Taking a 3 1/2 year old

[DiSnEyF@n]

I'm just looking for what to expect when we take our 3 1/2 year old next summer. It will be her 5th (yeah, I said it... FIFTH!!!) trip, but as we have learned in the past, each stage/age is different...

Any help forseeing the future is greatly appreciated.
Looking for some personal experiences on those travelling with children around this age!

Thanks!!!!

 

[DisneyDaver]

I'm just looking for what to expect when we take our 3 1/2 year old next summer. It will be her 5th (yeah, I said it... FIFTH!!!) trip, but as we have learned in the past, each stage/age is different...

Any help forseeing the future is greatly appreciated.
Looking for some personal experiences on those travelling with children around this age!

Thanks!!!!

I took my nephew when he was 3.5. He loved MK and AK, but didn't get much out of EPCOT and DHS. The one issue I remember is that the walking got to be too much for him towards the end of each day. My brother and I traded off carrying him (with him doing some walking in between). We went to World Showcase for dinner one night and that was way too much walking for him. He was also scared of the characters, but that would vary greatly among different children. Overall he had a great time as I'm sure your little one will! I'm taking my daughter for her first trip this November when she will be 18 months. We will see how that goes!?!

 

[TDGMedley]

Im Fixing to take my almost 3 year old back for the 3rd time and 18 month old. I say the walking would be a big one they get tired faster than we do. If you dont want to take a stroller you can always go rent one at the park if you change your mind and take snacks and something to do when waiting in the long lines. helps pass the time. bubbles are always a hit with my son.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

I took my nephew when he was 3.5. He loved MK and AK, but didn't get much out of EPCOT and DHS. The one issue I remember is that the walking got to be too much for him towards the end of each day. My brother and I traded off carrying him (with him doing some walking in between). We went to World Showcase for dinner one night and that was way too much walking for him. He was also scared of the characters, but that would vary greatly among different children. Overall he had a great time as I'm sure your little one will! I'm taking my daughter for her first trip this November when she will be 18 months. We will see how that goes!?!

My daughter loved everything at 18 months! She will too!
We will definitely have a double stroller with us (we will have a then 9 month old with us too). My daughter loves Epcot - Nemo, Frozen (will be new to us) and her absolute favorite in all of Disney is the Donald Duck ride in Mexico the Three Caballaros among other rides and shows. Also, my daughter loves the characters... As she is one herself lol. Thanks for the heads up about walking though. I definitely won't expect her to be able to walk the parks daily.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

Im Fixing to take my almost 3 year old back for the 3rd time and 18 month old. I say the walking would be a big one they get tired faster than we do. If you dont want to take a stroller you can always go rent one at the park if you change your mind and take snacks and something to do when waiting in the long lines. helps pass the time. bubbles are always a hit with my son.

I love the bubbles idea. We will have a double stroller with us for sure. Snacks have always been a must... For all ages lol!!!! Thanks for advice!

 

[WDWDreamer4]

We have 3 children, DS6, DD4, and DD1. We have been taking them to Disney since DS was 5 weeks old. We have gone every year.
We found that as our children got older they also wanted to spend time at the play areas. MK - under train station next to splash mountain or Casey Jr water splash playground, EPCOT - inside exit of Mission Space, HS - Honey I shrunk the Kids play area is closed now but the Disney Jr show is a hit!, AK - Dino Dig. At first I had a hard time just letting them run around and play on a playset cause even though they were neat theme, "we could do that at home". But the play areas are great for letting off steam of being so structured, having to wait in lines, or sit still through shows.
Not sure if your daughter is potty trained, but if she is get to know where every bathroom is near you. I am not sure what the fascination is with a child needing to see and use every potty available. But both my potty trained children are still like that.
Keep at least 1 set of extra clothes with you for each child in a gallon ziplock bag. If they have an accident or if you let them run around in a splash playground/fountain you will want the extra clothes and the ziplock bag to put the dirty/wet clothes. Even if your older one is potty trained the excitement of Disney could cause her to forget.
If you daughter does like characters make or buy an autograph book. We took DS @ 3.5 and DD @ 1.5 to Disneyland and I made their first autograph books. My son LOVED it. He was always so excited the characters were signing his book. My DD is terrified of the characters. She threw her book at Donald and that was it for her. At almost 5 she is still terrified, but gets better throughout of trips by the end she can usually hug Minnie. So each child is different, but the autograph books are fun especially if you DIY them and personalize it.
Don't underestimate the shows. My kids around 3 started to love watching the shows on the castle stage. I have always bypassed those because I didn't think they would stand through it and there were so many rides to do. But they love those shows and the dance parties. The drums around Africa at AK are a great hit too. Try to enjoy Disney through your children's eyes as they see everything as interesting and fun, not just the rides. And take your time, rushed hot cranky children make cranky adults.
Get Memory Maker and at every photopass photographer get your picture taken. Those pictures are so worth it.
Have fun!

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

@WDWDreamer3 thank you so much for your WONDERFUL advice! My daughter LOVES all the characters, fortunately bc I love seeing her face when she sees them all.

She had better be potty trained by the time we go, so bringing an extra set of undies and shorts/outfit into the parks is a great idea! I wouldn't have thought of that. I LOVE memory maker and totally agree with you that it is worth every penny. Is there a certain website you used to make the personalized autograph books... I think she would like that especially if she has a hand in helping to decorate it!!! Fabulous idea. I can't wait to utilize the play areas next year for sure!

Thanks again for the advice! If you think of anything else please let me know!

 

[WDWDreamer4]

I started my autograph books with a quick search for Disney autograph book pages. Once I saw what other people made I decided to make my own pages instead of printing those I had found. A lot of what is out there is very detailed and will use a lot of ink. I used Microsoft Publisher and created 5x7 landscape oriented pages. I did a clip art of 1 or 2 characters per page, for example I kept the princes with their princess because they used to meet together during the Halloween party. I created a cute border and that was it. I left a lot of run for the character signature because I heard they will add extras if you do. And we got some awesome "extras", not just signatures but more personalized with pixie dust and extra pictures they drew.
This year I took our pictures from last year and made an 8x8 shutterfly book for each child. I left space on the character pages for signatures and stickers for them to decorate later. This is a first so I am not sure how it will go, but worth a shot!

 

[Andrew C]

I took my 3 year old this year. One thing she loved was the pressed penny machines. They were fun souvenirs to seek out with her that also kept her busy and entertained between rides and shows. You can even get a souvenir booklet to keep them all in. We also used them as incentives for behaving, lol

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

I took my 3 year old this year. One thing she loved was the pressed penny machines. They were fun souvenirs to seek out with her that also kept her busy and entertained between rides and shows. You can even get a souvenir booklet to keep them all in. We also used them as incentives for behaving, lol

I think this is a cute idea!!! I love incentives for good behavior!!! Great idea! Thanks.

 

[DrummerAlly]

Probably a stupid question but it fits in this thread. Do all of the characters (face, plush) sign in the autograph books? This is our first trip with kids and I haven't ever even noticed other people getting signatures during meet and greets.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

Probably a stupid question but it fits in this thread. Do all of the characters (face, plush) sign in the autograph books? This is our first trip with kids and I haven't ever even noticed other people getting signatures during meet and greets.

Not all characters sign, some, like Buzz, will use a stamp instead.

Signature books are a huge hit and kids love doing it! We have a 2 and a half year old daughter and she is finally at the age that she knows more of what's going on and she loves taking her book up to the characters to get signed.

 

[Me 'Earties]

I'm just looking for what to expect when we take our 3 1/2 year old next summer. It will be her 5th (yeah, I said it... FIFTH!!!) trip, but as we have learned in the past, each stage/age is different...

Any help forseeing the future is greatly appreciated.
Looking for some personal experiences on those travelling with children around this age!

Thanks!!!!

Bring a stroller. We had a somewhat clunky stroller at first (City Mini) that would travel with us. But when our older son was about 2-2.5 yo, we invested in a decent umbrella stroller, that would lie back, had the sun shade, and small amount of storage (you can't have it all with an umbrella stroller!). We had a hard time carrying around the City Mini on planes, bus, etc., so the umbrella stroller was light weight/easy to carry/folded up nicely but comfortable for the child to sleep in if necessary. The umbrella stroller we purchased for these sort of trips was the Summer Infant 3D Lite (now there's a version with a bigger sun shade but pricier) and I used a coupon for BuyBuyBaby to make it a little cheaper. There are plenty of options out there though!

And snacks/drinks. Oh boy-they'll need the energy!!

 

[Swissmiss]

My DD was 3.5 the first time we went and even though she was potty trained, I put her back in pull-ups during our trip. She never ended up needing them during the trip, but it eased our stress knowing in the worst case scenario, we'd only have a wet pull-up and not wet clothes.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

My DD was 3.5 the first time we went and even though she was potty trained, I put her back in pull-ups during our trip. She never ended up needing them during the trip, but it eased our stress knowing in the worst case scenario, we'd only have a wet pull-up and not wet clothes.

Good to know. Can't hurt, right? Thanks for that!!

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

Bring a stroller. We had a somewhat clunky stroller at first (City Mini) that would travel with us. But when our older son was about 2-2.5 yo, we invested in a decent umbrella stroller, that would lie back, had the sun shade, and small amount of storage (you can't have it all with an umbrella stroller!). We had a hard time carrying around the City Mini on planes, bus, etc., so the umbrella stroller was light weight/easy to carry/folded up nicely but comfortable for the child to sleep in if necessary. The umbrella stroller we purchased for these sort of trips was the Summer Infant 3D Lite (now there's a version with a bigger sun shade but pricier) and I used a coupon for BuyBuyBaby to make it a little cheaper. There are plenty of options out there though!

And snacks/drinks. Oh boy-they'll need the energy!!

We'll also have a 9 month old so I'm sure we'll have a double stroller with us. Big. Clunky... And I'm sure hubby will just LOVE (insert sarcasm) carting it around on the buses. Lol

 

[Me 'Earties]

We'll also have a 9 month old so I'm sure we'll have a double stroller with us. Big. Clunky... And I'm sure hubby will just LOVE (insert sarcasm) carting it around on the buses. Lol

Oh! Since you mention double stroller....
I want to add something here, since we literally changed plans last night for an upcoming WDW trip. We have a 4 yo and 1.5 yo, and we needed to rethink the stroller thing. My hubby sounds like yours-does not love to cart the stroller around! BUT, he said to me yesterday: I think we should rent a double stroller. I was aghast! But his thinking was correct: if we bring the umbrella stroller, that means only one could lay down/sit in it at any time and it's a certainty that they'll both be exhausted in the evening. We initially thought they could trade off whenever one was tired. He was afraid that we would end up carrying one for a large chunk of the evening, but alas, we do not own a double stroller. So we looked at a couple rental places and decided to rent a double stroller at Kingdom Strollers-it's about $106 for the 10 nights we'll be there, with taxes, for a City GT. I think the umbrella stroller had worked for us in the past since, well, we only had the one munchkin!

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

Oh! Since you mention double stroller....
I want to add something here, since we literally changed plans last night for an upcoming WDW trip. We have a 4 yo and 1.5 yo, and we needed to rethink the stroller thing. My hubby sounds like yours-does not love to cart the stroller around! BUT, he said to me yesterday: I think we should rent a double stroller. I was aghast! But his thinking was correct: if we bring the umbrella stroller, that means only one could lay down/sit in it at any time and it's a certainty that they'll both be exhausted in the evening. We initially thought they could trade off whenever one was tired. He was afraid that we would end up carrying one for a large chunk of the evening, but alas, we do not own a double stroller. So we looked at a couple rental places and decided to rent a double stroller at Kingdom Strollers-it's about $106 for the 10 nights we'll be there, with taxes, for a City GT. I think the umbrella stroller had worked for us in the past since, well, we only had the one munchkin!

Good to know! I definitely don't want to have to carry either of them for long periods of time. My sister has a double that we're going to borrow from her... A word of advice for you is to make sure you have a rain guard for your stroller... A 10 day trip, odds are you'll be in the rain at some point.

 

[Me 'Earties]

Good to know! I definitely don't want to have to carry either of them for long periods of time. My sister has a double that we're going to borrow from her... A word of advice for you is to make sure you have a rain guard for your stroller... A 10 day trip, odds are you'll be in the rain at some point.

Ah good point ! One thing to mention is that Kingdom Strollers offered the rain cover and cooler free of charge, as part of the rental. That was one of the reasons I went with them . So folks that are considering renting: check for the rain cover

 

[Swissmiss]

I rented from Kingdom Strollers about 5 years ago - the service was great and I'm glad to know they are still around