To all you mommy's with toddlers!

[lillygator]

Originally posted by Hugpug
For the life of me I don't understand why you would want to take any child to WDW under the age of 4. Not only is it a complete waste of money but I don't believe a child under the age of 4 should be put through the grinding hassle and truma that touring a theme park such as WDW. Just my 2 cents worth.

it may be a complete waste of money for YOU, but what a person chooses to spend their money on is none of your concern. From the tone of your e mail you sound like one of those people who would probably be glaring at young children all day long.

WDW is what you make it and our DD went with us in February at the age of 16 months and loved it. There was no *trauma* except maybe from nasty irritated adults, there was also no grinding hassle...we did what we wanted when we wanted. Having the luxury of living close to WDW and being able to go whenever we want is wonderful......I would definitely regret not taking her. We are going again in 13 days!


I only hope people with your attitude stay out of Florida. Us Floridians have to deal with enough as it is.

to answer the OP's question....we requested a PNP and our DD actually did sleep in it, which suprised me. I did bring her blanket and various other things from home. This coming trip I am not so sure. She is quite tall for her age.....measuring taller than most....and while she is not out of a crib yet I have a feeling she will be out of that PNP. We are also going on a Disney Cruise for which I have requested bed rails on the bed....this will be a first!!

 

[tinkerbeth]

I had to smile when I read kangaandroo's post...I feel the same way about taking my almost-three year old in August. Whenever we go on vacation, we all just go at his pace and take long naps together...it's great!

We all sleep in a King-sized bed together normally, so as long as I can get a King bed at Pop century, we'll be fine I think. We're planning on going to parks in the morning, eating a good lunch and heading back for a nap every afternoon, then seeing how we feel after that and maybe going out again in the early evening.

I guess everyone does what works for them...this works for us and we're happy as pigs in mud mostof the time.

Beth

 

[Figment&Piglet]

LOL ! If you've ever experienced the look of awe and smiles from ear to ear on a toddlers face as you walked down main street for the first time or when they met their favorite character you would understand why! Under 3 years is FREE anyways, so it isn't wasting any money. I would also never leave part of my family home while I took my older ones on vacation .

Was going to respond, too, but then I could NOT have said it better myself...

As for the PnP, some of the resorts do offer a "real" crib if you ask for one, so you may want to try that instead. I'd be willing to be that'd "feel" more like a crib at home? If not, renting from ABBF as another poster suggested sounds like a great idea.

 

[renniks]

LOL ! If you've ever experienced the look of awe and smiles from ear to ear on a toddlers face as you walked down main street for the first time or when they met their favorite character you would understand why! Under 3 years is FREE anyways, so it isn't wasting any money. I would also never leave part of my family home while I took my older ones on vacation .

EXACTLY!


As for the PnP, I haven't given it much thought yet. DD will be 22 months when we go in Oct. I guess I should try letting her sleep in it at naptime to get used to it. Has anyone else ever rented a full size crib from a baby's best friend (or elsewhere)?? I'm thinking that may be a good option for us if the PnP dosen't work out.

 

[4greatboys]

My youngest was 5 months his first trip and 18 months his next trip and he slept fine in the crib. However now he sleeps with us so our next trip I know he will want to sleep with us.

 

[C.Ann]

Please tell me you're not serious about putting the baby in a crib in the bathroom...

 

[kimwim8]

My daughter's first visit was when she was 13 months old. She was just so exhausted at the end of the day that I could barely bathe her before she fell asleep.

So, even though your child doesn't seem to like the pack n' play at home, it might not be an issue when you get there!

Good luck!

 

[Stitch Inside]

Originally posted by bartleby1
LOL ! If you've ever experienced the look of awe and smiles from ear to ear on a toddlers face as you walked down main street for the first time or when they met their favorite character you would understand why! Under 3 years is FREE anyways, so it isn't wasting any money. I would also never leave part of my family home while I took my older ones on vacation .

We regret that we waited until our DS was 4 before we took him. Our latest addition will only be 8 months next week and he has already stayed in more hotels than our 5 year old had by 4. We've got it down to a science recreating his home environment (blankets, music, night lights, and oscillating fan) as much as possible. If that doesn't work, we each sleep with a child.

 

[momtotwinglesx4]

Originally posted by Hugpug
For the life of me I don't understand why you would want to take any child to WDW under the age of 4. Not only is it a complete waste of money but I don't believe a child under the age of 4 should be put through the grinding hassle and truma that touring a theme park such as WDW. Just my 2 cents worth.

You're kidding, right? If not, well, I feel sorry for your kids. My currently 20 month old has had 2 trips to WDW; last month, and this past Dec/Jan. Whenever I go to the resorts page of the Disboards, he gets all excited and points to the picture of the Dolphin and the fireworks. He REMEMBERS it and he LOVES it. And I dare you to tell my just-turned-4 yr old that these 2 recent trips (when he was 3) was a waste of his time and caused him trauma! That is just laughable.

As for your question OP, I agree w/ kangaandroo; Suggest to your sister that the baby sleep w/ her--you'll all sleep better if baby feels secure and safe. I would never put baby in the bathroom--besides the fact that it would scare the baby, what if someone needs to *use* the bathroom during the night? JMHO!

Sue

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by Hugpug
For the life of me I don't understand why you would want to take any child to WDW under the age of 4. Not only is it a complete waste of money but I don't believe a child under the age of 4 should be put through the grinding hassle and truma that touring a theme park such as WDW. Just my 2 cents worth.

You've got to be kidding...

I'm betting that you don't have children. If I had of waited to bring my youngest child until he was at least 4 I would have been depriving my older 3 children the fun of a visit when they were still at a great age to go. Or I guess I could have left the baby with a sitter--that wouldn't have been traumatic for anyone concerned, afterall. lol Or maybe I shouldn't have had children, much less 4 of them.

You'll live a much happier life if you learn to loosen up a little and not judge others for what they do in their personal lives, especially when nobody asked for opinions about what age a child should be for their first WDW trip.

T&B

 

[Stitch Inside]

Originally posted by Hugpug
...complete waste of money.... Just my 2 cents worth.

Sounds like you just wasted your money. Or were we supposed to pay you the 2 cents? In that case we got ripped off, but we're used to wasting our money

 

[rockomomma]

We have taken my dd (Now three) to WDW 7 times now. She is looking forward to her birthday trip in August.

With that being said, we just came back from our Easter trip and my 11 month old's 2nd trip to WDW. She will be 14 months old when we go in August (on her 3rd trip).

I don't understand how you couldn't bring the little ones to WDW!! They are totally amazed by all of the Characters.

My baby still sleeps in the PnP. My 3 yo now sleeps in the bed with me. When we went in Nov. 2002, my then 2 yo would NOT sleep in a PnP so we rented a full size crib from a baby's best friend. We stayed at the beach club & the room was big enough for the full size crib.

I am hoping baby will still sleep in PnP when we go in Aug, or I will be ordering another crib.

 

[llane]

My oldest two slept fine in a pnp, my youngest did not. We bed share at home at times so doing it on vacation is a non-issue for us.

hugpug...using your theory we should never take a kid over 3 to wdw. They are the ones that need a ticket.

 

[sharonk]

No matter where we are, I noticed that my kids do not sleep well that first few nights away from home. I'm not sure if it's because of the pack-and-play, the strange surroundings, the fact that we're all in the room too, etc.

Anyway, when we are at Disney World (or any hotel for that matter) and one of my toddlers can't fall asleep, I usually revert to the tried-but-true ride in the car. My husband or I will out the cranky toddler in the car seat and usually after about 5 minutes on the interstate, the toddler is sound asleep. We usually drive for an extra 10 - 15 minutes, just to be sure they're really sound asleep and then carefully transfer them to the pack and play.

I'd try not to worry about it too much...even if the first night is rough, it will generally get better each night.

Good luck,

Sharon

 

[Mel6197]

We went when he was 15 months old last time, I knew it was a concern, But that wasnt going to stop me from going on Vacation.. We put him in the pack and play, He looked up at us in Pure Terror, We picked him up and laied him next to Daddy (I was with Big Sister) and 5 min later he passed out. He also had no problem after a week of sleeping with Daddy to go back in his Crib at home.. Good Luck.. Try not to worry,. Things usually work out

 

[Chrissyb8885]

wow thanks everyone for all these great responses!!! I have asked my sister before i posted here if she would just sleep in the bed with them and she told me that Morgan thinks its "play time" and has no intrest in sleeping at all! That is the big concern because we have a PnP at our house for when they come over and if shes tired enough and in a room by herself she goes right to sleep. I think the best solution is a car ride or stroll while the other kids are getting to bed, and just make a "transfer" I'm hoping that after the first night she will be so tired that this wont even be an issue:yawn:

 

[justhat]

Wow, don't take a kid younger than 4 ,huh. Well I guess I am really throwing away my money since my daughter will have been to Disney World twice and on a Disney cruise before she turns 4 months old! We're also bringing my SIL and 2.5 year old niece on our baby's first trip in 3 weeks. Guess they should stay home too. Personally, I think anywhere you take a baby is going to be whatever you make of it. My 2 month old daughter loves to go anywhere I am, especially if I carry her facing outward so she can see everything that's going on so I know she'll love all the different things to see in WDW when she's almost 3 months and 3.5 months. I know they will obviously not be trips that she'll remember, but I doubt she remembers who her grandmas are at this age but it doesn't stop us from visiting them. Any vacation with small children will present its challenges compared to vacationing without them, but I think seeing their happiness and spending time with them without work and other everyday life interfering is worth any 'hassle' of taking them along.

 

[HANDYMOM]

Originally posted by Hugpug
For the life of me I don't understand why you would want to take any child to WDW under the age of 4. Not only is it a complete waste of money but I don't believe a child under the age of 4 should be put through the grinding hassle and truma that touring a theme park such as WDW. Just my 2 cents worth.

All of my prior visits have been without kids (my DS's are just turning 3 and 5 soon) and we haven't been back for 6 years. However, during my last visit DH and I were really surprised how touched we were at the wonderment and joy all of the little ones were filled with.

When you look in a childs eyes at Disney, regardless of their age, you rarely see agony....it's usually pure magic!

Also, there are no rules that kids have to be dragged through parks dawn to dusk. Thats what transportation to and from resorts is for.....REST!

 

[NotUrsula]

C'mon folks, stop feeding the troll; it only encourages them! Comments like that are too petty to waste your fingertip-energy on.

Getting a child to sleep in a PNP at home is likely to be less successful than in a hotel. Either they don't understand why they are suddenly being banned from the comfy crib (which they KNOW is still in the house), or they perceive that the PNP is "baby jail" and just want out. In a hotel it's a different proposition, especially after a full day in a theme park.

Honestly, after a theme park day, with the heat and the exhaustion, most kids are just too wiped out to care. If not, a swim or a buggy ride around the resort before bed will usually seal the deal. If you put them into the PNP when they are already sleeping they will never know the difference.

BTW, TV's in US hotels these days almost all have a closed-captioning feature. You can easily watch television after the kiddies have gone to sleep if you just use the CC and mute the sound. I'm hard of hearing, so I use CC all the time. I can tell you that when DS is at his worst with first-day-of-vacation energy, putting the stock market report on with the CC and also playing an easy-listening station on the radio is nearly guaranteed to bore him to sleep!