Taking 17 month old for the first time - lots of questions!

SpaceMtn#1

SpaceMtn#1

Member
Original Poster
Hi everyone. My husband and I are Disney veterans and we used to go almost every year for the longest time. But life got in the way and now it's been over 5 years since we have went and we officially have the Disney Itch. We want to go back so bad, but it's been daunting for us to plan this trip because for the first time we are bringing our son with us. We plan to go the last week of October and he will be 17 months old. We are going to bring our own Chicco stroller.

Our first problem is we don't know how many days we need at the parks. In the past my husband and I would go for five or six days, staying in the parks from open to close. Obviously we are not going to be able to stay at the parks so long each day with our son. We are planning on taking mid-day breaks and going back to the hotel for nap time. (We are driving and staying off-site about 5 miles away.) So since we are losing park time I'm thinking we need more days....maybe eight or nine days? It's hard to decide.

Also we would really like to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I don't know that much about it since we've never done that before. Is it worth it? Would a one year old enjoy it? Is it just too late in the evening for a one year old?

I would also love to hear any general advice or tips that you have about going with toddlers. I really want to go on this trip, but I'm worried about everything! We have a twelve hour car ride. I'm thinking about breaking it up and stopping somewhere over night half through. Any long car ride advice would be appreciated as well! We don't know if it's better to drive during the night or during the day, etc.
 
Disneydreamer23

Disneydreamer23

Well-Known Member
HI! I am going in September with my 16 month old daughter We are going to MNNSHP I have done it before and it is really cool you can trick of treat see a special parade and fireworks. I am staying for 14 days total doing Universal Studios for 3 and Disney for 10 with 1 free day. My daughter sleeps great in the stroller So I luckily don't have to leave for breaks. Are you planning on using rider switch? Or just go on the rides your little one can go on? I drive to KY and It takes me 7 hours and I always drive at night its easier for us! Hope you have a great trip!
 
MickeyisMyBestFriend

MickeyisMyBestFriend

Active Member
I would recommend 7 or 8 days for Disney itself ( if you want to do other things like Universal I would then add on days). I would say afternoon breaks is key, I am sure you know the heat can become extreme even in October.
 
jenluvswdw

jenluvswdw

Well-Known Member
Early mornings in the park with afternoon naps are the best! I went with my 17 month old and he loved it even in August!!! Just go at his pace and relax. Don't worry about doing everything!!! It is only his first trip of many I am sure. Let the magical memories begin!! And book some character meals so you don't have to wait on too many long lines for the pictures you will want.
 
SpaceMtn#1

SpaceMtn#1

Member
Original Poster
We are going to use the child swap for some rides. We are not worried about trying to do everything, but we would like to go on our favorite rides. (I love doing all the mountains in MK.) We are actually looking forward to doing things we normally skipped in the past, such as riding tea cups, the Tomorrowland Speedway, Dumbo, etc. since we have our son now.

I definitely want to do a character meal but Chef Mickey's is all booked up. Any other suggestions for a good character meal?
 
MickeyisMyBestFriend

MickeyisMyBestFriend

Active Member
SpaceMtn#1 said:
We are going to use the child swap for some rides. We are not worried about trying to do everything, but we would like to go on our favorite rides. (I love doing all the mountains in MK.) We are actually looking forward to doing things we normally skipped in the past, such as riding tea cups, the Tomorrowland Speedway, Dumbo, etc. since we have our son now.

I definitely want to do a character meal but Chef Mickey's is all booked up. Any other suggestions for a good character meal?
Click to expand...
I would say if Chef Mickey's is all booked up go with Crystal Palace, you can go for either breakfast or dinner.
 
oliviosis

oliviosis

Member
We did the MNSSHP this year and liked it but it wasn't a must for us. That said, we did not have a child with us at the time. The thing that I was surprised by was how crowded it was. The night we went was sold out and you never know when that'll happen (we went late Sept). It was on a Friday so I'd highly suggest a middle of the week event if you do go. I'd probably skip parks that day and relax until the party starts if you're taking your LO. We found it was too much to do the parks all day and try to enjoy the party long enough to get your moneys worth.
 
B

buseegal

Active Member
how is your child with falling asleep in car and moving to crib or bed? grandson was about that age and fell asleep on boat back to resort, then would not go back to sleep. made for a horrible night at the park. finally fell asleep and missed dinner. even with the short trip in car but you still have to leave park and drive to your hotel. he ended up doing stroller naps and fell asleep in evening also in stroller. if you have not already tried getting child from car to bed, I would try a few short trips near naptime and see how it goes.
 
jesemeca

jesemeca

Well-Known Member
SpaceMtn#1 said:
Oh and I definitely know about the heat and humidity. I'm from New Orleans! :)
Click to expand...

I'm from New Orleans also! We took my brother and sister when they were ten months old. We stayed off site, but never left for naps. We just had them nap in the stroller while we relaxed in the a/c for a little while. When we were all younger we used to drive overnight. Now we split the drive into two days. We drive about 8-9 hours the first day and then just have 2-3 hours the next morning. Gives us almost another whole day.
 
yaksplat

yaksplat

Well-Known Member
The path from fantasy land to tomorrow land near the railroad is nice and quiet for naps in the stroller. All 3 of my boys have napped there at that age mid day while we sat and did some people watching.

Travelling with a stroller is quite annoying. Leave it at home and rent one for a week from KingdomStrollers.com. It's well worth the $66.
 
sissa216

sissa216

Well-Known Member
What works best for us is just to use the stroller for naps, giving us some great downtime. Instead of heading back to the resort, we take it easy and enjoy some time to ourselves. If at the MK, it's easy to hop on the monorail to go hang out at one of the resorts and grab a snack or look around. (If you're staying at a monorail resort- then it definitely would be easy to just head back to your room!). The same goes at Epcot; we head out International Gateway to walk around the Boardwalk.

The other thing is to take it easy, and go on his time. A few of my favorite moments from our last trip: sitting in a gift shop while he quietly "talked" to all of the Duffy bears. Letting him run around splash pads. Playing with other kids in the Imagination Pavilion. You'll enjoy yourselves so much more if you don't rush through it and take time to let him enjoy his surroundings!

I second both Tusker House and Crystal Palace. Cape May (breakfast) is great too. Mickey's not there, but Minnie, Goofy, and Donald are.
 
SpaceMtn#1

SpaceMtn#1

Member
Original Poster
Thanks so much for the great advice. If my son ends up taking naps in the stroller and we don't have to leave the parks that would be great! I'm just preparing myself in case that doesn't work out and we need to go back to the hotel to nap.

buseegal, that is such a good point about napping on the way back to the hotel and then not wanting to go back to sleep. That would be a disaster! I guess we will have to do some trial outings around nap time like you suggested. Or maybe he will nap in the stroller and we can avoid that whole scenario.

Yaksplat, I know the path you're talking about. I can definitely see how that would be a great place for a nap. I will look into renting a stroller at the link you suggested. It would save us a lot of room in the car....

Jesemeca, thanks for the driving tips. Right now we're thinking we will split the drive over two days.

I checked into dining reservations again and I was able to get reservations for Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace! I read somewhere that doing a character dining is a good way to test out how your kid feels about meeting characters. That way you can find out if they are afraid of the characters without wasting time waiting in line for them at the parks.

I have read a few blog posts about MNSSHP and It seems like it will be fun. Mainly we want to see the special parade and fireworks, and maybe meet a few dressed up characters. We are planning to go to Downtown Disney on the morning of the day we go to MNSSHP. We're hoping it will be a less crowded time to pick up some souvenirs at World of Disney. We love that store but we always seem to end up there late at night when it's super crowded. Although I know it will probably be more crowded, we are probably going to go to MNSSHP on Sunday October 26th because it's my birthday!

I am getting so excited about our trip now!
 
MickeyisMyBestFriend

MickeyisMyBestFriend

Active Member
I think great call on the MNSSHP when we went a few years ago we had a lot of fun, and we don't even care about meeting characters! The parade is great and the whole atmosphere is fun.
 
mpeters

mpeters

Active Member
I agree with naps in the stroller. We took our sons for the first time when they were 15mos. Tried to go back to the hotel for afternoon naps but they just kept trying to crawl back into the stroller. We said oh well and tried the next day with letting them sleep in the stroller. Find a nice quiet spot in the parks (if you can imagine), let them sleep and my dw and I would take turns going on rides ourselves that the kids couldn't go on. People said we were crazy for taking 15mo old twins to wdw but till this day, was one of our best trips there. go the speed on the kid. everything else will fall into place.
 
SAV

SAV

Well-Known Member
Make sure you bring a clamp on fan for the stroller and a towel of some sort to hang over the top of the stroller to make it darker in there for nap time. You will need something to help him sleep. I had found the area by the side of Pirates to be rather quiet and it is a bumpy path, so it helps to "rock" them asleep. This was many, many years ago, but it's worth it to check it out.

As for the long drive. We went down from Illinois when my daughter was roughly the same age. We recorded several VHS tapes of her favorite shows and played them in the in-car player for her. She was mesmerized and many times just fell asleep while watching them. Obviously now it will be DVD's, but the idea is the same. Have plenty for them to do. If he likes to color, then get several of those Color Wonder books. No mess, even if they do try to draw on themselves or drop them in the car. We did have to make several potty stops along the way and let her get a quick run around in at the rest area. We had a cooler in the back seat with her drinks and snacks ready to be grabbed if it was needed. Preparation is definitely the motto. Be prepared to stop or to snack or to drink when they need it. Them having a screaming fit is not what is needed on a long drive.

The best advice is to go at their pace and don't be afraid to let them walk around a bit outside of the stroller before nap time. It will tire them out since one step of yours is 3 of theirs.
 

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