I am finally getting around to posting a few pictures from our quick little trip to Disney last month. We also were there back in November for my families annual trip, which was also Kurt's very first time there. To us that was a big deal, a very big deal. We were very big Disney people growing up, let's just say my mom is a Disney College of Knowledge graduate... complete with mickey ears grad cap and all... oh yeah, big Disney people. I have very vivid memories of being there as a kid and dreaming of taking my own little one's there. Knowing what Disney means to our whole family everyone wanted to be there for Kurt's first trip. I mean people were calling him for there favorite rides months in advance. While we are so fortunate to have shared the experience with all of our loved ones (both sets of grandparent, both aunts and their significant others, a great grandmother, and our family friends with three of there own kids ages 11, 9, and 6) it was definitely a little overwhelming a times. A lot of people wanting Kurt's attention made it a little hard to sneak in naps. Mix that in with what I think is the unhealthiest food choices (more on that later) and plane germs and get yourself a poor little boy getting sick on his very first trip to Disney... even with all that working against us we had a magical time.
Our trip in January seemed to go a little smoother... It was only the three of us for a quick little trip while we were in Orlando for a trade show. It was way less planned (like, we booked a hotel through hot-wire an hour before we rolled into town) and yet seemed way easier. That being said along the way I picked up a few tips on tackling Disney with a toddler and thought it would be fun to share them here. It all can be a little overwhelming for everyone and if you are anything like me, you probably have pretty high expectations and want everything to go perfect. That leads me to my number one tip...
1. Be flexible. Traveling takes a lot out of everyone especially little ones, so try not to plan too many things and don't freak out if things aren't going according to your plan. You can make memories even doing the little things, that don't involve characters, lines, pictures, more lines. Let your little ones take it all in on our there own and call the shots. If they are having fun playing with a leaf, let them enjoy it, even if there is a parade going on in the background. Just let them soak in all the Disney magic on their own and try not to force anything on them, everyone will have more fun this way... trust me.
2. Meals. Ok this for me was a big one. Kris was so tired of hearing me complain about the quality of food choices, especially kids. During our first trip, we stayed on the Concierge Level of the Wilderness Lodge the first two days by ourselves before everyone met us there. This was made things really easy for us with Kurt for a few reasons. First, the concierge level is offered on Disney properties (not sure if every hotel has one) and they offer food and drink pretty much around the clock that you can help yourself to. They had milk so this made it really easy to give Kurt a bottle in the morning. Also, they had somewhat healthy options like fruits and vegetables and we were always gave Kurt a little something before we went anywhere. That way no matter where or when we got to eat I felt like he was taken care of. Plus I would grab 2 bananas each morning to have on the go. In addition to that I packed some of my own food and snacks for him like a few avocados, organic apple sauce, annie's cheddar bunnies, happy melts, organic raisins and some happy baby pouches. I never really fed these to Kurt as food when he started to eat but I like to keep one on me all the time so if Im ever in a jam I feel he is getting some nutrients. He likes the novelty of them because he doesn't really get them so its a win win for vacation food. Also, he doesn't normally eats snacks so these things also kept him pretty occupied on the plane. Once my parents got there we moved to The Beach and Yacht Club Vacation Club Villas which have a kitchen and they brought a bunch of food with them, so we were back in business. My parents only live two hours from Disney so they packed coolers but if you are traveling from far I saw they have this service that will let you place orders for groceries, diapers, and wipes delivered right to your hotel. I have to say I really has a hard time getting past the food situation our first trip. The second trip I eased up on myself a bit and had a little more of a "we're on vacation attitude". He got a few more chicken fingers and quite a bit of fries too... I even let him have a few bites of a Mickey Cookie and Creme Ice Cream Sandwich, at 8:00 pm wearing no pants during Pluto's dance party. Oh yeah, I let him live!!! I couldn't deprive him (more like me) twice of having that delicious chocolate smudged face. Even though I'm pretty sure someone (pop-pop) snuck him a bite last time. It was pretty much at that moment I realized that even though he was only 15 months old, he got it. He got that this was special and felt the magic.
3. Nap Time. Try to stick to there regular napping schedule as much as possible, they will most likely be pretty overtired from all the action anyway so try to get in as much sleep as you can. Kurt always wants to be a part of the action and has a hard time falling asleep with so many distractions. He never wanted to miss a thing. We found the best way to get him to sleep was to find a quite corner somewhere and rock him to sleep in the stroller. We would face him toward a wall or somewhere we knew no one would be walking by. Our favorite was at Sleepy Hollow refreshments it was pretty central to everything and they have a little seating area tucked away in the back that is pretty secluded.4. Attractions. Know that the popular rides usually have the longest waits. Waits, lines, and toddlers aren't the best combination. Kris downloaded the Disney World app for which updates all the wait times and tried to keep everything under 20 minutes. We found a few hidden gems and actually went on a few things we had never even knew existed. Some of Kurt's favorites at the Magic Kingdom were It's a Small World (they always seem to have a pretty reasonable wait), The Jungle Cruise, Dumbo (which has this new play while you wait thing that he may have liked better than the ride), The Carousel of Progress (this is a family favorite, and there is never a wait... a must for sure), Country Bear Jamboree, The Walt Disney Railroad, and The Peoplemover. Attraction Fail= Swiss Family Robinson Tree House... stairs carrying a toddler in 85 degree weather... not by best idea. Can we talk about The Peoplemover for a minute... I'm not really sure how we didn't know about this one and I'm not sure who was more excited me or Kurt. The Peoplemover is a very slow attraction that rides on an elevated track through Tomorrowland and goes through most of it's attractions... including Space Mountain. I don't know what it was about this ride, maybe the fact that he had just woken up from a nice long nap, or the wind blowing through his hair as it gently sped up and slowed down but to Kurt, The Peoplemover was where it was at. (Also, if you are traveling with children of multiple ages, some of which can ride Space Mountain and others who can't and are not happy about it... I'm thinking you can do some pretty sweet talking about how this is a "special" Space Mountain just for them... and probably still have time for an ice cream by the time everyone else is done with the real deal.) 
On The Peoplemover with Nonna and Pop-Pop... while this doesn't quite capture the enjoyment, trust me, practically squealing the whole time. Oh, and notice the hands. :)
5. Bring a Change of Clothes. Ok, I know this is like parenting 101, but it's something I often forget. Well I thought I was pretty safe bring him an extra t-shirt and sweater. Ok, I was wrong. Why was I wrong... because there was a splash pad. Show this kid a splash pad, or fountain, or water and all bets are off folks. He spent a good 30 minutes in that thing until I had to physically remove him because his lips were blue, at which point he threw his very first tantrum. We dried him off (we had to buy a towel, you may want to bring one of those too) and changed his clothes and he spent the rest of the day pant less. (Hence, pant less dancing with Pluto).
We really do love Disney and look forward to many more trips together as a family. The whole time we were there Kris and I kept picturing our future saying "I can't wait to show him this" and I know that running around trying to get on as many rides as possible really isn't too far away. However, this time I was enjoying the slow pace of letting it all sink in and experiencing everything for the first time through his eyes.
Feel free to comment with any questions you have. I'm sure I will post a few updates as more tips come to me. I would love to hear about any experiences and tips you've discovered traveling with little ones.
