https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 05 Jun 2026 03:16:24 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2612090 Sat, 27 Aug 2016 20:02:37 +0000 starlitsky 2612090@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I haven't been to a Disney park with a child (yet) but my advice to you is to take advantage of the baby care centers at each park! </p> <p><a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/baby-care-centers.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/baby-care-centers.htm</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2611651 Fri, 26 Aug 2016 13:42:34 +0000 looch 2611651@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyBoecksMom: I think my son would be really into pin trading if we tried it now. He's on the shy side and I think he would really open up for something like that. Plus, I've read that if you approach a cast member for a trade, they can't refuse, so it's an easy way to build their confidence. I believe you can buy pin packs on Amazon, so I'd get that upfront and then maybe get a few special ones at the parks. Oh, and he also was really into the penny rolling machines, so the second time we went, I made sure to bring a good supply of quarters and pennies.</p> <p>The characters are kind of hit or miss for us, my son was afraid of them the first time we went, but the second time, he was okay with them and we have a ton of cute photos with them. The talking Mickey really knocked his socks off.</p> <p>I like to go all out when we go. My son gets new pajamas for the trip with characters on them. Plus I always let him get a few things from the stores, he loves that (the store at Disney Springs has exclusive Mr. Potato Head pieces that we collect). I want him to do the pirate dress up thing, but I think he's still too fidgety for that. Maybe when he's more in the 7-9 age group.</p> <p>But the biggest thing for me is taking comfort in the fact that Disney isn't going anywhere and we can take another trip and see new things. It helps so that I don't plan too much. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2611165 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 18:35:44 +0000 mrsbookworm 2611165@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went with a 3 year old and a 18 month old this spring. What worked for us was getting there at opening, going to 4-5 attractions and then leaving by 12-1pm. That way, the kids could nap back at the hotel and chill out for s little while. We went back to the park for two evenings but didn't plan ahead. They were just days when the kids took long naps. It wound up going better than I expected! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2611091 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 17:04:36 +0000 808love 2611091@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyBoecksMom: I wasn't into pins or hidden Mickeys but I liked getting autographs. One of our best moves was a ziploc with sharpie and a very inexpensive Golden book that has all the Disney princesses in it. We got autographs on the princesses and characters autographed the blank inside covers. You might not be into that thing but if you do a character meal, it's very easy. </p> <p>I chose everything from researching MyDisneyExperience app and Touringplans.com. Plus you can ask us! :-) I was so not into Disney when I started when LO was two but every year I did it, I got more and more sucked into the fun. Every year I say, I'm done this time...I've seen it all. Then I get an itch...a Disney itch. This year, I'm done for sure! Hah!<br /> I packed a pretty princess like dress and tiara in a bag the day we did the princess lunch and she changed into it just for the meal and pictures after. It was super fun. I wouldn't recommend cruising around like that all day. Princesses get uncomfortable.<br /> Do you need a stroller? We went with Magic Strollers and got a discount by signing up for free D23 membership. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2611077 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 16:54:01 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 2611077@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@808love: Thanks - I have so many questions LOL! There's so much to do - pin trading, finding hidden Mickeys, rides, shows... how on earth do you decide what to do, where to go or what to eat? Do I dress the girls up? Do I get them Mickey ears? Do I let them pick up stuff from the park? :-O So many things to go, see and do. </p> <p>My husband's first experience with anything Disney was when our girls were born, so he doesn't "get" the excitement around Disney - he thinks it's just fancy amusement park, but I'm trying to explain to him that it's MUCH more than that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2611070 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 16:45:37 +0000 808love 2611070@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can also go back to the resort and take a long late nap on the last day if you want to make it to a fireworks night. We did not get to see fireworks (except from our hotel) when LO was younger since we were so anal about her sleep. We almost always had an early start, nap in the middle of the day (when it was hot) and then got back to the parks late afternoon. It was still tons of fun. Lmk if you have any specific questions. I love Disney talk. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2611052 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 16:32:12 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 2611052@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: Right - nothing is really set in stone yet except our sit-down reservations. I'm just trying to plan out which park we should plan on spending our time in each day. We have park hoppers, just in case we want to go back anywhere. </p> <p>@catlady: I want to get a few FastPasses set up for princess stuff if we can and then just let the girls lead the rest of the way. </p> <p>@yoursilverlining: Good idea about bringing the headphones! We have some that she uses for loud noises, like fireworks, but I didn't even think about using them for crowded places like Disney. We're renting a nice stroller while we're there that reclines all the way, so hopefully that will help to block out some stimulation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2610963 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 15:19:29 +0000 bubblegum 2610963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyBoecksMom: Awww so much fun!!</p> <p>We took LO last year and he just turned 1. We didn't take nap breaks. He would just take naps in his stroller and we would go somewhere ACed. We are going again Monday and this time around he's 2. We are doing the same thing but also not going too early to any of the parks other than MK. I feel like MK you need a whole day, the other parks, not so much. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2610948 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 15:13:08 +0000 tlcbaby 2610948@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We took our now 3 yr old (then 2 1/2) earlier this year. Granted, we only had one to deal with :) but we did "plan" to go back for a nap each day, but sometimes he just fell asleep in the stroller and we used that time to take turns on rides he wasn't big enough for.</p> <p>I would probably do MK first so you can go back near the end if there is more you want to do or some things you want to do agajn. Our MK time was the best time because he loved it so we did go back there more than planned. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2610866 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 14:19:57 +0000 catlady 2610866@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were there in April with a 2.5 year old (and I was first tri and exhausted/nauseous). What worked for us was to keep her normal schedule and plan around it. Since she still naps, that meant I planned in 2-3 hours chunks in the morning and evening and that was it. We left the parks each day for lunch and nap, and we didn't plan any evening activities (her bedtime is 7:30). I made detailed touring plans and got our fast passes around those, so we never stood in line more than 10 min. Even though we weren't in the parks for huge amounts of time, we all felt like we used our time well while we were there. My LO is good in restaurants so we did at least one or two per day and those were nice breaks.</p> <p>A few things that helped us were to let her interests lead the way and to not really have any expectations (DH and I didn't really have anything we definitely needed to do or see). That way, if we needed to change plans suddenly because LO was tired or cranky, it didn't feel like we were missing out on anything. </p> <p>In terms of actual touring, you know your kids best, so I'd go with your gut. I knew in advance that trying to do stroller naps for my LO would be a disaster so we literally planned everything around naps, and it worked great. My cousin recently went with his kids (age 1 and 3) and they did stroller naps and had a great time. On the other hand, they couldn't do any sit-down restaurants with their kids whereas mine does great in that environment. So don't try to force things, just go with their flow. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2610670 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:48:52 +0000 looch 2610670@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyBoecksMom: You wrote that you have days planned, what do you mean by that...do you have the day allocated to just being at the park and playing it by ear or do you have a schedule set up for the day? </p> <p>I found the best mix for us was to do the morning at the park, planned out around our 2-3 must dos. Then, in the afternoon, we went back to our hotel, took a nap, went to the pool. Dinner we went to Downtown Disney, now renamed Disney Springs, I think and took advantage of the dino dig, lego store and many restuaurants. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2610622 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:24:09 +0000 yoursilverlining 2610622@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’ve found Disney to be much more enjoyable when we don’t try to cram everything into what then ends up being very long days. So I’m a big fan of not expecting or needing to necessarily be there from early opening moment until late at night. The Disney resorts have tons of activities going on all day/evening for kids, and those activities ended up being some of what my LO enjoyed the most (we stayed at the Yacht Club and they had movies on the beach, their own little beach, great kids swimming areas, s’mores, craft activities, etc.)</p> <p>FastPass what’s most important to you and plan your day around that. Ditto to any restaurants/activities you want to do that require reservations/tickets. If both your girls still nap and you have the time, I think it would be great to be able to go back to your room after lunch, let them nap, and then see about a late afternoon/evening activity (or go back to the parks). If either girl wants to go to the bibbidy bobbidi boutique, make reservations ahead of time (they have one at MK and one at downtown Disney so be careful of which you make reservations at).</p> <p>For your LO with sensory issues, what about bringing a set of kids headphones for her? Or having a stroller with a blanket large enough to cover it to make it “enclosed” / private / a quieter space?</p> <p>I would personally swap out Hollywood Studios with another half day at MK. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2610616 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:22:01 +0000 BSB 2610616@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@BabyBoecksMom: Will going at non-peak times help? Is it the crowds you are worried about? Maybe going to one of the less popular parks might help. </p> <p>This site might help you navigate the crowds.<br /> <a href="https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/November-2016/" rel="nofollow">https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/November-2016/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2610607 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:14:03 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2610607@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Exciting! </p> <p>We just took my kids this spring and they were 1.5 and 4.5. The older one can go without nap so we just planned for the youngest to nap in the stroller. Either way plan out time for a nap. Either to deal with the bus to get back to the hotel or for some quiet time in the park. We had to cover the stroller and stand in a corner so there weren't distractions and then he napped. </p> <p>We were able to pull off a full day at MK with them. The nice thing was they had no expectations. So we would pull up the app, find something with a low line wait and then head there. </p> <p>We planned for at least one sit down restaurant meal in the park to give everyone a break in some AC. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/realistic-disney-world-expectations#post-2610600 Thu, 25 Aug 2016 11:10:35 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 2610600@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're flying into Orlando for my cousin's wedding in Nov, so we're making a Disney trip out of it. My girls are 2.5 and 4.5 and we'll be staying at the Art of Animation for 4 nights. I'm not sure what to really expect from the kids. How much should I plan? Should I factor in naps (both girls still take naps)? </p> <p>I'm a little worried about my oldest getting completely overwhelmed (sensory processing) and not being able to enjoy the fun of the park. </p> <p>I have a full day planned at Magic Kingdom, half day at Epcot (take the other half off to relax?) and then spend the rest of the time between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood studios. My girls are usually in bed by 8pm, so I have no idea if they'll make it to see any of the awesome fireworks after all that stimulation during the day. </p> <p>Sorry for the rambling - I'm just trying to figure out what I should/shouldn't do on a first visit (we WILL be back!) with two little ones. </p>