Disney Tips - Little One's and Baby Bumps

Disneyland and Disney World are great destinations for families in any stage. I know that now. When I was younger, without children, I took my first trip to Disney World, looked at all the families lugging huge diaper bags, cumbersome strollers, and screaming children and vowed to never bring my little tikes to the happiest place on earth, where it appeared to me would be hell on earth should I bring my little one. I changed my mind. Perspective changes once you have your own children. Those parents lugging the double stroller and picking up their 20 pound diaper bag and 15 pound screaming child getting off the resort bus were happy inside...I know it. They might have been tired, or rather exhausted. Everybody needed a nap. But prior to that, they had fun, and 4 month old Billy had a great time being with Mom and Dad and 3 year old Joanie laughed her ears off on Dumbo, and Mom and Dad enjoyed the sun, the smiles on their kids' faces, and the Disney cleanliness and friendliness.

Here are my tips for traveling to Disney parks with your little one.

• Invest in a quick fold, compact stroller that you can abuse. Our first trip with our little one, we took our only stroller. It was easy to manuever, but had no locking mechanism once it was folded, and didn't fold compactly. It suffered some dings, which at the time I was stressed out about because it was expensive. It was hard to fit on the bus sometimes without bumping legs, and took up a lot of space in our hotel room. After that I researched compact folding strollers and found one on craigslist. Our next trips were less stressful and gave us greater maneuverability. If you're headed to Florida, investing in a rain cover for your stroller is a great idea. When the rain comes, it really really comes. With our cover we splashed through puddles to the next attraction instead of hiding out under and awning.
• Pack light. Taking carry-on's will save you money, so if you must check a bag, try for just one. Not only will it save you money, but it limits the amount of items you have to carry. Taking bags, strollers, car seats, and children through an airport can be an ordeal. I bet I could start an airport Sherpa  business for families and be quiet successful. So, the less you take, the less you have trek to the gate and back. Most airlines allow for car seats to be checked at no cost to you, so if you aren't using it on the plane, check it. If you will be using it in a seat, try to put it in a bag with a strap, or devising your own strap around it so you can throw it over your shoulder, as they are quite cumbersome. Better yet, design your trip so you can avoid having to take them at all. Strollers can be gate checked, so use it strategically to ferry all your stuff and children to to the gate. I'll talk a little more about packing strategies in another post, but to give you a general idea, we try to keep our baggage for our family of four to 2 roller-bags, 1 backpack, and 1 child's backpack along with a stroller and car seats as necessary.
• Bring activities and snacks proven to keep your child engaged. But not too many, because remember, we're packing lightly. Once I decided to keep my kids entertained on a flight by packing an extra gift bag filled with wrapped snacks, toys, and books. Instead of giving them something to do each hour as I had planned, they exhausted the bags contents in a small amount of time till I was left with a heap of trash and discarded toys. They played with their old toys we had brought for the rest of the flight. I think this kind of strategy is better for a road trip, but for plane travel, I stick to small plastic figurine style toys, small pads of paper and crayons, tiny activity books, fruit snacks, goldfish crackers, and a portable DVD player.
• Tote your babe in a sling or other baby carrier. This was an indispensable item when our children were young (2 and under). Naps when they were babies were easier in a sling, and I didn't have to stop and hang out by the stroller. It also gives you a free hand in the airport (except at the security check where you will have to take your child out and run the carrier through the scanner.)
• Bring a thin receiving blanket. You can also use the tail of your sling should you have one. What you should know is that not all planes are equiped with diaper changing tables in the bathrooms. You may be changing on your seat, when having that blanket might save it from a poo smear, or it might shield your babe for a little diaper changing privacy should you want it. If the bathroom does have a changing table, you might want to lay the blanket down to cushion your child's head from the hard plastic and jolting of the plane through turbulence. The blanket can also help shield sun from a sleeping child in a stroller.
• Ziploc bags are your friend. You probably already knew this...but I will just remind you of all the uses you might find for this compact bag of wonder. Keep a handful of wipes in it, use it as a snack bag, use it as a trash bag, pack home wet or smelly clothes, use it for toys, sit on it, keep your souveniers in it...the list goes on. Ziplocs work well with my light packing strategy, I usually pack a couple gallon and quart sized bags inside one gallon sized bag and use them for wipes, snacks, toys and souveniers.
• ID tags for your little ones that wander. You can get a dog tag made fairly inexpensively that will list a name and phone number for your peace of mind should your child find themselves lost within the swarms of people in the parks. We did this once because our youngest had fits where they didn't want to hold your hand, and were oblivious to whether we were close by or not. She never went missing, but I felt more secure knowing it was there just in case. we attached it to a strap on her shoe and it never bothered her.
• Snacks and water bottles. These two things can help you save some money on park snacks and drinks. The parks have plenty of drinking fountains for refills, and any counter service restaurant will give you a cup of ice water for free, just walk on up and ask for one. We usually pack some granola bars and nuts from home to get us started, and pick up a few more snack items for breakfast and the parks once we arrive. Most hotels have a shop with some snacks, or you can find a convenience store within walking distance if you don't have a car. If you do have a car, then you'll have more options. You can ask your shuttle service if they will make a stop at a grocery store as well, since this is something that some of them do for no extra charge. If you don't like city water, you can bring along some single pouch drink mixes, they pack light and will make sure you keep hydrated, which is very important for every family member. You can bring bag lunches into the parks, just no coolers.
• Bring a comfortable backpack that both parents will wear. Backpacks are ideal in the parks because you will have snacks, water bottles, wipes, diapers, a camera, phone, sunglasses, and perhaps a few other things to manage. It's nice to keep it all in one place. Your stroller might be well equipped to handle all this gear, but remember you'll have to leave your stroller to get on an attraction, or fold up your stroller to get it on a bus. We use a black backpack, not a pink one, so we both feel comfortable wearing it and can trade off. Two sweaty backs are better than one.
• Take a nap! Everyone in the family will need some downtown in the middle of the day. Get to the parks early to take advantage of lesser crowds and fresh kids, then find your way back to your hotel in the afternoon when the crowds and temps are higher. Let the kids nap or watch some TV or read a book, then take a dip in the pool. You'll feel refreshed and ready to hit the parks again around 3 or 4, when crowds are starting to take a dip again. Staying till fireworks or an evening parade won't be an affair full of tears now.
• Find the Baby Care Centers. These are amazing places of refuge within the Disney parks. They are listed on the maps. You'll usually find a cast member there to help you if you are in need of baby food, formula or diapering needs. There is a room for changing diapers, a place for tots to play or watch a cartoon and a place to feed your little one. If you're feeling overwhelmed or you just need a quiet cool place to change or feed a child or settle down from a tantrum, and nothing around you looks like a good option, go here.
• Make an attraction itinerary. It's easier to take everything in that Disney has to offer if you have a plan. It can easily become overwhelming for you and your children. Educate yourself on the rides, what the height limits are, and then make a plan. It's wise to know crowd patterns, so you can utilize fastpass, or avoid non-fastpass rides with long lines. I recommend The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland or The Unofficial Guide to Disney World for this purpose, or www.touringplans.com. 
• Use the child swap. When traveling with little ones, there are bound to be some rides that one or more of your children are not tall enough to ride (or perhaps are too afraid to ride). In this case, approach the cast member at the line entrance and say you'd like a child swap ticket. Now one parent can stay behind with the non-rider(s) and once the other(s) is through you may use your child swap ticket to get through the fastpass line instead of waiting in the regular line. While parent #1 is riding, take the time waiting to enjoy another attraction, or plan that ride during nap time. Some attractions have child play areas at the exit of the ride, such as in the case of splash mountain.
• See the parades. As a couple with no children, we avoided the parades so we could ride attractions with lesser lines. But the expression on our kids' faces during a parade is priceless. See at least one. You'll see what I mean.
• If you have the extra cash, make reservations for a character meal. Again, expressions are priceless. But as an added benefit, eating a meal and seeing characters kills two birds with one stone, and allows you more time to see attractions. Waiting in line to see characters in the park can take up a considerable amount of time...so eating a meal while the characters come to you is a nice luxury. Kids under 3 are free too!
• Prepare young children by telling them what it will be like. It's possible that you want to surprise your child with your Disney trip, and that sounds like a great idea too! But if you aren't planning on it being a surprise, I recommend giving your child information about what it will be like at Disneyland or Disney World. Some children are frightened by the characters, which is normal, but I have found that telling my child every day what we will be doing and what will be there leading up to the trip, it takes away their anxiety once we are there. My children usually take a day to warm up to the full costumed characters.

Now, what do you need to know if you're pregnant? Disneyland and Disney World have a wide variety of very creative and mild attractions. Tell your doctor where you are going and ask what there ride recommendation is. You'll find that you'll be able to do most everything but the big roller coaster type rides, and each doctor might have differing ideas as to what is okay or not. Do your research and then do what you're comfortable with. Those rides with restrictions are Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Indy Speedway (because of possible rear-ending), Indiana Jones (in Disneyland), Matterhorn, Barnstormer California Screamin', Big River Rapids, Tower of Terror, Rockin'Roller Coaster,  Star Tours, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safari,  Everest, Test Track, and Mission Space. From personal experience I stayed away from all of those rides except the safari ride at Animal Kingdom.

If you're expecting, just take it easy. Disney parks can be hard on the feet, so take it easy, and plan your attractions accordingly so you can sit in between walking. Keep yourself well hydrated, remember that you can ask for a cup of ice water from any counter service restaurant. The fruit stands can offer a great healthy snack for less than 2 dollars. Make sure you're resting during the afternoons, maybe with your feet up, and then take a dip in the pool to refresh yourself. If you're finding that walking is painful, rent a wheelchair at the gate. I went to Disney World each time I was pregnant and enjoyed the more relaxed pace of touring, they were both great vacation experiences.