Tips for a Mama's First Family Trip?

BanditsMommy

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 10, 2012
I am so accustomed to planning adults-only trips to Disney since DH and I have been going for 10 years now pre-baby. Now that DS has come onto the scene, I'm totally confused about what to look for when planning our Disney trip schedule. Generally I split the day into AM and PM and for PM I pick whatever park has Evening MH, but obviously DS isn't going to stay up as late as we would have so I'm at a loss.

Also, I weirdly have one of the few kids who doesn't get up early either! He usually wakes up between 8-8:45am and goes to bed around 8pm ish.

With this schedule in mind, any scheduling tips from veteran parents? I would welcome any insight as I'm totally confused and my 180 day mark is this weekend.
 
How old is your son? Does he still nap?

We took our first trip when our youngest was 2 and we had planned our days to go back to the resort in the afternoon for his nap, but he was such a good stroller napper that we were able to stay in the parks the whole day.

I would just plan to not try to cram too much into your days. I would schedule FP's earlier in the day for the things you really want to get done, just in case a meltdown sends you back to the hotel early. Be mindful of ADR times being around normal meal times to avoid a hangry kid - (if you normally eat dinner at 6 pm, you probably want to account for the time it's going to take to be seated, order, etc.)

I like to bring two bags - one bag to leave under the stroller with the kid's diapers/snacks/extra clothes and one bag I keep my wallet/phone/camera in that is easier to bring on rides.
 
Welcome to parenthood where everything you know gets thrown out the window!

For starters kids are different on vacation...mine decided to stay up an extra hour or 2 compared to at home.

Plan how you want, but be flexible. Schedule meals EARLIER than you normally eat to avoid hangriness. If you park hop, make the hops easy (MK--> Epcot, DHS -->Epcot)

Mine was a stroller napper (once we figured out she'd nap in a reclined stroller).

Have a plan in case your kid hates rides...mine hated practically EVERY ride we went on. So I made them less of a focus.
 
How old is your son? Does he still nap?

We took our first trip when our youngest was 2 and we had planned our days to go back to the resort in the afternoon for his nap, but he was such a good stroller napper that we were able to stay in the parks the whole day.

I would just plan to not try to cram too much into your days. I would schedule FP's earlier in the day for the things you really want to get done, just in case a meltdown sends you back to the hotel early. Be mindful of ADR times being around normal meal times to avoid a hangry kid - (if you normally eat dinner at 6 pm, you probably want to account for the time it's going to take to be seated, order, etc.)

I like to bring two bags - one bag to leave under the stroller with the kid's diapers/snacks/extra clothes and one bag I keep my wallet/phone/camera in that is easier to bring on rides.

Love the two bags idea and good call on sticking with home meal times. Honestly it's so second nature here, but I didn't even think about that when it came to Disney!
My son will be 18 months on our trip and he's a one nap a day kid usually after lunch.

Welcome to parenthood where everything you know gets thrown out the window!

For starters kids are different on vacation...mine decided to stay up an extra hour or 2 compared to at home.

Plan how you want, but be flexible. Schedule meals EARLIER than you normally eat to avoid hangriness. If you park hop, make the hops easy (MK--> Epcot, DHS -->Epcot)

Mine was a stroller napper (once we figured out she'd nap in a reclined stroller).

Have a plan in case your kid hates rides...mine hated practically EVERY ride we went on. So I made them less of a focus.

I'm crossing my fingers he'll be a stroller napper. We picked Swan/Dolphin for ease of walking/boats to Epcot and DHS in case he fell asleep. Flexibility will be new for me :-\ but I know it has to happen. Good reminder. I needed that. I will definitely have a backup in case he hates the rides. Did not even consider that, but it's a fair point!
 
A lot of families talk about midday breaks but for us they weren't practical. If my kids were tired, they would fall asleep on the bus ride back to the resort. Neither of my boys were "nap in the room" kind of kids. We found it easiest to let them nap in the stroller. We usually arrived at rope drop when the lines are most manageable. Rope dropping combined with careful planning of FP will allow you to wait in very few lines. Our general rule is no more than 25 minutes. My kids (1 and 3) can't handle long lines! We would stay in the parks as long as we could manage, which was usually mid-late afternoon. We'd then go back to the resort, and sometimes make it back to a park in the evening, sometimes not. Be prepared for your LO's schedule to change. For example, he may get tired from all the stimulation and fall asleep in the stroller at 11 am. You may try to get back to the resort for his normal bedtime only to find that he is wired and stays up an extra 2.5 hours. Disney with kids is amazing at any age! Enjoy! And one more very important tip: COVER YOUR STROLLER!!!! Storms pop up out of nowhere and you don't want to end up carrying kids because the stroller is drenched. We learned this the hard way.
 
@BanditsMommy My daughter was about 20 months when we went. She liked climbing on park benches the most and the fruit plates at breakfast. Alright kid, I flew like 1300 miles for you to climb on benches and shove your face with fruit at character breakfasts.
 
Go with flow is all I can add to what has already been said. You never know how a little one will react to a character, a show or ride, or a specific area.
 


At that age we opted for breakfast and lunch ADRs (even if it meant waking them up), over dinner - even though that’s not otherwise my personal preference. That way we could take the day as it came and not worry about having to be somewhere in the evening ... sometimes we went back for nap and a dinner reservation would have been fine, otherwise we went until 5 or 6 and crashed and ate at the resort. Less pressure :)
 
We kept my DGD's schedule, which meant no RD. That child slept in too.Shetended to be a night owl so we would go to the parks after she woke up, stay until late afternoon, and then go back to the resort to freshen up, swim or nap, shower and then go back out for dinner. She did like a late afternoon nap, (we did too) so it made sense to just return to the Resort. She was used to a later dinner, so we scheduled most meals after 6 PM, and were able to stay out later than a lot of folks with little ones.

We were pokey tourers, and let her enjoy whatever took her fancy. It is different with every child, but we found that if we changed her schedule, things were not pretty. DD wanted to RP Epcot one morning, and we were out way earlier than normal. DGD was fine....until she wasn't. We ended up canceling dinner, and heading back to the resort with a little girl who was clearly melting down and had no idea why or what she wanted. DSIL put his foot down after that and th elittle one was back on schedule.
 
We kept my DGD's schedule, which meant no RD. That child slept in too.Shetended to be a night owl so we would go to the parks after she woke up, stay until late afternoon, and then go back to the resort to freshen up, swim or nap, shower and then go back out for dinner. She did like a late afternoon nap, (we did too) so it made sense to just return to the Resort. She was used to a later dinner, so we scheduled most meals after 6 PM, and were able to stay out later than a lot of folks with little ones.

We were pokey tourers, and let her enjoy whatever took her fancy. It is different with every child, but we found that if we changed her schedule, things were not pretty. DD wanted to RP Epcot one morning, and we were out way earlier than normal. DGD was fine....until she wasn't. We ended up canceling dinner, and heading back to the resort with a little girl who was clearly melting down and had no idea why or what she wanted. DSIL put his foot down after that and th elittle one was back on schedule.

This sounds JUST like my son. He usually eats at 6 or later so that's perfect. And definitely whenever we mess with his schedule it ends in chaos, but when he decides to change up his own schedule we just go with the flow. I think scheduling dinners for us would be best bet and just go with the flow for lunch since some days he's sleepy earlier than others. Mama and Dada usually like a midday siesta anyway so I like this idea. Glad to see it worked for you guys and I'll just have to learn to be a little more go with the flow. Thanks!
 
This sounds JUST like my son. He usually eats at 6 or later so that's perfect. And definitely whenever we mess with his schedule it ends in chaos, but when he decides to change up his own schedule we just go with the flow. I think scheduling dinners for us would be best bet and just go with the flow for lunch since some days he's sleepy earlier than others. Mama and Dada usually like a midday siesta anyway so I like this idea. Glad to see it worked for you guys and I'll just have to learn to be a little more go with the flow. Thanks!
Keep in mind that your child is going to change a lot in the 6 months between now and your trip. Be flexible with the things you're planning at 180 days out so that you can fine tune your schedule as the trip gets closer. There is a big difference between a 12 month old and an 18 month old.
 
We went when our kid was 2. We did a lot of quick counter service meals instead of sit down dinners. Lot of breaks, plenty of time for little one to explore benches and water fountains and playgrounds and flowers. We slept in, moved slowly, changed plans on the fly. What worked for me was to adopt the mindset that the goal of the trip was to enjoy family time and let the little one explore. The only thing our kid remembers is the pool, LOL, but we made lots of good memories and did our best to relax and enjoy the late mornings and early evenings.
 
Keep in mind that your child is going to change a lot in the 6 months between now and your trip. Be flexible with the things you're planning at 180 days out so that you can fine tune your schedule as the trip gets closer. There is a big difference between a 12 month old and an 18 month old.

Fair point! I do always forget this so it's a good reminder. I think the only reliable thing I can count on judging by the last 12 months is that this kid will still always be on the move! :rotfl:

We went when our kid was 2. We did a lot of quick counter service meals instead of sit down dinners. Lot of breaks, plenty of time for little one to explore benches and water fountains and playgrounds and flowers. We slept in, moved slowly, changed plans on the fly. What worked for me was to adopt the mindset that the goal of the trip was to enjoy family time and let the little one explore. The only thing our kid remembers is the pool, LOL, but we made lots of good memories and did our best to relax and enjoy the late mornings and early evenings.

He loves the pool so I'm thinking that's going to be a big chunk of our afternoons. I love just enjoying family time and not rushing around the parks. That part will be really nice!
 

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