Disney with a 15Mo Old

Go see Mickey and Minnie first- there is usually a long line to see them. Dumbo line gets pretty long quickly too. Get fast passes to the rides that allow them. Also, if you can, bring your own stroller. They do have stroller rentals at the park, but they don't recline for napping, and at 15 months, the little one will want to nap! You can bring food and drinks into the park, so you might want to bring some snacks in to buy some time while waiting in lines, or just to avoid the cost of buying at Disney! Also, go to the Disney store, and buy and pack some souvenirs. The ones at Disney are awfully expensive. Remember sunscreen and little motorized fans! Here in Florida, October is still hot. Have a great time!!!!

My biggest advice is to be prepared to be flexible. Somany people go into a Disney vacation with a complete "touring plan" that schedules each and every moment of their time. Yes, you will get the most out of your dollar with this but your kids will most likely be miserable. Especially with such a young one I think you will have the best time if you just go with the flow. Definitely get a guidebook (Unofficial Cuide to Disney With Kids is my favorite) so that you can familiarize yourself with everything.

If you are on the dining plan you should make a couple reservations-at least for the places that you KNOW that you want to eat at...this is how you will get the most out of your plan. The best restaurants are always pretty full-although you are going at a GREAT time for Disney so you may not have a problem with it.

I read in a tourist magazine that you can rent strollers, cribs, etc... and other baby gear. This way you don't have to fly with them... But- if you're on a cruise ship, maybe you will already have that stuff....

www.orlandostrollerrental.com

Good luck!

Buy the Unofficial Guide to Disney World and follow it to the letter. We did and had the BEST time!

We've gone the last 4 years with my boys and every trip, except this last one, was with lots of family. 2007 - 2 yr old, 2008 - 3 yr old & 4 month old, 2009 - 4 yr old & 16 month old, 2010 - 5 & 2 yr olds

The best advice I can give is to keep to your schedule and naps. The first year we didn't and we had a cranky 2 yr old on our hands. We were trying to keep up with the rest of the family and keep everyone happy. Then we realized that to have a good vacation, we had to do it our way and make us happy.

So this is our typical day: we wake up, have a good breakfast, do a bit in the morning, eat lunch, nap, and head out for the late afternoon and evening. It didn't matter if we were in the park or just hanging around Disney. We ditched the family did our lunch and nap and then caught up later. The boys were able to last longer and enjoy it more.

Just relax and have a good time! Remember, you don't have to do everything. It will most likely be there the next time you go. This year we only went into the parks 2 out of 7 days. It was the most relaxing Disney vacation I think anyone has ever had!

And use your family. We would put our boys to bed and ask my little sister to watch them for an hour so that we could go for a walk to decompress.

Have a great time!
T.

I did the Disney Cruise when my daughter was 15 month, then again when she was 2.5 years, then Disney World when she was 4. We are thinking of doing their newest ship, The Dream, in December 2011 (we now have a 2 YO boy).

The cruise is FANTASTIC!!!! She loved every minute and they cater to your every whim.

As for Disney World, Epcot in the evening was wonderful because the ground lights up when you walk and there are little ground fountains that the kids can run through. It was our favorite park!

You will LOVE LOVE LOVE the ship!

All the characters are on the ship and there are rarely ANY LINES to see them. They appear 3 to 4 times a day in the main hall of the ship - EVERY CHARACTER. They walk around on Castaway Key as well! AND you get breakfast with them. Don't even bother finding them in the park. Quite frankly, the ship is the way to go with the little guys!