Walt Disney World Resort - Tips for Mums/Moms and Dads

[Wendy]

I thought it might be useful to make a list of all the things that you have found useful when taking children to Disney. Anything at all from taking snacks to rides and shows.

As I don't have any children and have only been with friends' that have, I can only think of a few things, but I'm sure there are a lot of other ideas out there

What I was thinking was, that when we had a good list of ideas, a page could be set up on the main site with all of these ideas as well as having this thread.

So what do you all think fancy having your name on the main site next to your suggestion

[Kate]

Put the rain cover down on the pushchair before you go into a show - you never quite know when its going to pour down!

Im sure i will think of a few more but that was the one that came to mind first!

[Mari]

excellent idea!!!

ok.. some of mine...

Take your own stroller, or rent a nice one... you want one with a big hood, that reclines, has a raincover and is easy to fold and carry on WDW transportation

Take advantage of character meals... perfect character interaction in an A/C room, and you get to eat no standing 45min in line under the Sun!

Sunblock and sunhats are a must

For easy snacks in the parks, take some ziplock bags and fill them with: crackers, cereal, grapes

Enjoy the little things

Be realistic, you will NOT be able to see all the shows and go on every ride, but it will still be the perfect, magical trip, if you let it

Try to respect your child's schedule... for eating, napping and bedtime.... cranky, hungry and tired kids will not have fun!

[Shellyamc]

Ok October 2011 was our first trip with kids, so we learned A LOT in those 2 weeks!! Here are some things that worked for us or that we should have done

*NAPS! We never missed. We were at the park when it opened and we stayed until lunch time. After lunch in the park we went back to the resort and slept for around 2 hours. We headed back to the park around 4 and everyone was happy and our kids ( 4 and 2) were able to see every night show and firework without complaint. This made our trip

*We picked a few things in each park that we could not miss. Once we got those done we did whatever the kids saw that they liked. We did push them a little bit and they rode POC and HM with no problems, but we made sure we respected their limits.

*Adult rain ponchos fit great over a stroller

*We always had a small soft sided cooler with juice and water. Made for quick stops and happy kids.

* If they want to swim..let them. I know you paid a ton of money to be there, but if the kids are crying and angry..what is the point?

* We had lots of snacks in the room. They were often a little hungry before bed and it was easy for them to have a pop tart or munch on cereal in the morning while getting ready rather then us dragging them out to a formal breakfast.

* kids love to get ice from the ice machine..LOL

* We packed a folding stool and it was a lifesaver!! Some of the beds (we drove and stayed in a few different hotels) were high!! Our kids felt much better using the stool to get in and out of bed and they liked being able to brush their own teeth etc.

* We got Katie (4) a cheap digital camera of her own and she was never bored! She took pictures of everything in line and each night we let her look at her shots. By the end of the trip she was taking pretty good pictures and we only had to deal with keeping her brother busy I think the camera cost around $20.

*Don't push pictures with characters. Katie was fine where Marc had his on and off moments. As long as we didn't push him he would high 5 and usually end up running to greet them the 2nd time around. He wouldn't get near Goofy and we just decided it wasn't worth the drama to force him.

I'm sure there are 10,000 more things, but my mind is all over the place right now. It was a lot more work than we expected, but it was so much fun seeing their faces. Let them explore..you only get this time once. Our kids have memories that Dh and I don't remember at all, but they were small things that had a huge impact on their trip. Just enjoy it and try to have some fun yourself

[Wendy]

Thank you so much Kate, Mari and Shelly This is just the sort of advice we need

Keep them coming folks

[Sam]

Here are a couple of things we did as well as some of what others that have been suggested.

• Even if your little one is past the toddler stage still take a pushchair. We took and old one over with us for our 4 year old, it was a god send. Not just great for his little legs but also somewhere to put the bags on.

• We made and took a big selection of name badges for all the kids to wear around the parks. It was great as the crew members and some of the characters addressed them by their names which made them feel very important.

• Each child wore a lanyard with our contact details on just in case they got lost.

• Make sure you take advantage of the photo pass photographers. It's free until you decide whether you want to buy the pictures after you have viewed them. You can view them on the photopass site for up to 30 days after you get home from your trip. They are worth doing as the service also includes putting in characters in the pictures. For instance the kids were made to look down at the floor and point with a surprised look on their faces. When we got home Stitch had been added to the picture coming out of the floor. The photopass site is also great for the kids as they can edit the photos themselves adding what ever frame, etc they want.

I hope these help.

[Mari]

Some more

ADRs these become lifesavers when the parks are full. Just knowing where and when you will eat, and that the kids wont go hungry makes the day much better!

Change of clothes. There are countless opportunities to get dirty ( Popsicle in 100 degree heat anyone??) and also they can get wet in quite a few places.

Sweaters, please please please take some sweaters with you if youll take a bus. Some buses are colder than a freezer! Ive seen many kids shivering on them!

Baby wipes! No matter the age, you WILL use them!




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[CouchFisher]

As a parent with 3 children under the age of 5, whenever we travel we seemingly pack everything but the kitchen sink. Attempting to manage all of these items, especially with luggage weight restrictions and additional baggage fees on top of 3 kids, can be stressful.

I'm an Amazon Prime member which gives me access to 'free' two-day shipping. This is fantastic for diapers, wipes, or any other item that would likely be consumed or disposed of before returning home. I am able to ship directly to the resort and the two-day shipping provides a tracking number so I can verify arrival. If something does happen and the package doesn't end up with us, Amazon is top notch when it comes to managing the problem; they ship the replacement overnight.

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[Vikki]

I second baby care centres.
We went when Ben was 2 and a half and used them quite a lot. They're a great place to cool off and lots of them have play rooms.
We also went when ava was only 6 months old. I was still breastfeeding and their nursing rooms are amazing! The ones at animal kingdom are particularly good, although they all have their good points.
Also, we brought a hood that extended the UV protection on the buggy, I lost count of the number of people that asked after them! Was only about £10 from amazon.