change in 7 months!

How many nights did you stay and how many park days did you do? Right now we are booked for 5 nights/6 day and have 4 days of tickets (no parks on first and last day because of flights). I’m really contemplating adding on an extra day to have a rest day in the middle, but I can’t decide if that would be better or if it would be better just to go, go, go and then crash when we get home. It so difficult to plan when you really have no idea what your child is going to be like 7 months from now when she is changing so much week to week!

 

[SRUAlmn]

I think we might get one and start wearing her around to get her used to it just to be prepared. Right now she really likes to be held, but I know a lot can change in 7 months!

How many nights did you stay and how many park days did you do? Right now we are booked for 5 nights/6 day and have 4 days of tickets (no parks on first and last day because of flights). I’m really contemplating adding on an extra day to have a rest day in the middle, but I can’t decide if that would be better or if it would be better just to go, go, go and then crash when we get home. It so difficult to plan when you really have no idea what your child is going to be like 7 months from now when she is changing so much week to week!

We arrived on Sunday afternoon and left on Friday afternoon. We went to the MK the afternoon we arrived and got his first haircut at the Main St Barber Shop, met Mickey, ate some dinner, and met Pooh & Tigger. We went to a park every other day, including going to EPCOT Friday morning because it was the first day of Festival of the Arts and then going to Disney Springs on the way home. It was definitely TOO much! We’re already planning to do 6 nights on our next trip, instead of 5, so we can take more breaks! We all got bad sinus/cold things when we got home and we NEVER get sick. I think we were just completely run down!

And I totally agree about the difficulty of planning so far in advance with kids this age!! I made all of our fastpasses and schedule based on the patterns I’d seen from him around the time we had to book them, and those patterns had been steady for a few months so I felt confident about them. Then, like a week before we left for Disney he decided he was going to change it up on me! Haha and changing some of our reservations wasn’t possible because there was no availability.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Just giving this a little bump for anyone who recently booked a trip & is looking for info on taking this age group to WDW!

 

[SRUAlmn]

We went with our 15 month old last year. It was great. Such great memories. You can request a crib. We got one at the GF, but I also rented one in case we did not get one. Well luckily I rented one. Turns out the one the GF brought us had a DIRTY sheet on it when they brought it into our room! It was BROWN stuff, not sure if it was chocolate or. poop! I was so grossed out, at the GF no less! They clearly just brought me in a crib that came straight from someone's room. Even though I had clorox wipes with me, I was grossed out big time! Luckily I rented a crib which was delivered to my room at the same time, from Kingdom strollers (got the stroller from them too). I rented it because I am a germ freak and Kingdom hospital grade sanitizes the crib, sends it wrapped in a cover, sheets come in a clear plastic baggie. So clean!! Best thing I did for our trip. 15 month old slept great and was safe while inside.

No organic milk but I did get a small Hood milk 2 times a day for baby from our QS.

Resurrecting my thread because we are going to be visiting again in 2 weeks and our little one is now 2!!

I’m having a major debate about where he should sleep at POP. He’s still in a crib at home. Last time we took our P&P when he was 16 months, but he’s too tall for it now and I’d be up all night worrying he’d be trying to flip out of it. With the Disney cribs and rental cribs from other places I’ve heard various reports of some being full sized with 5” mattresses and others being more of a smaller crib with a 3” P&P style mattress? Can anyone help or offer suggestions? I’m really most concerned about the height of the sides so that I know he’s not going to flip out if he stands up and leans over. He’s about 34-35” tall.

My thoughts have been all over from renting a crib, to doing the inflatable bed bumpers and having him use the second bed, to getting an inflatable toddler bed for the floor, but all seem fairly “unsafe” when the room isn’t really toddler proofed if he were to get up in the night? Not that we wouldn’t hear him but the thought of it makes me nervous. I also don’t want to change up too much of is routine since so many other things will be different and if he doesn’t sleep it’s not fun! Haha

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Resurrecting my thread because we are going to be visiting again in 2 weeks and our little one is now 2!!

I’m having a major debate about where he should sleep at POP. He’s still in a crib at home. Last time we took our P&P when he was 16 months, but he’s too tall for it now and I’d be up all night worrying he’d be trying to flip out of it. With the Disney cribs and rental cribs from other places I’ve heard various reports of some being full sized with 5” mattresses and others being more of a smaller crib with a 3” P&P style mattress? Can anyone help or offer suggestions? I’m really most concerned about the height of the sides so that I know he’s not going to flip out if he stands up and leans over. He’s about 34-35” tall.

My thoughts have been all over from renting a crib, to doing the inflatable bed bumpers and having him use the second bed, to getting an inflatable toddler bed for the floor, but all seem fairly “unsafe” when the room isn’t really toddler proofed if he were to get up in the night? Not that we wouldn’t hear him but the thought of it makes me nervous. I also don’t want to change up too much of is routine since so many other things will be different and if he doesn’t sleep it’s not fun! Haha

We got a pea pod plus before going to Hawaii when my son was 22 months. He was zipped in (and couldn’t use Zippers are the time) and we still had him in a sleep sac so he was unable to get out. With the blowup mattress under it he seemed quite comfortable and even as a larger 4 year old he still fits in it and likes it.

 

[wendlle]

I don't understand what your Son could get into in a hotel room. We never "proofed" our house for either of our kids, so I guess I don't really understand but there isn't really anything in a hotel room they can get at that could hurt them.

When we took our DD when she was 19 months old she slept in the Murphy Bed. She did great, you can request bed rails. But sounds like a crib would be better for you or putting a mattress on the floor. I think you will be fine with that. Honestly our kids are so tired by the end of the day they'll sleep anywhere.

 

[SRUAlmn]

We got a pea pod plus before going to Hawaii when my son was 22 months. He was zipped in (and couldn’t use Zippers are the time) and we still had him in a sleep sac so he was unable to get out. With the blowup mattress under it he seemed quite comfortable and even as a larger 4 year old he still fits in it and likes it.

Thanks so much for this idea. I was looking at those previously and wasn’t sure if a blowup mattress would fit in it. I have a huge wiggle worm so I’m thinking if I put a mattress under it he’d find a way to flip it off of it. Ha! Unless it has a really wide base? We live in SC and until yesterday it’s still been really hot so he hasn’t had much practice with zippers since he’s been old enough to possibly manage them. I’ll have to test him out to see if he can do it!

 

[SRUAlmn]

I don't understand what your Son could get into in a hotel room. We never "proofed" our house for either of our kids, so I guess I don't really understand but there isn't really anything in a hotel room they can get at that could hurt them.

When we took our DD when she was 19 months old she slept in the Murphy Bed. She did great, you can request bed rails. But sounds like a crib would be better for you or putting a mattress on the floor. I think you will be fine with that. Honestly our kids are so tired by the end of the day they'll sleep anywhere.

Electrical outlets, toilet, climbing things and falling, pulling things off counter tops onto himself, the refrigerator, etc...

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Thanks so much for this idea. I was looking at those previously and wasn’t sure if a blowup mattress would fit in it. I have a huge wiggle worm so I’m thinking if I put a mattress under it he’d find a way to flip it off of it. Ha! Unless it has a really wide base? We live in SC and until yesterday it’s still been really hot so he hasn’t had much practice with zippers since he’s been old enough to possibly manage them. I’ll have to test him out to see if he can do it!

Mine came with a mattress that goes in the bottom of the tent and then zips in. Shown in the picture below. He seemed comfy enough on it and we’ve travelled to Hawaii, my parents and WDW with is as well as local hotels

 

[SRUAlmn]

Mine came with a mattress that goes in the bottom of the tent and then zips in. Shown in the picture below. He seemed comfy enough on it and we’ve travelled to Hawaii, my parents and WDW with is as well as local hotelsView attachment 450034

Thanks so much for the pic! So it’s like the thin mats that come in pack n plays? We used our P&P at Christmas without a real mattress and just the thin mat it came with and he slept horribly but it could’ve also just been from being in an unfamiliar place!

 

[LSUmiss]

Resurrecting my thread because we are going to be visiting again in 2 weeks and our little one is now 2!!

I’m having a major debate about where he should sleep at POP. He’s still in a crib at home. Last time we took our P&P when he was 16 months, but he’s too tall for it now and I’d be up all night worrying he’d be trying to flip out of it. With the Disney cribs and rental cribs from other places I’ve heard various reports of some being full sized with 5” mattresses and others being more of a smaller crib with a 3” P&P style mattress? Can anyone help or offer suggestions? I’m really most concerned about the height of the sides so that I know he’s not going to flip out if he stands up and leans over. He’s about 34-35” tall.

My thoughts have been all over from renting a crib, to doing the inflatable bed bumpers and having him use the second bed, to getting an inflatable toddler bed for the floor, but all seem fairly “unsafe” when the room isn’t really toddler proofed if he were to get up in the night? Not that we wouldn’t hear him but the thought of it makes me nervous. I also don’t want to change up too much of is routine since so many other things will be different and if he doesn’t sleep it’s not fun! Haha

A baby’s best friend absolutely has full sized cribs with 5 in mattress. We have used them for 3 trips now. DS is big & tall & cannot sleep in anything but a full sized crib. We will use them again when we go in Feb & DS will be 22 mos then. Does your son still sleep in a crib at home? If so, he shouldn’t have an issue trying to get out if he doesn’t do that a home yet. I am a stickler for DS’ nighttime routine b/c he has been doing it so well since he was just 6 weeks. I don’t mess with that either!

 

[LSUmiss]

Electrical outlets, toilet, climbing things and falling, pulling things off counter tops onto himself, the refrigerator, etc...

I was thinking maybe pp has girls. Everyone I know with boys has/had similar experiences to mine & all those things you mentioned are issues for him. And just when I think I’m one step ahead of him he finds some new dangerous activity.

 

[SRUAlmn]

A baby’s best friend absolutely has full sized cribs with 5 in mattress. We have used them for 3 trips now. DS is big & tall & cannot sleep in anything but a full sized crib. We will use them again when we go in Feb & DS will be 22 mos then. Does your son still sleep in a crib at home? If so, he shouldn’t have an issue trying to get out if he doesn’t do that a home yet. I am a stickler for DS’ nighttime routine b/c he has been doing it so well since he was just 6 weeks. I don’t mess with that either!

Same!!! And thank you for the BBF info! I had read that somewhere but DH is all like but the Disney ones are free and I’m all like do you want to be up all night? Haha!! My little guy is the same and I’m the same about his sleep. If there’s a factor I can semi control to make our trip more enjoyable, I’m doing it!!

I was thinking maybe pp has girls. Everyone I know with boys has/had similar experiences to mine & all those things you mentioned are issues for him. And just when I think I’m one step ahead of him he finds some new dangerous activity.

That’s funny because that was my first thought too! Boys will keep you on your TOES! Curious little buggers! Haha

 

[beercity]

Resurrecting my thread because we are going to be visiting again in 2 weeks and our little one is now 2!!

I’m having a major debate about where he should sleep at POP. He’s still in a crib at home. Last time we took our P&P when he was 16 months, but he’s too tall for it now and I’d be up all night worrying he’d be trying to flip out of it. With the Disney cribs and rental cribs from other places I’ve heard various reports of some being full sized with 5” mattresses and others being more of a smaller crib with a 3” P&P style mattress? Can anyone help or offer suggestions? I’m really most concerned about the height of the sides so that I know he’s not going to flip out if he stands up and leans over. He’s about 34-35” tall.

My thoughts have been all over from renting a crib, to doing the inflatable bed bumpers and having him use the second bed, to getting an inflatable toddler bed for the floor, but all seem fairly “unsafe” when the room isn’t really toddler proofed if he were to get up in the night? Not that we wouldn’t hear him but the thought of it makes me nervous. I also don’t want to change up too much of is routine since so many other things will be different and if he doesn’t sleep it’s not fun! Haha

We have used the inflatable bumpers a few times now and they work pretty good. We used one on the pull-down bed at Poly, the only issue was our little one scooted up the top of the bed and sort of slid out of the bed in the middle of the night. This just happened once, we put her further down the bed the next night and stuffed some pillows at the top and it didnt happen again. We plan to use 2 inflatable bumpers at Pop this winter.

If you have the space, I can also vouch for the hiccapop inflatable toddler bed on Amazon. Its a lot more weight, but it has bumpers built in. We have traveled with it a few times, mostly to visit family, and it works well.