School me on Disney World

[birdmom]

I posted this on the travel board, but didn't get any advice yet. Any MMM have suggestions?

We are planning a trip to Disney at the end of October or early November. We will be staying at SIL's timeshare, so not at a resort in the park. DS will be 21 months at the time. What suggestions or helpful tips would you have?

[winnied]

Not a mom (why am I here? I don't know) but I'll respond. I went with my family last year, including four toddlers.

-Bring your own stroller. The WDW ones are awkward and suck.
-My nieces and nephews were completely comfortable napping in their stroller in the early afternoon. If you think your son can do it in his stroller then you don't even need to leave the park.
-Start as soon as the park opens. If napping in the stroller won't work leave in the mid afternoon and come back around or after dinner for parades and what not.
-You can bring in your own food so I encourage you to bring in snacks. H and I did this and saved quite a bit of money.

[brit1017]

We went when DS was 15 months, in a timeshare (so also not a part of the resort). DS was still taking 2 naps a day at that point, so we would generally stay at the hotel until after his morning nap then head to one of the parks at about 11. He would nap in his stroller for the afternoon nap (we did bring our own), and we would stay at the park until 6 or 7, then head back to the hotel. It was very low-key, but it worked for us. DS was still really attached to a schedule at that point, and trying to make sure that he was getting one good nap per day and going to bed at close to his normal time helped to keep him in a good mood.

[GailGoldie]

i have a disney planning board on FB that has some experts (a couple travel agents who answer questions... and many moms who have just gone there a ton)... the TA's know not to solicit - so you do'nt have to feel pressure, etc...

anyone can join - www.facebook.com/groups/disneyplanningmamas/

[birdmom]

Aug 23, 2012 13:39:55 GMT -5 GailGoldie said:

i have a disney planning board on FB that has some experts (a couple travel agents who answer questions... and many moms who have just gone there a ton)... the TA's know not to solicit - so you do'nt have to feel pressure, etc...

anyone can join - www.facebook.com/groups/disneyplanningmamas/

Ooh, thanks!

[ijack]

Depending how far away your room is I might not head back. We tried to once and DD fell asleep on the bus and it was a disaster. It was much easier to just power through and put her to bed early.

[honeybee]

www.intercot.com

Another disney planning site, any question you could possible have has been asked there. They're very friendly to newbies

[mmmomof2]

I think that's during free dining so I would definitely make reservations if you want to eat at a sit down restaurant. For us we like to get to the parks at opening and then take a leisurely lunch. Then stick to typical bedtime routine most nights.

[takeonyou]

Sorry! Wrong post.

[jena]

DS was 2.5yo... we rented a stroller from an Orlando company (there are several, we used Kingdom strollers) so we had a nice City Mini GT double stroller for our 2 kids. If you can't bring your own, rent one from someone besides Disney. They'll deliver and pick it up for free.

We went as early as we could and I went back to the room with DS most days. He napped in the stroller a few times, but he sleeps much better in a bed. If you're planning to eat meals at Disney, make your reservations early so you can get good times and don't expect a little one to stay up for an 8pm dinner and act nice.

That said, we did push the boundaries with bedtimes because naptime was often late. And DS did really well. We even watched some night parades and on two nights, we closed down the park! We were there until after 11pm and DS was still awake and in a good mood (the morning after was a bit more iffy! And he had big sis and a cousin that he was keeping up with, so that's what kept him going) But I know some kids do better with a more rigid schedule, so whatever works for him.

ETA: Oh, and absolutely take snacks and drinks for LO and yourselves. And hit the dollar store for glo-stick "wands". The ones at Disney aren't too hideously overpriced ($10 I think it was) but they are TOO HUGE for a little one. DS's is almost as tall as he is, and DS is pretty darn tall for his age.

And hit the Disney store before you go for some "souveniers" and t-shirts so you don't have to pay park price for all that. That wand was the only souvenier we bought at the parks (someone gave DD one, which is why we felt we had to buy DS one).

[wedbliss5]

Aug 23, 2012 23:15:17 GMT -5 jena said:

And hit the Disney store before you go for some souveniers and t-shirts so you don't have to pay park price for all that. That wand was the only souvenier we bought at the parks (someone gave DD one, which is why we felt we had to buy DS one).

YES! We were able to pull something new out each day with DD and she loved it.

Also, if you think you'll have any interest in Pin Trading or autographs, make sure to buy the books / pens / lanyards before as well. Just remember that several of the characters have the large fabric hands, so make sure its a larger pen or marker they can hold easily.

[Deleted]

Aug 23, 2012 13:39:55 GMT -5 GailGoldie said:

i have a disney planning board on FB that has some experts (a couple travel agents who answer questions... and many moms who have just gone there a ton)... the TA's know not to solicit - so you do'nt have to feel pressure, etc...

anyone can join - www.facebook.com/groups/disneyplanningmamas/

I requested to join.