Toddler planning questions? PLEASE HELP ME!

[andijean]

This is not my first time, but my first time with 2 toddlers(1.5 & 3.5 boys), so it might as well be my first time. I need some advice for planning my days and what others have found works with young children. I have quite a few questions, so here it goes.

We will be staying off-site and was wondering if it easy to leave for a nap and come back later? My kids normally nap everyday and don't nap well on the road. If we come back do we pay parking again?

If you are staying off-site and are going to park hop do you leave your car and take Disney transporation to the the other park? And what are the easiest parks to hop between?

Did you make a lot of PS's and did you make it to most of them and what worked best for meals?

We are going Feb 14-22 and I am overwhelmed by this planning. I thought I was being anal and then saw how much planning other people did and now I feel like I am behind. Please help me!

So far this is what I thinkg I have:

Sat - arrive late
Sun - shop, acclimate, Go to Character breakfast at a resort
Mon - MK
Tues - AK
Wed - break
Thurs - Epcot
Fri - MGM
Sat - ?

HELP ME!!

 

[dreaminofdisney]

We will be staying off-site and was wondering if it easy to leave for a nap and come back later?
I cant help with this one. We stayed on site and drove(depending on which park we were at)and went back for naps. She would usally fall asleep in the car on the way back !

If we come back do we pay parking again?
No, pay at one park and it works all day at all the parks.

If you are staying off-site and are going to park hop do you leave your car and take Disney transporation to the the other park?
With two young kids unless you plan on the monorail between MK and Epcot I would drive.

And what are the easiest parks to hop between?
MK and Epcot via monorail.

Did you make a lot of PS's and did you make it to most of them and what worked best for meals?
We made two a day and made all of them with only one bad dinner (DD was just way to wound up!)

We are going Feb 14-22
This is a busy weak with Presidents day and a lot of schools having mid winter break. I would make at least a few PS for any places you would like to go to.

 

[debbiedana]

We stayed onsite without a car, so I can't be of much help there, but...

We only had two PS's for our entire 6-day trip. They were both for the same day, DD's 3rd birthday. We did CRT breakfast and Chef Mickey's for dinner. We did not want to feel tied to any certain times, because with little ones, they might just not feel like being good in a restaraunt when you want them to. We ate counter service A LOT, which wasn't really a problem. Counter service places offer much more than dogs and burgers.

If you are there during a slow time, you may be able to get some seating without PS's. We went to Ohana's for the character breakfast and Kona Cafe for dinner PS-less and had no problems. (BTW, both are excellent)

Also, you might want to re-think which days to visit the parks. Monday is President's Day and will likely be quite busy at MK. We are adopting the day-after-EMH theory. I've found a lot of people find this advantageous. I'll let you knowhow it goes when we get back.

Hope this helps. You'll have a great time. Just remember to sit back and enjoy it through their eyes.

 

[Shelly D.]

Hi andijean -
It looks like dreaminofidsney did a great job of answering all of your questions!

I just wanted to add that although I planned on going back with DD for naps each day, we never did. She always fell asleep in her stroller. She never sleeps in her stroller at home, but at the parks, she was generally so exhausted that it was easy for her to fall asleep and stay asleep. If she didn't fall asleep in the stroller, she would fall asleep on the monorail or bus to other parks. But, she was 1, so quite a bit younger than your kids, and you have two so that could make a difference also.

As for PS, we made one for dinner that was a non-character dinner. I waited to see how she responded to the characters at the park and when she liked them, we called and scheduled a character visit. When we did this, there weren't very many spots available, so you may want to make some ahead of time. We were there 12/7-12/13.

Hope that helps you!

 

[megan2346]

Last time we went to Disney we stayed off-site with my son. He was 1.5 at the time and we never got back to the hotel for naps. He wouldn't sleep in his stroller so it was a nighmare. We are going in March with 3.5 and 6 month old children and are staying on site. I hope it is easier. My best advice is either sart early and make it shorter days or have them nap before you go.
Megan

 

[MPLsDad]

Is it easy to leave for a nap and come back later?
Bring your stroller - they'll poop out on the go!
If we come back do we pay parking again?
NOPE!
If you are staying off-site and are going to park hop do you leave your car and take Disney transporation to the the other park?
NO - Then you'll have to transport back to that original park which could be a big pain!
And what are the easiest parks to hop between?
EPCOT and MGM via the ferry or MK and EPCOT via the monorail.
Did you make a lot of PS's and did you make it to most of them and what worked best for meals?
We made one PS a day, varying breakfast, lunch, and dinner and usually made all of them. One thing you should definitely do is the Ice Cream Social in the Land Pavilion in EPCOT. If you know you are not going to make a PS, let Dinig know early, they're very appreciative and it will keep someone else's wait short!

ENJOY your trip!!!!

 

[jodifla]

As a practical matter it's hard to get back to off-site hotels for naps. It's why so many people like to stay at monorail hotels.

With kids those ages, I find (my DS is 2) that it's best to follow their lead. My son liked the rides pretty well, but what he really liked was some of the smaller things, like the playgrounds at the MK and MGM and playing with these little round metal discs in the road on Main Street. He was able to pry them up and started rolling them down the street. I never even saw that they were there in 25 plus years of going to the MK! (Needless to say, I chased them down and returned them.)

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is don't push too hard. It's nice you've already been, because you can just focus on what they'll enjoy.

We mainly do counter service with a toddler. We get a sitter for PS meals. We are taking him to Chef Mickey's for the first time soon. If your children are used to eating in restaurants, you could go for a PS a day, I would think. Anymore would be a lot of food, and time spend eating that toddlers may not go for.

We've been four times since DS was born, and we leave in 14 days for another trip. Sometimes we just go to the park for a couple hours in the morning, then back to the hotel to swim or nap or just chill out. Then we may go back for fireworks or to the Boardwalk to just look around. Or we sometimes just hang around the resort. It all depends on our moods.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[BevS97]

we stay offsite and onsite, but we don't go back to the hotel specifically for naps in either case. Depending on how long your trip is (we go for 2 weeks, so can take things slow), we like to spend shortish days in the park, either arriving early and leaving around 3, or arriving after lunch and staying late (this works particularly well at Epcot, Future World is very quiet after lunch, and World Showcase is nice in the evenings).

Looking at your plan, rather than taking 3 days off, I would plan on spending part of each day in a park, and part of each day relaxing, unfortunatly this costs more in terms of tickets, but we find it makes for a nicer vacation.

We generally only make a couple of PSs and we try and make them all, but we have missed them, while it's nice to ring and let them know, if you can't manage that then it doesn't matter, the system is designed to handle no-shows, so they will not be holding an empty table for you, and it should not increase anyone elses wait.

I totally agree about the Ice Cream Social, we think it's an excellent event, we also really like Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends, as we find the younger children are really familiar with Pooh.
For other meals it depends on your kids, are they comfortable in a sit-down environment, or would you be better of in a counter service? You know them best. Don't forget if you are staying off-site that you can eat off-site too, and that can be a lot cheaper. We often eat at Perkins or Ponderosa in the evenings.

Another suggestion for you, if there are any restuarants that you would like to try, then you can go for lunch which is cheaper, and also tends to be a better time of day for kids (at least for mine), the menus are usually very similiar. We have had quite a few late lunchs (say 3:30pm) and then just had a snack later on and we find that works very well for us.

Bev

 

[Lollipop Mom]

We were just at WDW from 12/29 to 1/3 with our sons who are 3 1/2 and 21 months. We stayed off site at a campground in Kissimmee in my parent's RV. We had a couple of days that we went back for naps and a couple of days that we didn't. For us, our 21 month old napped in his stroller most days and our 3 1/2 year old was GO GO GO and insisting he didn't need "quiet time" (the word N-A-P is a bad word in his world so we've taken to calling it quiet time; you don't have to go to sleep but you do have to be in your room and quiet for at least an hour. He sleeps every day but it is NOT a nap! ).

Going back for a nap isn't TOO bad as long as you are at the parks when they open. The main day we did this was our last day. We parked the car at the MK at 7:56 am. We did everything we wanted to do in Fantasy land plus a few in Tomorrow Land before lunch. We had PSs at Whispering Canyon at the WL for noon. After lunch we took the boat back to the MK and went back for quiet time at the RV. They napped for almost 4 hours! (this was our last day, we'd been touring all week) After their nap we went back to the MK for dinner, Wishes and Spectromagic. We ended up staying till the park closed at midnight and they were happy as could be and not fussy in the least.

What we did most days was take a break from the parks mid day but not necissarily go back to the RV. We rode the monorail through the resort loop a few times one day (the little one slept, our 3 year old is a train fanatic and was too excited to be on the monorail to nap!), sat in the loby of a resort while they napped another. The baby care centers are great, cool places to unwind a little. On days when we were headed out of the park by 7:00, this worked fine. I know one of my friends was at Disney not long ago and stayed at the HIFS. They tried leaving mid day for naps and her kids would fall asleep as soon as they got to the car. By the time they got to HIFS, they had taken a 20-30 minute power nap and didn't want to nap in the room! They found it easier to stay put in the parks.

The days we park hopped, we left the car where it was and took Disney transportation. Mostly that was because since we were there early, we had parking spots close enough to walk to and not deal with 2 toddlers and a stroller on the tram! That worked out fine for us too. We would have a snack while waiting for the bus and the kids had some down time on the trip over. I admit that it was tough to be out late and have to take the bus back and then get in the car so I'd go by how late you plan to be out.

As for PSs. We had PSs for breakfast with Pooh, one for lunch at Whispering Canyon and one for dinner at the Cape May clam bake buffet. I would highly recommend all of those! The boys LOVED Whispering Canyon! They got crayons and coloring book pages when we sat down. Brandon, the 3 year old, participated in their "critter calls" show where they had guests make animal sounds. He also got DH to participate. They both got magical moments certificates for it. Brandon also did the hobby horse race around the restaurant. They both loved the silly atmosphere and that no one was shushing them trough the meal! With 2 boys, I'd highly recommend a stop there! They have very similar menus for lunch and dinner but lunch is much cheaper! We all loved the Cape May buffet. My sons LOVE shrimp so we knew they would eat here. My 21 month old ate so much that we were certain Disney was going to rethink their "kids under 3 eat free at all buffets" policy!!! The nice thing about buffets is that you get the food right away, no waiting with the kids.

I think the big thing is just to be flexible with little ones. Let them guide you. You'll figure out quickly if you want to go back to the hotel for a nap or not. If yours are like mine, the little one will nap in the stroller as needed and the older one will be so thrilled to be at Disney World that he will go constantly and not realize how tired he is till bedtime anyway!

As far as park crowds on a holiday week...I highly recomend looking into doing Tour Guide Mike (www.tourguidemike.com). We followed his advice every day but out first and we did avoid crowds and had very very reasonable wait times even on the busiest week of the year.