Tips for small cruisers,please ?

[Meg'n'walt]

Hello everybody,

I have a question for you people who have done a disney cruise with small children..
We have been on the Magic 3 years in a row,and halloween 2000 was our last cruise...

But now we have our first son Walt, he's just turned 2 last august and we would like to cruise again, maybe another halloweencruise in 2005..

Would that pose too much trouble, most of all since we have to fly about 9 hours from Brussels to Orlando?
Does anybody has tips, please,on how to entertain him for the long flight? And what about the jetlag?

Thank you so much,

Meg

 

[confal1]

I think that would be great. Yes a little more difficult but well worth it. I would try to get to Florida a few days early to adjust and get on the right time schedule. Flying with a 2 or 3 year old is sometimes stressful, you could look into either buying or renting a portable DVD player to keep you little one busy. My pediatrician also recommends Benadryl before the flight to help keep the ears from getting blocked and it makes my kids drowsy so they usually sleep. Good Luck with everything.

 

[donkeyboy1101]

Use Benadryl. That should buy you a few hours. Enjoy!!!

 

[Meg'n'walt]

Thank you for the tips, Confal1 & Donkeyboy1101 !

I think that would be a good idea to have some days before the cruise...have to keep that in mind when I book !

Don't know Benadryl, have to check with my pediatrician, since brandnames aren't always the same here !

thanks, wow, our plans are getting a bit more reallisitic now..

 

[SuzPasq]

Use Benadryl. That should buy you a few hours. Enjoy!!!>

Or, the food dyes can have the opposite effect and your child would be bouncing around the plane! I'd say if you're going to do it, test it out first.

 

[lovebuzz]

also if you do not have a portable dvd player you can also tape your favorite shows and then transfer them to your camcorder.It works like a charm.Good luck.also I like to bring Dot paint. It is sort of like bingo dobbers.they can paint alll day with out the mess.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I have travelled a number of times from the UK to the USA which is about an 9 hour flight.

I have young children and keep them occupied with books and stickers etc. It can be a little stressful keeping them occupied and I have seen parents buy portable DVD's to keep them occupied.

I am personally against giving them any medication by mouth to slow them down, firstly I do not agree with it, and secondly if there is an emergency there could be a problem. I do not think the airlines recommend that anyone has anything other than food or drink on a plane.

I think anyone considering any form of medication should consult their own doctor first.

The best thing is to fly with a child friendly operator, and walk about the plane as often as you can.

Avoid fizzy drinks and buy snacks as often they can be fussy on airline food.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

DD2 (in 2weeks) has flown to London from Orlando in March and just last week Orlando to Hawaii.

We find that on Eastbound flights departing in the evening--she pretty much sleeps...but on Westbound flights (long hauls that usually depart in the morning) she is wide awake.

So for when you head back home--follow your regular routine and hopefully your son will sleep after a couple of hours awake. Transatlantic carriers often have the tvs in the seats--on our British airways flight--they made sure to play Disney channel going westbound since there were so many kids.

For the westbound flight (when you come to Florida)--that will be your big challenge. Keep him in his seat as long as possible. Once our DD discovered the art of doing laps around the plane--that is all she wanted to do. Check in early to request a bulk head seat. On British airways--it is usually reserved for families with unticketed babies--but if you get to your flight bright and early enough and can get it--the extra legroom will be well worth the early airport arrival (3-4 hours before scheduled departure). I don't think BA assigned these seats until after check-in begins for the flights. You can request ahead on your airline--but if you can't get it--check in early and try again.

Run your son around the airport. Let him play--if he wants to scream--let him (within reason of other waiting passengers of course). Any energy he can burn in advance will greatly help the time on the plane.

If he is ticketed on the plane (recommended if you can afford it--though my daughter was unticketed both on the London flights and Hawaii flights)...maintain the car seat rule just like in the car.

Additionally--make sure he drinks a lot of fluids and be prepared for dry diapers--I was shocked that my daughter didn't have but maybe 1 wet diaper if any on all the flights--but your body uses a lot of water high up in the air, so there was no harm. She nursed and nursed and nursed, so she was not dehydrated. Make sure your son gets plenty of fluids.

Good luck--Both my daughters behave exceptionally well on flights--and my little word traveller--she has done well on several several flight segments...her only bad flights were on 2 segments from Indianoplis to Orlando during 4th of July--but they were on small "puddle jumper" planes as we call them--very confined quarters, very noisy. Hawaii was her first flight since then and she did beautifully.

Get some story books on airplanes and read about them ahead of time--to ease any potential fears.

Good luck!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I have to say everything Lisa loves Pooh says is a great idea and a lot better than giving the kids any medicine. I have done all of it before.

I have been lucky /unlucky a few times to be upgraded to first class, if you have young kids I suggest if you are offered this you decline, the people in this part of the plane pay a lot of money, and therefore do not tolerate kids. They can feel kids shouldn't be there.

I was pleased to get the upgrade then regretted it when other passengers wouldn't tolerate anything at all from my kids and kept suggesting I gave them medicine.

One lady 'tutt'ed very loudly everytime they made a little noise, she suggested Benadryl often and made my flight a total misery.

 

[SuzPasq]

Run your son around the airport. Let him play--if he wants to scream--let him (within reason of other waiting passengers of course). Any energy he can burn in advance will greatly help the time on the plane.>>

This is a great tip. I used to put my son's carseat and carryon's in the stroller and have him walk through the airport to burn off as much energy as possible. I always bring a special bag with new coloring books, crayons/markers, books to read, and a small quiet toy.

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Walt will be three? I think this is a great age for the trip! He's old enough to understand what's going on, but little enough to still need a nap and be able to have fun with you on the plane.

I have to second the anti-Benadryl notion -- the Bendryl will dry him up on the plane and possibly make him very uncomfortable. And Benadryl can backfire on you sometimes and make the child awake and cranky, not to mention needlessly drugged.

At age 3, he should have a ball with crayons and coloring books and the like. My best suggestion for anyone flying with little kids is to buy a Magna Doodle -- greatest invention ever.

 

[jodifla]

What's a magnadoodle?

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by jodifla
What's a magnadoodle?

a.k.a. etch 'n sketch....Old kinds had sheet of clear plastic over black wax-impregnated cardboard backing...Draw picture on plastic sheet then lift sheet to erase. More modern types consist of a narrow box filled with carbon powder. Box has knobs on front that control left-right/up-down internal drawing mechanism. Drawing shows up on plastic TV-like screen. Shake box to erase.
Very cool...Magic...

 

[Meg'n'walt]

Thanks all lot for all the great tips, Lisa, Andrew, MarcySuzasq, lovebuzz and everybody else I forgot to mention...

Since I really try to avoid giving my DS medicines if not absolutly neccesairy... thanks for the tips on that subjet. It must be something well known, but I have never heard of it before... Think I will go with some other solutions, since you guys gave me so much great ideas !!

Walt loves to watch Mickey, so the camcorder idea is pretty neat too !!! He loves to wach video recordings of our earlier Magictrips... He also starts to like his crayons and his Magna doodle too, so thats a great tip too !!

Thank you so much, I think we can start our booking for next year !Mickey here we come...

Meg

 

[SuzPasq]

Since I really try to avoid giving my DS medicines if not absolutly neccesairy... thanks for the tips on that subjet. It must be something well known, but I have never heard of it before... >

I'm with you on that! One other thing I forgot to mention was that I always have a special snack for trips--not necessarily something junky, but something different than they are normally used to or something that takes a while to eat and enjoy.