Traveling with 1yo staying at POP - Help!

[tjknitz]

Never traveled with my little one before and we are spending 7 days at WDW in Sept (11-17th). I heard it is going to be HOT. I will have a 13 mo old and wondering what other parents do to keep them cool and hydrated throughout the day. We are staying at POP and there are no fridges - would you suggest having www.gardengrocer.com deliver a styrofoam cooler and bottled water to keep cool in the room so we can take the cold water to the parks? Should I buy a cooler to take with me into the parks for water?

I'm trying to find ways to cut down on the expense of buying bottled water all day long.
Any suggestions or tips on WDW with a 1 year old would be so greatly appreciated!

 

[disneybridetobe]

We took DD who was 14months last September. We used a spray mist fan a lot, and made sure she had plenty of water, and ducked into air conditioning as much as possible. DD loved the 'pop jet' type things in EPCOT, I think she'll love them at POP again this year. Oh, and we did have a cooler and refilled the ice every day, and had milk, diapers and snacks delivered from wegoshop. Buy a case of water and just bring it with you into the parks, that's allowed. (Also, you can go to any counter service restaurant, and ask for ice water. It's free.) We're doing it the same way this time except we went in on a fridge swap this time. You might want to look into that, too.

I also dressed her lightly-- a lot of little rompers and light sundresses. Honestly, she was a trooper and handled the heat much better than her grandma!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[JeMarie6]

Defintely check out the budget board for a possible fridge swap. There are almost 20 swaps going on at the pop. Why suffer in the heat or pay daily rental charges when you can share a fridge that is already down at Disney for a small fee ($10-$15 usually for the length of stay). Some of the swaps that have been going on a while are even free. Especially for those going for free dining, it will be nice to have somewhere to put those desserts you couldn't quite bring yourself to east They do stroller swaps too if you don't want to lug yours from home.

 

[everylastbreath]

Couple of great hints I learned on these boards:

Stoller fan, get one, and don't forget the extra batteries (very exprensive in gift shops) it get's very hot inside those strollers, especially since most have the plastic in the back, keep the air moving inside even if it is hot air.

Bring with you (pack in your checked luggage) those packs that you freeze for coolers, freeze them, and in between the back of the stoller & the stroller frame you will mostly find a little "pocket" slip it in there, the back of the stoller will not be cold, but it will be a little cooler.

Buy one of those insulated cups, freeze it every night so it's fresh in the morning, hang it from the side of the stoller with one of those things that hold bottles, so the baby can grab it whenever they like.

Bring an insulated stoller bag, so you can keep drinks cold, along with any little snacks

Cup holders for the stroller and "S" hooks for packages, get one for each side of the stroller.

My daughter-in-law called our stroller the "super stroller" when we took my grandson, it really had everything you could imagine on it. but I would have changed bringing one thing. SUNSCREEN!!! Lots of it, and don't forget the feet.

Enjoy your vacation!! Planning is the key with a little one, just be prepared.

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

I have taken my now 2 and a half year old daughter to Disney 7 times since she was 11 months old - twice was in the middle of the summer and twice in October. It is very warm! My best advice is to be at the park at rope drop, you will get so much accomplished in a small amount of time. We usually head back to the hotel to swim (Pop has a great kiddie pool and a pop jet fountain) and nap around noon or we do some resort hopping and grab lunch at one of the other hotels and just exploring. We usually head back to the park around 4:00.

We also bought a ray shade to go on our stroller. You can get cups of ice water for free at any counter service. We just pour it into our water bottle and refill as necessary.