Euphscott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2000
- Messages
- 690
In preparing for our trip to WDW my wife (Cindy) and I (Scott) were interested in information regarding traveling to the resort with a Toddler. Not much was available. So, to hopefully provide a resource for those like us, I am writing this in depth trip report.
My wife and I are WDW veterans, but always in an adult only mode. This trip was to be a get away for the two of us (both 32) and our 17 month old daughter. She had never flown or been to a theme park. What were we getting ourselves into? We always said wed wait till she was older so shed get the experience. But some odd circumstances canceled a cruise wed scheduled and left us with little or no vacation plans. We needed to get away! So, we chose to go somewhere we knew and tone down our experience while sharing one of our favorite places with our daughter. We knew she would not remember this trip and would be limited in what we could do. However, we felt getting away and spending time would be valuable.
Day One Fly from DFW to MCO
Flying scared me! I fly well and enjoy air flight, but my daughters first flight worried me. I HATE to be the parent of a child that makes everyone miserable. We teach her to behave as much as one can at this age and do our best to be considerate of others around us. So, we gave our daughter (with advice from our pediatrician) a dosage of Benadryl, pulled out a new toy, and placed a full juice cup and crackers in her hands upon boarding the plane (we brought her car seat for the flight). She enjoyed the window because she could pull the blinds up and down. New toy!! Take off was a breeze, she enjoyed that greatly a nice Whoa told us that was a fun event. She did real well for the first hour and NEARLY fell asleep. The flight attendants serving drinks and granola bars ruined that. Then we had a meltdown. She had more wiggles than her little legs could stand. So, we went back to play in the lavatories and with the flight attendants. As we started our descent she just could not handle it and had a tantrum. Mortified, my wife was embarrassed and I tried everything I knew. Some kind passengers offered a sucker (which my daughter wanted nothing to do with) and a flight attendant came to help soothe her. After only 20 minutes (sure seemed longer!) she fell asleep and missed our touch down altogether. We carried her through the airport, met our driver and found our luggage before she awoke.
A quick drive to the Port Orleans Riverside resort and vacation was on its way. During check in my wife dropped Brooke off to color at the kiddie table and watch cartoons in the child sized chairs. That is a nice touch to help blow off some steam. We caught the golf cart to our room and set Brooke loose in the room. She LOVED it. The air conditioning unit was at her level, so playing with the knobs and sticking her face in the breeze was most fun. This was a recurring game we played during our stay. Why IS our room so warm? Oh, Brooke found the heat. We had a crib delivered and set her up in a dark corner. No nap for her now, we have to keep moving (she dictated this, not the big kids)! So, we caught a bus to Downtown Disney. Brooke was not too sure about the dancing fountains, but seem mesmerized by them. We picked her up and carried her on to the toy store which was a hit. We checked out World of Disney and a few other shops before we decide the rain is coming. I like to think weve become psuedo experts at beating the rain and altering itineraries immediately to avoid the mess. We hit it perfect this night. We grabbed an indoor table at Wolfgang Pucks Express and had a nice dinner while we watched rain soaked visitors scurry for cover. The rain let up long enough to get some shopping done (a toy Tigger and some clothes) and catch a bus. Thankfully Brooke fell asleep on the ride back to the resort. She slept as we walked from the bus to our room in the rain. Of course she woke when we arrived at the room. More play time in the new room!
It was a successful first day. The first night was a little harried however. The room was a bit cooler than we are used to at home. Brooke was cold much of the night and had trouble sleeping. Since a blanket was not sent with her crib, wed tried a towel as a blanket. This did not work, so she slept in bed with us (shed never done this before) from about 1 in the morning on. The next day we got blankets and never had a problem the rest of the trip. So, no more sleeping troubles!
Day Two to follow...
My wife and I are WDW veterans, but always in an adult only mode. This trip was to be a get away for the two of us (both 32) and our 17 month old daughter. She had never flown or been to a theme park. What were we getting ourselves into? We always said wed wait till she was older so shed get the experience. But some odd circumstances canceled a cruise wed scheduled and left us with little or no vacation plans. We needed to get away! So, we chose to go somewhere we knew and tone down our experience while sharing one of our favorite places with our daughter. We knew she would not remember this trip and would be limited in what we could do. However, we felt getting away and spending time would be valuable.
Day One Fly from DFW to MCO
Flying scared me! I fly well and enjoy air flight, but my daughters first flight worried me. I HATE to be the parent of a child that makes everyone miserable. We teach her to behave as much as one can at this age and do our best to be considerate of others around us. So, we gave our daughter (with advice from our pediatrician) a dosage of Benadryl, pulled out a new toy, and placed a full juice cup and crackers in her hands upon boarding the plane (we brought her car seat for the flight). She enjoyed the window because she could pull the blinds up and down. New toy!! Take off was a breeze, she enjoyed that greatly a nice Whoa told us that was a fun event. She did real well for the first hour and NEARLY fell asleep. The flight attendants serving drinks and granola bars ruined that. Then we had a meltdown. She had more wiggles than her little legs could stand. So, we went back to play in the lavatories and with the flight attendants. As we started our descent she just could not handle it and had a tantrum. Mortified, my wife was embarrassed and I tried everything I knew. Some kind passengers offered a sucker (which my daughter wanted nothing to do with) and a flight attendant came to help soothe her. After only 20 minutes (sure seemed longer!) she fell asleep and missed our touch down altogether. We carried her through the airport, met our driver and found our luggage before she awoke.
A quick drive to the Port Orleans Riverside resort and vacation was on its way. During check in my wife dropped Brooke off to color at the kiddie table and watch cartoons in the child sized chairs. That is a nice touch to help blow off some steam. We caught the golf cart to our room and set Brooke loose in the room. She LOVED it. The air conditioning unit was at her level, so playing with the knobs and sticking her face in the breeze was most fun. This was a recurring game we played during our stay. Why IS our room so warm? Oh, Brooke found the heat. We had a crib delivered and set her up in a dark corner. No nap for her now, we have to keep moving (she dictated this, not the big kids)! So, we caught a bus to Downtown Disney. Brooke was not too sure about the dancing fountains, but seem mesmerized by them. We picked her up and carried her on to the toy store which was a hit. We checked out World of Disney and a few other shops before we decide the rain is coming. I like to think weve become psuedo experts at beating the rain and altering itineraries immediately to avoid the mess. We hit it perfect this night. We grabbed an indoor table at Wolfgang Pucks Express and had a nice dinner while we watched rain soaked visitors scurry for cover. The rain let up long enough to get some shopping done (a toy Tigger and some clothes) and catch a bus. Thankfully Brooke fell asleep on the ride back to the resort. She slept as we walked from the bus to our room in the rain. Of course she woke when we arrived at the room. More play time in the new room!
It was a successful first day. The first night was a little harried however. The room was a bit cooler than we are used to at home. Brooke was cold much of the night and had trouble sleeping. Since a blanket was not sent with her crib, wed tried a towel as a blanket. This did not work, so she slept in bed with us (shed never done this before) from about 1 in the morning on. The next day we got blankets and never had a problem the rest of the trip. So, no more sleeping troubles!
Day Two to follow...
I'm sorry your dd had a hard time. It seems as though the passengers around you were understanding.
