Son's First Time!

[thewdwguru]

Hi,

I was in Orlando last month with my wife and 15 month son. Wife had a conference for the week. I babysat my son the whole time by riding the monorail system over and over and over. If I hear please stand back one more time I may hurl! ha! j/k I love the monorails!

Anyway, we chickened out of the parks! 100+ degree heat, crowds, diapers, naps, etc! We are talking about a December trip when the crowds are at the lowest, Xmas decorations, and cool temps! Any advice, park schedules, etc for my wife and and then 19 month son? I would like to stay in a delux due to ease/speed of transporation back to room etc. Can we get a room less then $100 a night? I plan on 3-4 days in the parks - prob only MK, EPCOT, and AK.

Any advice/experience for my new family?

Thanks

 

[winterparkbaby]

your son's first trip.

took my daughter in april for her first trip. planned for the worst and hoped for the best. she was 21 months old at the time. showed her the vacation video from disney so she could see the characters in relation to the people. told her we were goign to a party at mickey's house. did a countdown, etc.

we live on the west coast of florida so we drove in to orlando for the day and planned to stay off site at the ritz that night.
packed a good bag, wipes, washcloth, snacks, water cup, bathingsuit, small towel, camera, extra battery, etc

she was in amazement the moment she saw the opening day show at the train station. we started with small world. on the trip with us was my husband and the two grandmas. we decided it was a day for her to experience and we were going to plan according to her wants. gave her tons of water during the whole day to keep her hydrated. of course in december this will not be a big issue.

in toon town, i think that is what it is called she meet the characters. we were not sure how she would do with them. the first one she spotted was pluto and she grabbed my husbands hand and dragged him to the area where the meet and greet was. then we went into the town hall and meet pooh, eyeore, cinderella and her mice, mickey, tigger. it was a quick and wonderful experience with backdrops to make a lovely picture. they also had professional photographers onhand to take pics that can be purchased as you leave. in the town hall or market, it is the big tent building in the area. there is a big mr potato head area where for 16 dollars you can take as many pieces you can fit into one box. it was a blast to figure it out and we had a cm help us a bit too. her disney mr potato head is still one of her fav toys.

when it was nap time we got on the train and rode till she fell asleep. if you rent a stroller from the park you can just leave it at one station, take all your belongings with you including the placard with your name on it and pick up a new one at the station you get off at. after one loop she was asleep, picked up a new stroller and we sat down for lunch. as we left purchased her a grilled chicken and some fruit for when she woke up.

she enjoyed the philarmagic, small world, dumbo,country bears, toon town, jungle cruise, afternoon parade.

i was shocked when we made it past lunch. then more amazed we made it to afternoon parade. she was a dream. a delight. it was a day that none us will ever forget. she only cried as we were on the monorail leaving at 7:30 (there was a grad night event that night and the parked closed early, otherwise we would have stayed longer) she wanted to "hug mickey again, I love mickey" she kept saying in a sing song whimper.

as we got into the car to go to our offsite hotel she recounted hugging pooh and mickey, showing cinderella her dress.

to this day she mentions her trip to disney at least once a week. we are already planning to more trips before years end. i know they may not go as smoothly as this one but anything close will be a wonderful day.

sorry any typos, had a lot to write while she is still napping
hope this helps some. good luck

 

[waltdisny]

Don't be afraid to go! All 4 of mine went before their 2nd birthday, and they all loved it.

We pack in diapers, wipes, and when they were real young, the individual cans of formula (later they drank other things) and disposable bottles. We also carried a change of clothes for them, just in case.

IASW was universally loved. Mexico at Epcot was a close second. Country Bears, Tiki-Room, Dumbo, Pooh-Bear, Living with the land, and the Wed-Way (TTA) are also big hits. The Monorail and the Train are especially popular with my son.

Avoid anything with really loud noises; Journey Into Your Imagination, sadly , falls into this category now. It was loved by our 2 oldest ones, then the change came.:zipit:

While not intentional, we played the Disneyland Sing-along video a lot (since they were newborns), and that may have made a big difference in the reaction to the charaters. My kids love to hug them.

It's a good idea to take days off. We go one day on, one day off. Days off we go to Downtown Disney, swim, and so on.

If you're willing to spend the $$, you can't beat the Poly. Otherwise, I recommend PO.

I'd rent a car so you can go to the other places easily, like the supermarket. It can get pretty tiring waiting on a bus with a toddler, believe me.

 

[matt&helen]

I can answer your question on being able to get a deluxe hotel for less than $100 a night. If you're talking about a Disney deluxe that will not happen. As a Florida resident we pay anywhere from $110 to $140 (standard room) for the Wilderness Lodge which is the cheapest of the deluxes. I believe that is 30% to 40% off the rack rate. If you want to pay less that $100 you will need to look at the moderate or the value resorts. If you pay full rack rates than you will not be able to get any room on property for less than $100 a night.

 

[scorp111]

Hi,

I was in Orlando last month with my wife and 15 month son. Wife had a conference for the week. I babysat my son the whole time by riding the monorail system over and over and over. If I hear please stand back one more time I may hurl!

My wife is always telling me that " You can't babysit your own child!".

A technicality I suppose. I can't really give you advice, because we aren't going until Sept. But we are taking our 14 month old with us. We are also taking the in-laws so that we have babysitters.....


But it seems several others have provided good advice.

As far as the room, there are usually various discounts out in Dec., but it will depend on exactly what week you intend on going. I can second the fact that I am not aware of a deluxe ever being below $100 (even with AP discount in value season, the cheapest deluxe rooms are around $120), but you might be able to get a moderate for not too much more than that.