Walt Disney World with Toddlers- Part 3 "What to bring"

Okay, here comes my best advice of what to bring when you have a toddler, or 3 of them in my case :)  This was my experience in just one trip to Disney, and I got them from reading tons of blogs on Pintrest... but I used some of the tips I found for other trips we took with the kids during the year!!

• Children's Tylenol, Advil and Benadryl. .. Consult your doctor on how much each child can take because it will be different for each child depending on age and weight.  Notice this is at the top!!  I'm so glad I brought it!  First, let me clarify that I never "medicate" my kids to make them behave or for no apparent reason.  Your kids are so exhausted during the trip that you may think they will totally pass out at a moments notice, but they are also over stimulated and sore (and not able to express if they hurt).  I hurt from all of the walking, and even though they rode and were carried a good portion of the time, it was a lot more walking than they were use too!  And Gabe was a total mess and up at all times of the night... just from being out of his norm and sleeping with the rest of the family and tylenol seem to help him (it very well could have been teething for him!).  Allergies are also kind of crazy down in Florida, so the Benadryl will help with the drainage and stuffiness your kids may experience.  But know your kids... sometimes Benadryl makes kids go crazy instead of sleepy :)  
• A Stroller... Last year we took two strollers, a double umbrella stroller and a regular baby stroller.  The double was for the older kids and the single was so our little one could nap better. Even if your kids are ages 5-8, it can be a lot of walking and they can wear out fast in the heat, especially if they have been cooped up for a few months and not use to the heat.  Last year, we prepped our kids by taking long walks around the neighborhood.  This seemed to really help break in shoes and get them in shaped, or as my sister-in-law says... "getting your Disney legs".  So having a place for your kids to rest or nap while you wait in line for characters or walk around the park is great, and you will have room to carry any extras you need for the day.  We have a jeep umbrella stroller that is awesome, and I can hang a book bag from the back and even put my lunch box on the bars underneath.  DO NOT rent a stroller from Disney... biggest waste of money.  The stroller was nice to have through the airport and you just store it at the gate (free and easy).  Obviously, if you are driving, you can take one.  And if you insist that it is too much extra stuff to take on the plane, you can rent from another outside agency or buy on Amazon and have it shipped to your resort, then donate it to a local church!
• Bottled Water... if your looking for a way to save money, having bottled water in your resort room can save you a ton of money.  Last year, we had groceries delivered to our resort.  This year, I think I'm just going to order a couple of cases of bottled water delivered to our resort the week before.  Also, take the individual packets of Lemonade and Fruit punch or Hi-C (found at walmart and easy to pack) to flavor the water if you want.  I always filled thermos' for the kids before we left and then take 4-6 cold bottles in a lunch box and use them to refill the thermos' or drink yourself through out the day.  With the heat and walking, you get very thirsty, and water is expensive or the Florida water tastes funny.  And you are aloud to bring your own drinks and food into the parks!
• Food... I will go into more detail about food in another blog, but we took snacks and breakfast with us!  Anything that needed to be put in the fridge we ordered from a local grocery delivery. We needed juice, and 3 gallons of milk (with 3 kids on whole milk, we go through it pretty fast!), cheese sticks, and yogurt.  There are small fridges in each resort room and we may have bummed some space off of others in our party :)
• Organizers... This was probably one of the best tips I found, especially with 5 of us in one room.  And I now take these whenever we travel!!  As your kids get older, you can take multiple organizers:
• The Door Shoe organizer- you can take this and fill it with snacks and small things you don't want your kids to lose.  Since my kids were little and can't open there own snacks, I didn't take one.  But I may rethink it this year, that way I have a place to put shoes and soaps and toys and snacks.  
• Hanging Closet organizer (I typically see people use these to put sweaters in and they are box shaped)  All of these organizers fold easily and take up little room.  I used this to put shoes and bathing suites in (after dried) and just gave us some extra storage space we needed.
• Box organizers- the hospital gave it's associates trunk organizers this year.  A few of the nurses who didn't want theirs gave them to me.  I plan to take them for shoes and toys this year.  I don't want to be trying to leave for a park and not able to find a shoe, so as soon as we get in a room everyone can take off their shoes

These are just some of the things I've thought of that were most important for our family to bring and maybe inspire some ideas for you on your trip!!  

Walt Disney World with Toddlers- Part 2 "Where to Stay"

Well, I personally think selecting the right resort to stay at is hard.  I went back and forth and compared and exhausted my options before I finally decided this last time.  There are honestly so many decisions to make that it gets a little overwhelming.  There is always the option to stay off site, which will save you money... but as I said in the first post, you have to have your own car or rent a car, you can't use Magic Express, you can't use the Disney Dining Plan and you can't use the extra magic hours.  With toddlers and preschoolers in tow, staying on property is a must for our family!

There are also on property, non-Disney hotels that will save you money.  But yet again, some of the perks of staying at a Disney hotel are not available, and some are!!  But I'm going to give my picks after my research for each of the Deluxe, Moderate and Value resorts.  I've only stayed at a few, but I know what I want :)

Deluxe Resorts... Staying at any of the Monorail hotels would be amazing!!  With easy access to Magic Kingdom, coming back for a nap or swim would be a piece of cake!  I think I would possibly think about a park hopper pass then because it would be easy to get to MK or Epcot.  The Grand Floridian is beautiful, but almost too nice and quiet out for Toddlers.  It also has many awesome restaurants and food venues and a beach, but I don't feel like I could let them run around inside the resort! The Polynesian would probably be my first choice, with all the color and decoration and themed like Hawaii, Kids seem to love it!!  My family stayed there when I was in 6th grade, and I can still remember all the sites and smells and decor of that resort!  One of the down sides is that it is also spread out and you may have to do some walking.  The Contemporary seems a little cold and not so Disney to me... but little ones seem to love that the monorail goes through the building.  And if you stay at the main building, you don't have very far to walk... you are just up and down!  Deluxe resorts would be a true luxury for us and is way above our price range... but if you can afford it, you need to stay on the monorail!!

Moderate Resorts... Last year we stayed at a moderate resort, Port Orleans Riverside.  It was wonderful, and besides not being on a monorail, it was perfect for our family!!  The down side of moderates are that they are VERY spread out.  There seems to be about 15 buildings to each resort and the walking distance from your building to the main building or pool can be far, and that is not good when you have 3 sleeping kids!  The reason why we pick the moderate resort vs. the value resort?  The space!  The rooms are not as big as the deluxe resorts, but they are considerably bigger than the value resort.  And with 5 people in one room, it gets tight!  And once you get the discounts applied, the price of the moderates are also not that far off from the value resorts.  This year we are staying at Coronado Springs because it sleeps 4 people and a crib... so this may be our last year to try this resort.  And I have never stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort, so I have no opinions on that one.  

Port Orleans Riverside was very family friendly with a neat pool (with a slide), playground, cafeteria and a boat to take you to Downtown Disney!  It was a far distance from Animal Kingdom, but fairly close to the other 3 parks.  It has three sections to the resort (and I don't know the names of them and I'm too lazy to look them up).  There is the princess section which costs a considerable amount more and is a far walk from anything and only sleeps 4 people; the way out there section that again only sleeps 4 and is a far, far walk from anything;  and finally, the Alligator Bayou where we stayed (it sleeps up to 5 people).  We also optioned for the preferred room so we would be closer to the main building.  If you choose a moderate hotel, don't worry about having to walk a far distance if after a full day at the park... there are multiple bus stops for each resort, so you can find a stop that is somewhat close to your room.

Value Resorts... I have read a lot of great things about the value resorts, and as the kids get older, we may eventually end up in one of these.  The only one I have really looked into is the Art of Animation, which looks amazing!!  Let's start with the downsides to this resort first (because they are few).  Really, there are only 2 reasons that I can think of... First is the price.  Because it is fairly new, it is the most expensive of all the value resorts and there are no discounts for the Little Mermaid rooms and only a 15% discount for the family suites and the suites are more expensive then the moderate resort rooms.  Which brings us to the second one... there are only Little Mermaid themed rooms for normal rooms and then there are a Cars, Lion King, and Finding Nemo themed Family suites.

But really, the good out way the bad with this resort.  The Family suites look amazing and spacious.  They are two rooms with two bathrooms, a microwave, Fridge, two TVs, and sleeps up to 6 people.  The decor of the entire resort (including the pools) is amazing and toddlers would love it!!  And I have heard really good revues about the cafeteria at that resort!!  And even if you have older kids, I think they would really enjoy this resort too... and the two bedrooms would give a couple the space they need!!  

Have a Magical Day!!

Walt Disney World with Toddlers- Part 1 "To Fly or Drive"

In April of 2013 we took our first family trip to Walt Disney World with our 4 year old, 2.5 year old and 1 year old.  Two of the kids were in Diapers and our 1 year old (who turned 1 the day we went down) was still not feeding himself and eating mostly baby food.  We went flew down on Saturday at 11am and flew back the following Saturday at 9am.  We went with my parents (they were there til Wednesday), my in-laws and my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and nephew.  A total of 12 people... 8 adults and 4 kids.  Many people with thinking about traveling with toddlers ask for my opinions and tips, so I thought I would jot some down over the next few weeks!!

First, let me tell you about my dream Disney vacation... I would love to fly down on a Friday evening and stay until the next Sunday.  If I stayed on a Monorail resort I would probably get a park pass for every day there (yes, a 10 day pass) because it would be so easy to get to MK.  If I stayed at a moderate resort (which is most likely) I would get a 6 day park pass with no park hopper and have the following schedule:

Saturday- Magic Kingdom
Sunday- Animal Kingdom
Monday- Swim, The Boardwalk
Tuesday-Magic Kingdom
Wednesday- Epcot
Thursday-Swim
Friday- Hollywood Studios
Saturday- Magic Kingdom

Can you tell that MK is our favorite??  I would still get the Disney Plus Dining Plan and use it depending on who goes with us... but on how to use the DPDP in another post.

So lets start at the beginning... to fly or drive?  It's always a question that I get and you are probably not going to like what I say.  But I say FLY, no matter what the cost!! Especially with 3 kids under 5 years old. Why?  Disney makes it way too easy!  So, if money is an issue, schedule your vacay a few months later so you have more time to save money.

Honestly, it probably depends on your family size if you would save that much money if you drove or flew.  And it will also depend on the time of year you go.  Always fly Southwest (which includes AirTran) because then you don't have to worry about all of the extra fees (seats, luggage, etc).  I noticed this year if you flew in February, flights were as low as $109 one way.  If you flew around Spring Break time, flights were $250 one way.  I think we got our flights for $139 one way and that was more around my budget!  Kids under 2 years old fly free... so last year, Gabe was totally free.  This year, Gabe will only cost us $250 to take on vacation :)

And I have always believed that the saying, "You can't buy time" is false!!  For us it would be a 20 hour drive to Orlando Florida... it takes two hours to fly down from Indianapolis to Orlando.  That gives us 36 extra hours of vacation to relax.  I don't know about you, but driving makes me tired... and if we chose to drive through the night with the kids, I would exhausted!!  At this age, the kids travel okay, but they don't want to be sitting for 20 plus hours.

Last year we flew down at 11am, got to our hotel at 2pm and were able to check in and get some naps in.  There was no 11am flight this year, and our options were 8am and 1pm.  I have opted for the 8am flight... I will let you know how that went after our vacation :)  Coming back to Indy last year, we had a flight that left at 9am!!  Big mistake!!  I was up until 1am packing, we had to be up at 5am... our luggage was picked up at 5:30am and our bus picked us up at 6 or 6:30am.  It was nice in that we were home before lunch and for nap time (which everyone needed), but it was awful getting up that early and I vowed to never do that again!  This year, we our return flight booked for 12:30pm... and if you have older kids that could handle it, you could book and even later flight and do another park day or downtown disney day!!  This way we can sleep in, pack and still get home at a decent time!

Now comes the best part.... no need to rent a car when you get down there.  And Disney handles your luggage!!  AWESOME!!!  I have no idea what the history is of Magic Express, but it is the best thing Disney does!  After you check in your luggage at the airport, you don't have to handle it again until you get home.  So this year, each of us gets to travel with 2 pieces of luggage, with a total of 10 pieces... and I plan to take full advantage.   I think we should be able to pack anything we need.  When you get to the airport, you are transported to your on Disney property hotel free of cost.  Within a couple of hours, your luggage is delivered to your hotel room.  When it is time to leave, you can request for them to come pick up your luggage and take it to where you can check it in at the hotel.  Disney will transport you back to the airport and you will pick up your luggage back at your home airport!!

Here's the breakdown of driving round-trip:

Gas: $300-400
Hotel: $200-300
Food: $100-200 (you could pack your own food and a cooler.  my parents were always really good at this, but I am not.  And we would stop to eat so the kids could get out and play and walk around)

**  We could pack our car with extra food and water for the parks and basically take anything we need
** We would have a car if we chose to eat offsite, although with a dining plan I wouldn't do that
** We could stay off site and save tons of money, but then we would miss part of the Disney magic from staying on site.  And no Disney Dining plan, which can save you a considerable amount of money if you use it right
**A car for emergencies or if I need to run to the store for something
*Grouchy parents for a few days
*Grouchy kids
*less days at the parks or on property due to needing 2-4 extra days for traveling.  Which is doable if you are a teacher and have a whole summer off, but not if you have a Monday-Friday job.


It really all comes down to money... if you are willing to scrap and save money for a few extra months, then there is no question... Fly!!  But if you have the time and are trying to save money and do Disney for as cheap as possible, then driving is a great option too!  The thing is, Disney is expensive no matter what, but to me it is worth the money to do a vacation right!  Be as relaxed as possible and enjoy every minute of it.  And Disney makes you feel like you are a very important guest no matter what hotel you are staying at!!  WDW is also incredibly clean and kept up... and MAGICAL!!

Have a MAGICAL DAY!!!!!!

Gabriel Joel

On April 20th, 2012 God blessed us with another big, healthy beautiful boy!!!  From the beginning, Gabe has done things on his own time and his own pace.  I once told my pediatrician that he is lazy... she told me he's just laid back!  I think both!!  Haha!!!  During my pregnancy, I would go to bed around 11pm and would not feel him move again until 9am (hours after orange juice and coffee).  I knew he was okay, but I still told my OB to keep her informed.  We did an ultrasound and everything measured okay, and I began to see his personality!!

I was scheduled for a C-section on April 20th at 9:30am, and on the 19th we took Hannah and Sam over to my in-laws and headed out for one last date before our family grew.  By this time I had called my parents and said I would call in the morning when Gabe arrived and told everyone else we would see them at the hospital the next morning.  We were at Joe's Crab Shack when my contractions started and the seats were super uncomfortable and I was getting miserable.  On the way home, the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart and I just kept thinking that this was unbelievable.  I mean, can't the kid wait 12 hours??  We went home and finished packing and I tried taking a bath and resting to see if the contractions would stop.  by 10pm I was calling the OB.  She told me to come in, and if I wasn't in labor, they would just keep me to the next morning.  Well, one look at me and the nurse told me I was having this baby tonight!!!  Praise the Lord!!!  I was not meant to labor naturally!!

When I was on the table, the OB asked be about what the sizes of my other babies were (6'11 and 8'5)  and she told me that this baby wouldn't be as big... she was guessing upper 7 lbs.  By this time I had been working on postpartum for just about a year, and when they pulled him out and showed him to me, I kept thinking that he was no 7 lb baby!!

Gabriel Joel was born at 1:45am weighing in at 9 lbs 1 oz and 20.25 inch long.  And his head was 14.5 inches around (the newborn hats would not stay on his head!).  The thing was, no one in my family knew about it until 6 or 7am.  I tried calling and calling everyone I knew, but they had silenced their phones!!  It was fun to surprise everybody when they woke up to find they had 100 missed calls and Gabe had arrived in the middle of the night!

Part of the fun of having Gabe on the 20th, was that we were able to celebrate Hannah's 3rd Birthday at the hospital on the 21st!!  So fun to have kids birthdays at the same time :)

Gabe was the most easy going, laid back baby.  I feel like he was the least held, and he was so content to be in his swing or bouncy seat and watch the world go around him!  He hardly cried... and when he did it was for a reason (dirty diaper, hungry, etc.)

This maternity leave was the best!  By the end the house was clean, meals had been prepared and I was well rested!!  And it was the hardest to end... because this time I was no longer leaving 1 or 2 kids but 3.  And I just love being at home with my kids!  Some day I will be able to cut back to Part time, but I'm pretty confident I'll never get to be a stay at home mom... but I can dream!

So speed forward 22 months and I can tell you that this little guy has been such a blessing to our family!  He is still a laid back, happy little guy!!  This last year has really shown us a look into his character and personality... At One year, he was only army crawling and not pulling up on furniture.  He was mostly eating baby food and barely eating "big people" food.  He would not feed himself and would not put toys to his mouth.  However, he was saying about 10-15 words but would not say Mama or Mommy.  Just as we were talking about First Steps for him, he took off cruising furniture at 13 months and walking at 14 months.  He started feeding himself around the same time.  He said Mama at about 17-18 months after trying to get him to say it for a year!!  He slowed way down and hardly grew at all between 15 months and 18 months, but now he is taking off growing like crazy!

He is totally obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and is not happy unless it is playing on the TV, iPad and iPhone at the same time!!  When he wants to watch Mickey he says, "Disney!"  He says 2 to 3 word sentences, but then again my kids learn their words in phrases!!  He loves playing with the big kids... well, let me rephrase that... he loves taking there toys when they are playing quietly!  He likes to run with the big kids and chase them around and he loves to dance and sing.  Right now, he really likes to watch "Let it Go" on you tube and throughout the song you can hear him say "Let Go".  He still sleeps in the crib at night (but will move out of it this summer) and still sleeps with a pacifier.  I think we missed our mark in taking that away.  But, at least he sleeps through the night!!  He also is obsessed with eating banana's and when he wants fruit he tries to open the fridge and says "Apple".  He absolutely adores our dogs and thinks it is so funny when they run around the back yard.  And speaking of funny, he has the best laugh.  It is one of those deep gut laughs that I can listen too all day!

Gabe will turn 2 on Easter Sunday this year... where has the time gone??  In so many ways he is still my little baby but it has been so much fun to watch him grow and start to play with the other two kiddos!!  I pray daily for my kids that they will grow to love the Lord and serve him more faithfully than I do... but I feel deep in my heart that God has something special in store for Gabe.  Gabriel means "God is my Strength" and Joel means "the Lord is willing".  I pray that Gabe will always rely on God to be is strength and his everything!!

I love you Gabers!!!!!