Our son potty trained over the summer but I’m worried about accidents in Disney due to distractions or being in a long line. Any tips for navigating potty time in Disney with a toddler?
We made a rule our daughter had to try every time mommy or daddy went. That was it. So we just went a lot. Before getting in any line that was longer then 10/15 minutes and at least every 90 minutes. It’s a lot and a bit annoying but no accidents. We pretty much keep the rule she needs to try every time I go all the time, sometimes it’s the best way to get her to go. She often tells us I’m she doesn’t need to go but we know 20 minutes into a drive she will have to go. Good luck!
are you flying? if so I would put a pull up over his underwear for flight. nothing worse than seatbelt sign on and you hear "I have to go now". most likely you will not be allowed up
Go often. Don't regress to diapers/pull ups if the child has not been using them. Bring an extra outfit each day. If going on Carousel of Progress insist on going right before (both nieces ended up having to go and my sister found out from the first niece that you cannot leave or it breaks the ride so when the second niece had to go she asked if anyone in there had a diaper and then some) First niece also had to go on the plane because it was delayed so long on the runway. They used a barf bag. Worked pretty well lol.
There’s a chance I’ll be considered a bad parent, but I put my kid in pull ups for the trip. He hadn’t turned 3 yet, had only been fully trained for about 6 weeks (going #2 on the toilet was an issue for several months), and was still wearing pull ups at night. I didn’t intend for him to use the pull up, but it gave me peace of mind (especially on the 16 hour car ride). He did absolutely great - no accidents. We made sure to visit restrooms often (like every 1-1.5 hours or so). Our trip was just over a month ago. We ditched the pull ups all together 2 days after the trip (on DS’ 3rd birthday), and have had no problems. I’d say he’s had no ill effects from wearing pull ups on the trip.
ANYONE SEE THE ARTICLE THAT A MOM USED A BABY POTTY IN THE AISLE OF A PLANE? SHE WAS EATEN ALIVE WITH ONLINE COMMENTS. We carried a potty in our SUV the first two weeks of training when she wouldn't relax to go on a big pulic toilet. haha. I wouldn't do it in public, but the back of my car - yes... so I can sort of relate. Especially when we went to an outdoor festival with pot-a-pottys. My daughter has been "Fully" (less than a couple accidents a week) #1 for about 1 month and 80% trained on #2 for week. We leave in 6 days for a 11 day trip. I've been thinking about this topic a lot. I think children often treat pull-ups as the parents do - we have referred to them as underwear since day 1 and parents can't allow themselves to be lax because of the security of the pull-up or the child will just pee in them. From my knowledge parents who potty train with heavy reliance on pull ups often make the process significantly longer - BUT I think a Disney trip (4th trip in 4 years next week so I know what I'm referring to) is a special circumstance. We use pull ups at night even though she's only wet in it 2X in the past month - she also wet 2x without one on and I was over it. I think I used all my patience on my first child and am just out this time around . I was strict with my first - I never bought a pull up and took diapers away cold turkey - it actually was VERY EASY- BUT my 2nd is a different child, I am a different type mom, and I just feel what's best for us. We won't use a pull-up for the flight assuming she has a regular morning and goes without fits/drama/and will go right before we board. I will monitor her intake (typically I don't restrict at all) but she isn't going to be allowed anything more than a cup or so of liquid before the last potty, and probably nothing but sips after. Our drive is only 3 hours to airport - and we will stop once and she will pee or we won't take off again. The flight is only 2.5 hours. I actually thought about taking a full size beach towel for her to sit on... but idk if that will happen. AS far as #2, she goes every night - dinner, right to bath, then right to potty. This is her time, and she doesn't go other times - it's just naturally happened this way. There's a chance this will fall to crap with our eating, sleeping, and where we are so we will see what happens. I will have 2-3 pull ups in our bag at all times - just incase something crazy happens - like getting sick. Not carrying them is just asking for issues. lol. I would NOT put a pull up OVER underwear - if they have an accident you will still have a mess to clean up - smaller, but still a mess. Question for others - what concerns should I have with a airplane bathroom? I've flown several times but never over a 4 hour flight, so I've always "held it."
The concerns with an airplane bathroom are first that they aren't very big. That's a lot more of a concern if you're trying to change a diaper which won't be an issue for you, but it's still a tight fit for an adult and child. If you were to have to change their clothes, it is doable, but again, a tight fit. Second, the flush of the toilet can be a little scary for some children as the flush on many airplane toilet can be a bit loud and powerful. If your child tends to be sensitive to some loud toilets, maybe have them cover their ears. Other than that, I wouldn't worry about the airplane bathrooms too much, though I would recommend having them use the restroom right before you board the plane.
I think that’s the key. I told my son they were underwear and after the first week of training, the only time he ever peed in them was when he was sleeping. People have different potty training styles and it doesn’t really matter what you do as long as it works for your family. They all get there eventually!
years ago we were on flight when young daughter said she had to pee but cart was between us and bathroom. was told too bad she had to hold and you know where I am going with this she didn't make it wet clothes and set. FAs were not happy and I was told I should have had a diaper on her. she hadn't used diapers in 6 months. I had better luck with my girls with pull up over underwear for accidents when traveling cause without underwear feel they didn't care and would just pee. also if seatbelt sign is on you will not be able to unfasten you child to change if needed
At Disney sometimes bathrooms can seem few and far between so we made a rule to stop and try everytime we came across a bathroom at the park and it worked as we had no accidents.
Not sure where you are in night time training, but I know kids sometimes sleep more soundly at Disney and might no rouse enough to realize they need to go potty in the middle of the night. I would consider pull ups overnight just in case...plus we also sleep one parent & one kid in a bed to keep the peace and I don't want to wake up to a surprise. Also, my boys sometimes get weird about doing all of their business in new places, so if we are going on a longer trip I bring miralax or pedialax just in case.
My kids are 8 and 5 and it's still a rule when we're traveling that when mom & dad go to the bathroom, they have to go and try! My DD8 gets annoyed and gives me attitude about it but most of the time she actually goes and there's nothing worse than having to take a child to the bathroom 10 minutes after you've just gone!
We still use pull-ups at nighttime, but not at nap time. I’m actually a little worried about napping in the stroller and having a possible accident but he fights me with pull-ups at nap.
I think a pull up is a better solution than trying to cover a seat with a towel. OP--We too always did the every time someone else had to use the bathroom the kids had to try to go. It wasn't foolproof but it worked pretty well.
Just wanted to add something I noticed last trip that may help: the toilets in the bathroom inside the Baby Center at Magic Kingdom have an attached child-size toilet seat that folds down, in addition to the regular seats. (I didn’t notice that inside the Epcot Baby Center and haven’t been to the ones in the other parks recently). We also did pull ups at that point, and I also take kids disposable toilet seat covers and Post-It notes to block the automatic flush.
Our youngest decided she was done with daytime pull ups a few weeks before our last Disney trip. We were terrified. We made sure to plan lots of bathroom stops and everyone had to sit on the potty even if they didn't go. There was one time we had a bit of a rush to the potty (yeah parades!) but we made it the week accident free. As long as you provide lots of opportunities I don't think you will run into issues. Just in case bring an extra outfit and a gallon size ziploc or wetbag.
Good to know! Luckily we are far enough along in potty training that he is very comfortable on a public potty. I’ve been debating on ordering one of those built in child seats for our potty at home though.
I don’t recall if the toilets at the parks are automatic flushing, but years ago when I was a kid my parents took me and a friend to Disneyland. All the toilets there had automatic flushes, which were relatively new (this was early/mid-1990s), and my friend was terrified of them. She refused to use the bathroom at the park. My dad had to take her back to the Disneyland Hotel multiple times during the day. That was when it was connected with the monorail but I still remember it as being funny and a pain in the neck! And we were @9-10! So, make sure your toddlers are used to automatically flushing toilets! I know the first time my son (now 4) peed standing up into one he was startled when it started flushing before he was finished (because he moved a bit). We are going next week and I’m planning to make him go every time someone else goes. A little worried because he’s not super patient despite being toilet trained for well over a year. He will still pull his pants down and pee (but only outside when he’s in a quiet/private place), I definitely don’t want him doing that!!
