Any Advice for a Trip to Disney World?

Don't forget hats and water! This time of the year is very hot and humid. I hope you have a blast. I can't wait to take my kids there!

Hi J.! I am a Disney -file and have tons of ideas and advice for stuff to bring - too much to list - a couple of things to think about - there are those spray mister bottles that you can buy at the park for $15 plus, but you can buy them at home at the dollar store and bring them with you instead - trust me, you'll need them. Also, get some cheap rain ponchos, it rains a lot - for a half hour, then it's sunny again. Also, you're 3 1/2 yr old will probably want to run in fountains - there are lots of them - so think about putting him in swim trunks for the day. If you're staying on Disney property - make sure you use the bus system. It's great. If you have a car, sometimes and for some parks, it's helpful to drive as well. Think about bringing your own stroller so your little one can sleep. The rental strollers at Disney are nice, but they don't recline (they're like the ones at the Detroit Zoo). If you have any more specific questions, just let me know. Remember to wear broken in, comfortable shoes and have a blast!

Go to the dollar store and buy some rain ponchos - they are small enough to fit in your bag and a whole lot cheaper than buying at Disney should you encounter a rain storm. Take your own umbrella strollers - buy a couple of cheap ones if necessary. A comfy backpack with lots of pockets and trial size sun screen, moisterizer, sanitizer. I also got some glowsticks from Michaels that we made into bracelets and necklaces for my daughter at night so that we didn't have to pay for the Disney glow in the dark stuff (it cost me $1 for 12 sticks that could be joined together).

You are not crazy - you are going to have a blast, your 3 year old will have you grinning constantly. We bought a Disney autograph book with the photo pages so my daughter can see a picture of who signed her book.

Definitely make use of Disneys Photo pass but don't make that your only photo option - they take some great pictures but the are very expensive but we bought one fantastic picture they took for $15 - the rest werefrom our own camera.

If you are using their mealplan - you will not go hungry.

If your son has a favourite character I highly recommend a character breakfast. We saw Goofy, Minnie and Donald at a buffet breakfast and it cost about $40 for the 3 of us. We saw them at teh Cape May Cafe which is at a Disney hotel but not in a park (call Disney Dining to get reservations). If you do this, try to book as close to 11am as poss. Our breakfast finished at 11 and our scheduled time was for 10:50 so people were leaving but no-one else was arriving so we got a lot more one on one time with the characters.

Have fun and take lots of pics.
I'm totally jealous (we were there in April and want to go back again)

This is my advice-- we went when my son was 2.5.

Take your own stroller. Bring as many of our own snacks as you can. I packed juice boxes (lined them up on the bottom of the suitcases) and granola bars, fishy crackers, etc.

Plan for breaks. Take your time. Don't feel like you have to get everything in...you won't.

Make dinner reservations (the food is yucky everywhere except the really nice places), esp. if you want character meals.

My son LOVED the parades.

We spent most of our time in Magic Kingdom (we rode the train again and again) and in MGM studios.

Hi J.,

We have gone the last two years and its a lot of fun. You will be tired but it will be amazing!! I highly recommend having a stroller for the 3 1/2 year old too! We rented a double stroller from the park and it was great!. Also plan to go to the parks first thing in the morning and then leave during the afternoon heat and enjoy pool and nap! Much more fun and better for the kids and your sanity! Don't forget the kids don't have huge expectations so just enjoy! You can hit all the rides at the far back(forgot the name of the area, place with dumbo etc) before there is really any lines at all! Last time we went we finished all the little rides within 1 1/2 hours which was great. The tea cups are not very busy in the AM, dumbo line is really slow when it backs up so hurry up. Your 9 month old can go on lots of the kid rides with you. Small world and carousel your 9 month old will enjoy and wont be very busy first thing in the morning. We went to the magic kingdom 2 days so we could enjoy it without feeling like we had to stay forever each day. We didn't visit the other parks.

The crystal place with winnie the pooh characters was wonderful!! your 9 month old will probably cry at the characters everywhere he gets to close(at least that is my experience).

Good luck! If you need to know where to find specific characters, I'll let you know.

J.,
Well, you'll be there during the hotest and busiest season. Make sure you take sunscreen obviously, but take a shade for your stroller too. If you are renting a stroller down there, make sure you take some sort of shade with you to add to the existing shade on the stroller. We've been to Disney several times (when our oldest was young, and once with our twin boys in Feb 08 when they were 16 mos old. We're going in November this year over T-giving to check out the holiday decorations there---can't wait. The twins will be 3). I don't recommend renting the Disney strollers, they are so hard and uncomfortable. There is a great company down there you can rent from - Orlando Stroller Rentals. They'll deliver it right to wherever you are staying and their prices are cheaper than disney. For shades for strollers I recommend the full cover shade from Mountain Buggy (we have one and I love it) or the one that is like a duck bill from Kidopotamus. Also take a stroller rain cover too, along with the cheap rain ponchos you can get at the dollar stores.

It all depends on where you are staying, how long you'll be there and what experiences you want to have. Disney can be really expensive. Take snacks with you into the parks and water bottles. You can re-fill the water bottles at the fountains. You can also take a small soft sided cooler into the park with you that you can stash in the basket under the stroller. I forget the exact dimensions, but I can find out. Take one of those little water fans if you have one, it will help entertain your 3 1/2 yr old and keep him/her cool in the hot weather.

I like using the touring plans from the web site touringplans.com We've found them to be really helpful. There are also several places in the parks that are great for the little ones, little play areas etc. (like Pooh's Corner in MK near the Winnie the Pooh ride).

Definitely do a character dining. We always do at least one. It's the best way to 'meet' characters up front. If you haven't booked a reservation yet, call now. We've had good experiences with The Crystal Palace in MK. I've heard Chef Mickey's is good too.

Instead of taking along an autograph book, buy your 3 1/2 yr old a t-shirt and take that along and have characters sign it. It's more memorable and later when they've outgrown it, you can make it into a pillow. Or purchase a pillowcase and have characters sign that instead. Take along permanent sharpie markers for the characters to sign with, a couple of different colors (i.e. green for Goofy, Red for Minnie, Black for Mickey, Blue for Donald). Keep in mind that if it's a t-shirt, your child cannot be wearing it when you ask for the characters to sign it.

Another great tip is to invest in the Disney Photopass. We did this and it was awesome. You can pre-order it online before your trip even. Go to www.disneyphotopass.com When you get there, get one from the first Disney photographer you see in the park. It's a plastic card they scan before taking your picture, and then the Disney photographers take your photos at various locations in the parks and with the characters. You can have them take your family group shots and then some with just the kids. Then you can go view them at the hotel that night or when you get home from the trip on line. You can 'edit' the photos by adding disney borders and autographs to them (save the original photo and then do a save as for the new one you create). You can then order the CD have it shipped and you can get prints made anywhere. We did this and had over 150 photos - totally worth it IMO.

Your 3 1/2 yr old will probably like Playhouse Disney Live at DS (Disney Hollywood Studios). Other than that, there is not a lot there for the little ones. The Little Mermaid Show is also there and Toy Story Mania and that's about it. However, we found it was the best spot to 'meet' Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Goofy, Donald & Daisy to get autographs first thing in the a.m. - right around the scorcer hat.

Also, try to take some time to check out the Shops in the parks and some of the little details that you may miss when going through. No one does it like Disney, and very often you can miss some great details. For example, when you walk through Cinderella's Castle, on the back side there is a little alcove setting with a drinking fountain. The ceramic tile artwork around the fountain is of Cinderella, but when you get down to kid level and look up, you'll see that the pattern of the tiles makes what is to look like a crown over her head.

Just keep in mind that while the crowds and temps will be high, try to do what you can and what is reasonable and you'll have a great time. Your 3 1/2 yr old will love the characters, and you'll likely be back in the future, so you'll always be able to catch more of Disney then.

Have a terrific time!!

-K.
Mom to the A Team
Alex (11), Aaron & Aidan (2 1/2)

We took pur grandchildren 2 years ago. They were 4 and 1 1/2. My daughter made sure they had plenty of nutritious snacks and drinks to take to the park. That helped with the too much junk factor and the expense. We also went to the park early in the morning, as soon as it opened, did a couple of hours, lunch, nap and back to the park in late afternoon, pool, dinner...night-night. It was VERY hot. We went the last week of July...take lots of water. Hope you have a blast!

Yes, your children are rather young to enjoy the full Disney experience. If you are staying on site, then you can take the free shuttle. Go back and forth to your hotel once or twice a day to refresh everyone. This is very easy while staying on site. The oldest will enjoy a break in the pool while the younger one gets to unwind in the room or at poolside on a blanket under close watch. Driving will let you bring a porta crib for poolside relaxing. Do not forget a life jacket or swim wings, sunscreen and drink plenty of fluids. You just have to plan your days so as not to overwhelm and vigorously tire out the kids. Have fun.

My husband and I took our kids one summer they were 1 and 3. I also took my neice who was 16. They have several parks. Some of them are free and have stuff for their age group. I would not even suggest going to the Disney theme park or universal studio. The price was crazy and you will pay just as much for the older toddler who can't really do anything there. I believe the Disney theme park had a small section for toddlers.

I think those parks are more for older kids, pre-teens and teenagers. There was stuff that my husband and I wanted to do but we could not because we had the kids and the lines were long and they would scream and get upset so we would have to leave one line and find something else to do. And It rained like crazy!! It was in July. I thought it was going to be extremely hot and humid but the weather was okay except for the rain. Take an unbrella. They charged us each $15 for some plastic rain capes and we had to buy 4 of them.
We stayed at a timeshare which was like a small resort. It had some play areas for kids, water slides and child activites. We actually could have just stayed at the resort and not have spent the money we did at the theme park.