Top 10 Things we did right with Toddler

[Brygida]

Apologies if you've read this already... it was buried in my other thread.... and several of you have been asking for tips. These are my top 10 things we did right with our 16 month old son, on a trip the first week in September.

#1 - rent a car - Don't use Magical Express... or use it to send luggage with some passengers, but at least one of you get a rental car. This will save you oodles of time on getting to the parks (15 min vs 45 min (or more) using a bus) and more oodles on getting to a resort for meals/visits (15 min vs 1 1/2 hours (or more) using a bus). Only you know how much stress this will save (asking your toddler to do something for 15 min vs 1 1/2 hours). If you use Magical Express, pack in carryons everything you may need for first 12 hours... another reason not to use Magical Express!

#2 - bring your carseat on the plane - This will buy you the max time that the toddler is used to sitting still for. 3 out of 4 flights I have taken allowed me to install carseat between us on a seat for no additional charge (talk to person at gate!)... or you can always gate-check it.

#3 - bring your lightest weight stroller (like the Graco CitiLite) on the plane and do a gate check-in. Install toddler in stroller for the long trip to your car via monorail, then baggage claim, etc. Strollers are allowed on boat launches, resorts, etc. where you may not be able to rent one. Especially important if your toddler has just begun toddling and is off the height/weight scale... as ours is! You don't want to be carrying him/her around.

#4 - Once at WDW, Stop at Goodings or your favorite supermarket and stock up on anything you did not pack.... e.g. jars of baby food, goldfish, milk, etc - We also stocked up on large bottles of seltzer for our room, and bottled water, and milk & cereal for ourselves. One trip was enough for our 6 day stay... except for extra milk we got at Wilderness Lodge Mercantile.

#5 - Be Prepared to do laundry for the toddler every few days. I thought I had packed enough clothes, but.... I ended up doing 2 loads of laundry for him during our stay. I had brought detergent and dryer sheets from home so it was relatively painless.

#6 - Stay at a Disney Resort. Do not expect to spend more than 2-4 hours at a time at a park. Then go swimming... or let your toddler play in his room. Plan on going back to a park 2 or even 3 times in one day.... hence, staying on property is the most beneficial.

#7 - Take your car to the parks. If you are staying at a resort across from MK, then take the monorail/launch. If staying at EPCOT resort and can walk, then walk to EPCOT. To get to any other park, take your car. If you have booked with AAA, don't forget your Diamond Pass allowing up-close parking... so you skip the trams.

#8 - Bring a rain cover for your stoller. They don't sell these like they do rain ponchos... and using a poncho just does not work.

#9 - Bring a collapsible travel gate with you. We used our gate to block off the bathroom from the living area, which allowed him more walking space. We baby proofed the living area as best we could.

#10 - pick up a lifevest for your toddler at the pool/marina of the resort. WL let us keep the same one for our entire stay.

Hope that gave you some ideas....

Brygida

 

[JanMary]

Thanks for this really useful post.

My DS will be 15 months when we go in January.

Can I ask some questions about mealtimes? Did you bring your own baby food to restaurants? Did you ever order anything for them? Or did they just eat off your plate?

Which restaurants do your recommend?

Can you bring a stroller into any of the restaurants?

Sorry if these questions are a bit silly/obvious!

 

[Littlemotherhaywood]

Apologies if you've read this already... it was buried in my other thread.... and several of you have been asking for tips. These are my top 10 things we did right with our 16 month old son, on a trip the first week in September.

#1 - rent a car - Don't use Magical Express... or use it to send luggage with some passengers, but at least one of you get a rental car. This will save you oodles of time on getting to the parks (15 min vs 45 min (or more) using a bus) and more oodles on getting to a resort for meals/visits (15 min vs 1 1/2 hours (or more) using a bus). Only you know how much stress this will save (asking your toddler to do something for 15 min vs 1 1/2 hours). If you use Magical Express, pack in carryons everything you may need for first 12 hours... another reason not to use Magical Express!

#2 - bring your carseat on the plane - This will buy you the max time that the toddler is used to sitting still for. 3 out of 4 flights I have taken allowed me to install carseat between us on a seat for no additional charge (talk to person at gate!)... or you can always gate-check it.

#3 - bring your lightest weight stroller (like the Graco CitiLite) on the plane and do a gate check-in. Install toddler in stroller for the long trip to your car via monorail, then baggage claim, etc. Strollers are allowed on boat launches, resorts, etc. where you may not be able to rent one. Especially important if your toddler has just begun toddling and is off the height/weight scale... as ours is! You don't want to be carrying him/her around.

#4 - Once at WDW, Stop at Goodings or your favorite supermarket and stock up on anything you did not pack.... e.g. jars of baby food, goldfish, milk, etc - We also stocked up on large bottles of seltzer for our room, and bottled water, and milk & cereal for ourselves. One trip was enough for our 6 day stay... except for extra milk we got at Wilderness Lodge Mercantile.

#5 - Be Prepared to do laundry for the toddler every few days. I thought I had packed enough clothes, but.... I ended up doing 2 loads of laundry for him during our stay. I had brought detergent and dryer sheets from home so it was relatively painless.

#6 - Stay at a Disney Resort. Do not expect to spend more than 2-4 hours at a time at a park. Then go swimming... or let your toddler play in his room. Plan on going back to a park 2 or even 3 times in one day.... hence, staying on property is the most beneficial.

#7 - Take your car to the parks. If you are staying at a resort across from MK, then take the monorail/launch. If staying at EPCOT resort and can walk, then walk to EPCOT. To get to any other park, take your car. If you have booked with AAA, don't forget your Diamond Pass allowing up-close parking... so you skip the trams.

#8 - Bring a rain cover for your stoller. They don't sell these like they do rain ponchos... and using a poncho just does not work.

#9 - Bring a collapsible travel gate with you. We used our gate to block off the bathroom from the living area, which allowed him more walking space. We baby proofed the living area as best we could.

#10 - pick up a lifevest for your toddler at the pool/marina of the resort. WL let us keep the same one for our entire stay.

Hope that gave you some ideas....

Brygida

Do you have any advice for those that can't rent a car? It's just not in our budget this trip. We're staying at AKL so I understand the bus service should be more efficient.

 

[rt2dz]

I agree with everything you say EXCEPT

#3 - bring your lightest weight stroller

I've taken the lighter strollers and the heavier strollers. The difference is a slight convience if using bus transportation with a lighter stroller. No difference between the two if taking your own car (or rented, as the case may be), on most the boats or the monorail. In the parks, many of heavier strollers manuever much better. The bigger the basket, in our experience, the better--especially when you have littler kids with diaper bag needs and older children. And the more comfortable the stroller the better--makes for better stroller naps. And with littler ones, the stroller they are more used to is always nicer.

And

Do not expect to spend more than 2-4 hours at a time at a park. Then go swimming... or let your toddler play in his room. Plan on going back to a park 2 or even 3 times in one day....

Our kids, at any age but especially from 15 months - 5 years, this does not work. Different things work for different kids. Our kids can swim year round, and in nicer/cooler pools than those at WDW, so they are not going to want to swim more than once a week. Really, they could care less about the pool. They prefer the splash park at the public pool at home. Our boys would not nap in their rooms; they just nap where they are when they decide it is time to sleep--they nap in the stroller a lot. It is better to go to the park after they wake up naturally and do what they want when they want as often or as little as they want. Then to stop for snacks, sit-down A/C meals, and stop for in-park breaks (Donald's Boat--much more their taste) or a train ride or The Bone Yard, etc. We then take an off day after 3 park days --for us this is generally 3 days of non-park time. These are good days to explore the resorts, go minature golfing, Downtown Disney, etc.

 

[PatricenPete]

Here's one thing that we did wrong - waking DS up. We had scheduled quite a few early mornings and DS is used to sleeping in, so even though we were taking afternoon breaks and coming home early in the evenings, waking him up early in the morning really took its toll on him and by the end of the week, we had to cancel two breakfasts. We know for next time, to schedule later days and let DS sleep.

 

[CleveRocks]

If you use Magical Express, pack in carryons everything you may need for first 12 hours... another reason not to use Magical Express!

Everyone who flies ANYWHERE should "pack in carryons everything you may need for the first 12 hours" anyway. I did this for years even before I had kids, but it's that much more important with the kids. Airlines have been known to delay (and even lose) luggage. I'd hate for someone to have their rental car ready but be missing vital kid-related items because the luggage has been delayed and will be delivered to the hotel in the next day or so. Better safe than sorry!

-- Eric

 

[PatricenPete]

ITA, CleveRocks! This is what we did. We packed a carry on with 2 outfits each, plus a bathing suit, and pajamas - this way JUST IN CASE anything happened, at least we weren't SOL.......

 

[Diana Lyn]

Thanks for this really useful post.

My DS will be 15 months when we go in January.

Can I ask some questions about mealtimes? Did you bring your own baby food to restaurants? Did you ever order anything for them? Or did they just eat off your plate?

Which restaurants do your recommend?

Can you bring a stroller into any of the restaurants?

Sorry if these questions are a bit silly/obvious!

I just took my 11 month old and 2 year old, so I can answer your questions about food. You can always bring baby food or his favorite snack with you to the restaurant. I found eating at buffet restaurants worked best for us, because first of all, my girls were both free , but also because there was always something either one of them could eat. (Crackers, fruit, applesauce) Table service places, a little one can eat off your plate, you'll find the CM are usually very accomodating, like bringing just a side of mashed potatoes for the little ones. Personally, I ended up getting 1 kids meal and having them share.

We ate at Liberty Tree Tavern, Crystal Palace, Cape May Cafe and Whispering Canyon Cafe and all were great with the kids.

As for strollers, last year when DD was 8 months we brought the stroller to the table at Le Cellier because she was asleep. The CM wouldn't have it any other way, she was very stern with me about waking a sleeping baby! I think as long as there is room and it's not peak time you won't have a problem bringing a stroller.

HTH

 

[DisneyPhD]

#4 - Once at WDW, Stop at Goodings or your favorite supermarket and stock up on anything you did not pack.... e.g. jars of baby food, goldfish, milk, etc - We also stocked up on large bottles of seltzer for our room, and bottled water, and milk & cereal for ourselves. One trip was enough for our 6 day stay... except for extra milk we got at Wilderness Lodge Mercantile.

Don't stop at Gooding. Just don't stop there. Really high prices, not so great quaility. Stop at puplix or some other place like that. But do stop. Get your childs favorite foods to take with you and hang a soft coolor off the back of your stroller. (frozen PBJ sandwiches work great for kids who can have BP&J.) Grapes, other fruit, snacks, we like lunch meet to snack on. Often you will want CS meals for you, but not worth it to buy for a tolder so bring what they like with you (and juice boxes, water, etc...)

#7 - Take your car to the parks. If you are staying at a resort across from MK, then take the monorail/launch. If staying at EPCOT resort and can walk, then walk to EPCOT. To get to any other park, take your car. If you have booked with AAA, don't forget your Diamond Pass allowing up-close parking... so you skip the trams.

We don't take our car to the parks, espcailly MK. It is easy to take the bus then deal with TTC. AK is a good one to take your car too. Since you share a bus with BB it can be a bit longer. Parking isn't bad at AK. Parking isn't too bad at MGM or Epcot, if you get there in the am, not so great in the eveing. If you have a car take it to any other resorts you are visiting, DTD or water parks. Busses are part of the fun for this age.

If you don't have a car, don't worry. (Littlemotherhaywood) It can be done, we have many times. However I recomend getting a town car service (the one I like I can't say here for some reason, PM if you want it. ) They will stop for groceries and it is very helpful. If not use wegoshop.com 15$ to deliver, but still saves you tons of money.

Most of the other stuff I tottally agree with. The raincover and bring your own light stroller (but still comfy.) If you MUST bring your big one do, but be aware it will take up more room in your rental car, or will be harder to move around in tight areas.

Get them a toy your 1st day and let them continue to carry that around. It keeps them busy and you can refere back to it when they want more. (we like the light spinners.)

Also how much time you plan to spend at the park really depends on many factors. The child's temperment themselve is the most important, but crowds and weather plays a big factor. For some going back to the resort doesn't work. If you are there when the parks close early by time you get back to the resort and forth it can be closed.

Also how many kids you have along with that todler does make a difference. Luckily second borns often are more easy going (because they have to be.)

Our DD will be 17 months old on her next trip to WDW (it will be her 3rd!) I think this will be her big sisters 7th trip (she is 4 years old.)

JanMary, you can bring your own food for the kid. Most places can warm it for you, but will bring out a glass of warm water. That doesn't work as well so go for things that don't need warming (canned fruit is good.) My DD hasn't touched baby food for a while, but we often bring other foods with us. They can eat off your plate too. CP and others like it are great because they are free for the child (under 3 years old) and there is a great selection.

BTW we are going in Jan too (4th to 11th). (My name is Mary also! )

 

[JanMary]

Thanks for the advice on baby food, stroller etc.

It is great the information you can glean on this board that only another parent can tell you! Very reassuring too.

We are from the UK - what is PB&J?

We are staying off-site in a villa - will just see how it goes with naps in stroller / leaving park. I have two DD (8 and 6) so DS has always been quite flexible. We are staying for 14 nights, and have park tickets for duration, so we don't need to cram in too much in any one day.

Thanks again

 

[Adrienne]

We are from the UK - what is PB&J?

From a Aussie: PB&J is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The peanut butter is the same in US as in UK and OZ, but the jelly is usually grape and is like Jam but very smooth, no pips or lumps of fruit in it like regular UK/OZ jam

Adrienne

 

[diz_princess]

"what is PB&J?"

Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwhich. It's a staple for US kids if they have no peanut allergies.

We are leaving for WDW in less then a week and I plan to...

Take extra clothing with us along with a swimsuit in the parks. I never know when my little boy will want to run thru a sprinkler.

I plan on wearing my son on the rides for the extra security of keeping him close. Here is a picture;
http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=35&products_id=719
I will wear him on my side a little lower so he will be sitting between husband and I. It'll be tight enough that I won't need to hold onto him...but I still will.

I plan to put some form of ID on him. You never know what can happen these days so I am putting contact info on him just in case. I will also take a recent picture of him in my pocket...again just in case. And I will include on his ID a number of someone not traveling with us. Again, you never know what can happen in today's society.

Taking a sheet for the pack and play while we're staying at the Poly. I also have a waterproof pad I plan to use as well so the pack and play doesn't get soaked.

Lots and lots of bibs. I prefer bibs that are nylon or plastic as you can take them in the bathroom and rinse them for another meal.

We're staying at the Poly for main reason of being able to use the monorail.

One of the best things I've done with DS is only given him water rather then juice to drink. Therefore we don't have to worry about taking juice with us, I can just stop at any water fountain and fill him up. He will even drink it at room temperature.

We rented a car as well. We used National and supposedly they have a system where you can secure your car online using a credit card. When you arrive you go straight to the car you'd like to have and drive to the gate to checkout. I am hoping this will keep things moving rather then having to wait at a desk, fill out paperwork and what not after a 3 hour flight with a toddler boy. And when renting a car, see if the car rental place is at the airport or you need to take a shuttle and plan accordingly.

Taking the grandparents along. Extra set of hands and babysitters. Grandparents are the BEST!!

We are doing the carseat on the plan as my son knows when he's in his carseat it's time to sit down and enjoy the ride. He would NEVER stay on my lap. We bought him his own seat at a child rate. Make sure you are paying a child's fare rather then a full fare. It's a little cheaper...sometimes half. Worth the price IMHO.

I plan to get him this
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...1?_encoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B00022H9B4
it plays special disks. My nephew has one and it's really durable. Yes, it is expensive and you have to buy special disks but I think it will be worth it. (I'm considering it an early x-mas present.) If I had time I would get one off of ebay.

Last year when we went I didn't have a park touring plan. I felt like we missed out on a lot. This year I have all the rides he can go on/ones we want to do. I created a plan and we'll start out each day and see what happens...I totally know that we may/may not stick to the plan and I'm cool with that. I just felt like last year we missed out on a lot as I wasn't educated on what rides he would like/enjoy.

HTH! Good luck and have fun!!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

PB&J= Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich

 

[JanMary]

Thanks for the info on PB&J sandwiches.

Can't say I have ever tried it - will let you know what my kids make of it. I wonder what other interesting food combinations we will discover? I have be to US twice, but not with the kids - it is a whole new world when you have them!

I think I read somewhere you can now buy fruit in some of the parks - is this right, and if so what is price, quality and variety like?

My 3 love their fruit so that would be great. I know we can bring some in with us, but it would be good if it was also available inside the parks too.

 

[shafke]

Thanks for the info on PB&J sandwiches.

Can't say I have ever tried it - will let you know what my kids make of it. I wonder what other interesting food combinations we will discover? I have be to US twice, but not with the kids - it is a whole new world when you have them!

I think I read somewhere you can now buy fruit in some of the parks - is this right, and if so what is price, quality and variety like?

My 3 love their fruit so that would be great. I know we can bring some in with us, but it would be good if it was also available inside the parks too.

I don't recall how must it cost, but it is reasonable. We were able to get fresh fruit cups at the parks. The locations that I remember were MGM by the food courts toward ToT and RnR and Toon Town in MK. These had fresh fruit and yogurt. I am fairly sure we got fruit in Epcot but don't recall where. I don't think we got fruit in AK but am pretty sure is should be available.

 

[liamsaunt]

Thanks for the info on PB&J sandwiches.

Can't say I have ever tried it - will let you know what my kids make of it. I wonder what other interesting food combinations we will discover? I have be to US twice, but not with the kids - it is a whole new world when you have them!

I think I read somewhere you can now buy fruit in some of the parks - is this right, and if so what is price, quality and variety like?

My 3 love their fruit so that would be great. I know we can bring some in with us, but it would be good if it was also available inside the parks too.

Yes, you can buy fruit in the parks. In MK it is in Liberty Square, at MGM it is on the road to TOT, AK has it in Africa. I can't recall where it is in Epcot for some reason. I remember that they have bananas, apples, oranges, fruit cups, and yogurt. The quality was good, and I think the fruits were $1 or so per piece.

 

[Lulu's Mom]

We just got back from a trip with our 16 month old and I agree/disagree with something posted here... not arguing just giving different ideas on what worked for us.

Car seat on plane: we did this and will never do it again. We brought our carseat on the plane when we flew to Las Vegas and it was horrible. DD had no room to play and was restricted to either the seat or our laps. When we flew to Disney we did with out the car seat and life was so much better. She could stand in her chair or stand on the ground and play in her chair... she did not feel so restricted.

Magical Express/ Busses: We had no problem using either one. Our DD was extremley fascintaed with all the people on the buses and behaved wonderfully. Our Magical Express trip did not take long, we did gather our own luggauge and I thought the service to be so easu and wonderful considering it is FREE. We also had no problem with the buses.

Going back to rest: This of course depends on your baby/toddler but ours is very easy going and would sleep in her stroller. We did not though go to the parks early in the day... we would wait until everyone was awake then we would get ready and go eat and then go to the parks. We also never stayed until park closing except for Epcot to see Illuminations but DD was sleeping in her stroller. We did have rest days in between park days to have a relaxing time. We did not go to Disney with the intent of being Park gong-ho (sp?) so we tok our time with things.

Food: We only brought her favorite snacks from home and we bought food and drinks fro her everywhere. We did not want to carry around a ton of stuff... plus our DD likes most foods and would rather eat our food now than her canned baby food. We did bring sippy cups but we taught her out to drink out of a straw, thanks to another DISer's tip, before we went so she could drink milk and juice and water out of normal cups if neccessary.

I completley agree about the small lightweight stroller, especially if using the buses. We brought our big one this past time and I never will agian becasue is was way too bulky.

Some other ideas that worked for us... let your toddler/baby have free run around time. Our DD love Pooh's Playful Spot and after she ran around there for about 30min-1 hour she was ready to cooperate and get into her stroller. Also let them walk if they can... they don't want to be cooped up in a stroller all day. STICKERS... if you allow them were such a great tool. She played with them the whole time and they kept her very happy and entertained. When we ate at LTT she was pretty afraid of all the characters excpet Minnie so be prepared just in case.

WE had a great time with her and can not wait to go back. The look on her little face when she was suprised or happy was priceless. She starting singing on this trip, thanks to IASW, and now we we play that song for her she dances and sings and looks as if she can see the dolls... this is proff to me that she had a great time.

Soory so long

 

[Brygida]

Thanks for this really useful post.

My DS will be 15 months when we go in January.

Can I ask some questions about mealtimes? Did you bring your own baby food to restaurants? Did you ever order anything for them? Or did they just eat off your plate?

Which restaurants do your recommend?

Can you bring a stroller into any of the restaurants?

Sorry if these questions are a bit silly/obvious!

Yes, we always brought our own baby food to restaurants. Never a problem or even a raised eyebrow. My son had begun to eat potatoes and bread at the time... he liked his meat & veg from a jar still. So we often fed him a few spoonfuls from our plates or the bread basket. I think we ordered a side of potatoes once for him. He never really ate off our plate. He is a very good thrower, so we had to keep the real plates away from him that the kind servers brought over. We would let him pick up a piece of bread from the tablecloth in front of him generally, or hand him one at a time.

If you're asking for which restaurants I like for food... that's a whole 'nother topic. But, I think you're asking which restaurants were tolerant of the baby or which one he liked. I would say all restaurants were very, very tolerant. Cooing at the baby, making faces, talking to him, bringing extra bread, etc. I don't think he really cared which restaurant he was in... except I think he was genuinely entertained by our chef at Mitsukoshi Teppanyaki, and he seemed to like visiting with the chefs at the open-kitchen Boma.

We brought the stroller *into* every restaurant, at a couple he was still asleep and they let him stay in it, but in most he was awake and we put him in a highchair. You have to be reasonable with this, because you don't want to block other people from exiting, or the waitstaff from *waiting*. If your DS is asleep in the stroller, ask to be put in the most out of way spot they can put you.

 

[Brygida]

Do you have any advice for those that can't rent a car? It's just not in our budget this trip. We're staying at AKL so I understand the bus service should be more efficient.

Be reasonable with how much time you allot for meals (figure on average 45 minutes via Disney transport one way). If you can, check out Bob Sehlinger's Unofficial Guide, it lists the average Disney transport time between two spots.

Use Magical Express since it is free. Don't do any of the other services (towncar, etc) because they are just as expensive or more so than renting a car.

 

[Brygida]

Different things work for different kids. Really, they could care less about the pool. Our boys would not nap in their rooms; they just nap where they are when they decide it is time to sleep--they nap in the stroller a lot. It is better to go to the park after they wake up naturally and do what they want when they want as often or as little as they want. Then to stop for snacks, sit-down A/C meals, and stop for in-park breaks (Donald's Boat--much more their taste) or a train ride or The Bone Yard, etc. We then take an off day after 3 park days --for us this is generally 3 days of non-park time. These are good days to explore the resorts, go minature golfing, Downtown Disney, etc.

When I said to go back to the room, I meant more to get out of the park because they can cause a sensory input overload to anyone, especially kids.

I don't mean that you have to leave to nap, but I do recommend leaving for a break. Everyone I've ever been with has benefitted from doing something different (like back at a resort) for a while, before going touring again. You try to do the same thing but inside the park. I guess the point we both agree on is to take breaks from commando style touring?