Tips for First Trip with Toddler?

[amberlynnhawkins]

My husband and I are taking our 3 year old to the World for his first WDW trip the week of Labor Day. My mom is going with us. We have our dream of dining reservations - Be Our Guest, Le Cellier, California Grill for fireworks, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Chef Mickey's and Ohana for breakfast (our son is very well behaved in public, or there's no WAY we would've attempted some of those reservations). We're staying in a value resort and only planning 1 park a day, plus blocking out time for naps/resting (he's in that stage where sometimes he won't take a nap). We're also planning on carrying one of the fold-up umbrella strollers with a shade so he can rest his legs some too.

What's your best advice for us? He's a major Cars fanatic, so we're planning on resort hopping to the Art of Animation resort to see the cars, and we're planning on Hollywood Studios for our last day so he can "meet" Lightning McQueen and Mater. Other than that, he's a big Mickey and Donald fan.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[BeckFam08]

Don't overpack. As strange as it sounds. I took my son when he was 22 months and I would pack to go to the parks like we were going to be there for the next week. It's good to have snack options but if he normally eats 2 a day you don't need to pack 10.

Pack an extra outfit in a ziploc. Things happen and it's a long trip back to the room for new shorts. Plus you can store the dirty outfit in the bag if necessary.

If you are going to be in the parks until close, bring pjs so you don't have to change them while they are asleep.

Lastly, play like a kid. Run through the fountains, get down to their level and see things through their eyes. It will be an amazing experience.

 

[writermommy6]

I think the biggest thing that helped us when we took our then 2 yr old to Disney was to let them set the pace. We had planned on going back to the hotel for her naps but most days she fell asleep in the stroller. We found a shady spot and people watched until she woke up. Of course this was early May when daily showers kept the weather nice and comfortable.

 

[tina.tina]

DS was 5.5 when we went but I wish I'd had enough sense to take him for a car ride to put him to sleep. He was too excited to nap but he usually napped every day at preschool. One afternoon, we all lay down for a nap. We had been there, in the pitch dark quiet for around an hour and he hopped up and said "Guys can we get up now." He had never been to sleep. Later, he had a little melt down in Hollywood Studios. He was just miserable. We took the next day off and slept late but we would have been better off to get him to nap a couple of days.

Use ziplock baggies for packing stuff like wipes and extra clothes into the parks. The baggies are good to carry the dirty clothes back to your resort.

 

[msmama]

I agree with going at his pace. We skipped 3 for my own sanity, but my son has been every year otherwise. There are times when we just stop and watch ducks for awhile. It keeps the peace, lol. There is plenty of stuff to do without riding rides and sometimes that's what kids want to do. (It'll help with grandma there if some want to ride while someone else waits with the child).

Also, leaving mid day didn't work for us. Once we were back at the hotel, he wasn't leaving again. What still works for us is to go as long as we can and then leave. Some days that means we leave the park at two and don't go back. If you really need a break, I've taken random bus rides, monorail and boat rides. (Obviously if I have a reservation I really want that's later in the day, I plan the morning accordingly and we'll get a later start in the morning). That said, all this goes back to what I said first which is let him dictate your days.

There WILL be a melt down at some point. It may not be the child, it may be a grown-up, it may be you. It happens. Just do your best.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[wiigirl]

I think the biggest thing that helped us when we took our then 2 yr old to Disney was to let them set the pace. We had planned on going back to the hotel for her naps but most days she fell asleep in the stroller. We found a shady spot and people watched until she woke up. Of course this was early May when daily showers kept the weather nice and comfortable.

 

[Egdisney]

I would recommend springing for a bit of a nicer umbrella, one that leans back. My 3 year old never takes naps, but she would fall asleep in the stroller at Disney World. I just bought the first years ignite stroller, and it is great. It was about $50, but worth it. It leans back and it has a small basket beneath, as well as something I would equate to a fanny pack for your belongings on top and one cup holder. Plus, the handles are taller than most strollers I have had and it makes it much more comfortable for me to push. My daughter had the time of her life at Disney. She did great at all the restaurants. Her only meltdowns occurred on dark rides. Hated everything that was dark. The last leg of the plane ride home was also difficult, she was exhausted and it was difficult.

 

[aprilgail2]

If you are going to be in the parks until close, bring pjs so you don't have to change them while they are asleep.

Lastly, play like a kid. Run through the fountains, get down to their level and see things through their eyes. It will be an amazing experience.

We didn't even bother with the pajamas- if she fell asleep and was still asleep when we got back to room she just slept in clothes all night rather than bothering with getting pajamas on. Its vacation so for us anything goes! Also the hall of presidents was a GREAT place for an afternoon quickie nap! We also took a long nap on that dinosaur ride in EPCOT-I think we both slept on that one! We basically just took things as they came, we would go on rides, go back to hotel, go back to park, go back to hotel, swim, go to dinner one day--another day it would be the park in the morn. then just hanging out at the hotel swimming and going to dinner. My daughter basically decided our schedule and we ran with that and had an awesome trip when she was 2 1/2.

 

[Megkel]

I showed dd videos on YouTube of the rides, especially ones that I thought might make her nervous. I also brought cheap glow sticks to use in the dark rides. I'm not sure if it was the fact that she had her own light or the novelty of the light but it worked. They were also good for nighttime parades.

Things for the line are great. Cheap dollar store toys are great for this. Anything you can think of that is easy to carry around and won't be a disaster if it's lost.

Know the "quick" rides. People mover, Nemo, carousel of progress, etc.... They are all lines that move fast or rides that are not very popular. These are good to fill the times when you are waiting on fast pass or to "pack in" the day.

The biggest thing I would say is to try to make him understand the fast pass thing as much as you can. Dd had some issues "leaving" the ride without riding it. Once she grasped the concept a bit better it was a lot more enjoyable.

We pretty much let her run the schedule. Most of the time we spent the mornings at the park, afternoons at the hotel, and then back to the park for the evenings. (Honestly she is 8 now and that is still how we do it) If she wouldn't nap I learned a quick 15-30 minutes in the pool would do the trick. We had the dinning plan and she was able to have dessert at every meal. We bought popcorn for the parades. Pretty much didn't worry about a schedule or keeping a normal diet. (By day 2 the fun of dessert at every meals wears off anyway). Have fun a try to be flexible.

 

[CluelessDisFan]

Absolutely take change of clothes to the parks. Maybe pack a couple of waterproof pads for sleeping on too. My daughter was potty trained and had been accident free for many months. When we got to wdw all the sudden she regressed. We had to keep calling housekeeping to come change the bedding probably 3 or 4 extra times during our 5 nights at POR. Luckily when we went to Disney Land in September she only had one accident during our 9 days in California.
We also love to play Disney sing along videos with the characters in costumes they have never been scared of the characters.