Finally getting around to sharing somethings we learned from Disney with our babies and kids! We were lucky enough to all get to go together- my parents, and 4 of us siblings + our spouses and babies, 19 of us in total! It was so fun, crazy and there were 9 babies and kids all 5 years and younger. Grace and our brother Buddy’s family have all been before with their kids, but this was the first trip all together with the newest additions too! So thankful for our parents- they have owned a DVC membership since we were babies and growing up as a family of 6 was always crazy with different schedules, expenses, etc, but we always all looked forward to our vacation together! So special we can bring our babies now! Anne and I also bought a timeshare together and surprised our husbands with it as a wedding gift two years ago so let the Disney vacations keep coming!
#1 tip I’d say is to not over-plan- plans change, kids get tired and you think you’re able to do more than you can, but especially in the heat you might need to take that break in the hotel. Also, don’t overdue it at the parks, some people think you need to go to the parks everyday, but honestly you’ll probably burn yourself out. We all did two days/ two parks a day and that was plenty- the babies/kids were so excited for bed every night! Also, the kids love the pool and shopping at Disney Springs on days that we didn’t go to the parks.
QUESTIONS
Q: How did you survive nap schedules with so many kiddos/ages? What does a realistic day look like with naps?
Soo many different ages! All the babies and kids did soo well! I’d say on park days breaking the day up and heading back to the hotel around 1/2pm was so great for everyone to rest and take naps (even the older ones) + the blackout hotel curtains are sooo helpful! The babies were really good taking their naps throughout the day in their strollers, Hudson and Charlie even fell asleep on rides in our arms! Hudson takes 3 naps a day (wake up is typically 6/630 so he’d go down for a nap at 830/9 and then Joel would bring him to a pool then mid way through the day I’d take him on a walk or back to the room for another nap and last nap he’d usually fall asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel. I can’t even stress how good all the babies did to adjusting to the crazy schedule!
Q: Why the different stroller for Disney rather than the UPPABaby?
We LOVE our UPPAbaby strollers (maybe too much!) haha! That’s why we decided to buy a less expensive stroller to travel with so that we didn’t have to worry about the wear & tear, especially because the UPPAbaby will last for years and up to 3 babies. These $100 stroller folded easily, had the option for parent facing or facing out, large storage bin and reclined for naps!
Q: Must-haves to bring to the parks with kids?
Definitely snacks, water bottles, sunscreen, stroller, stroller fan- we used our so much, don’t forget to charge it each night!
Q: Best restaurants for kids? Taking my 3 year old in October.
Chef Mickey’s is one of our favorites because you can see all the characters! Also, Cape May if you’re staying near the Beach Club/Boardwalk.
Q: Must dos in Disney Springs? The Boardwalk restaurants?
We love how easy it is to grab food in Disney Springs because we have never been big reservation people! Our go-to spots are D-luxe burger, Gideon’s Bakery (famous for their coffee & cookies, the line is insane so go really early!) Boardwalk restaurants- the pizza place is so great & if you walk over to the Beach Club the burgers/ice cream at Beaches & Cream are the best!
Q: How did babies do with naps at the parks? I have a 4 month old and curious if he is too young.
Charlie is 3 months and Hudson was just about 7 months! both of them did so great napping in their strollers throughout the day. Hudson and Charlie even fell asleep on the rides
Q: How did you manage long waits for rides with kids?
The most we waited was probably 40 minutes at the safari and we got to keep our strollers for most of the line! Any of the rides we really wanted to do that typically had long rides we tried to run to early in the morning and then do a rider swap with the adults that waited with the kids. For example, we all ran to the Avatar ride in Animal Kingdom and by the time we got there there was already a 45 minute wait- the adults + kids who didn’t wait went on the slow moving boat ride (Na’vi River Journey) next to that while we waited. + we received some lightening lane passes from our hotel which helped save us a ton of time for some of the smaller rides!
Q: Did you buy DVC at Saratoga or at 3rd party site?
Our parents own DVC memberships since when they first came out at the Boardwalk as well as from Saratoga springs, direct from Disney. Anne and I bought at Saratoga Springs points through re-sale DVC points (basically people who are trying to sell their memberships) through this company. We looked at buying straight through Disney, which definitely has its perks, but the only resort available was the Riveria resort and the total cost would have been about double the price. Buying re-sale DVC points was almost like buying a house haha you have to deal with receiving the title and everything went through lawyers, it was super easy!
Q: Favorite resort with kids? without kids?
I feel like all the resorts always have a lot of kids- I think it depends what time of year you go! September doesn’t really have a ton of kids at the resorts! Our top resorts are Beach Club, Boardwalk & Saratoga Springs (mostly because it’s so big and you can get last minute rooms, also they just renovated and the rooms look amazing!).
Q: How did you handle the heat with babies?
Taking breaks in the AC rides/stores. Stroller fans, extra feedings for the babies and water bottles for the kids!
Q: Best rides for toddlers?
I’d say definitely the safari at Animal Kingdom, the Lion King show. Even the slow moving boat rides are fun for them!
The 4 & 5 year olds loved Splash Mountain, Soarin’, meeting the characters, slinky dog, Pirates of the Caribbean, Probably would have liked Mine Train, but it wasn’t working! They did not like Pandora’s Flight of Passage!
Q: What is rider swap?
You don’t have to wait in line twice if you need to stay off the ride with your kids! They just scan your magic band and once you switch who is watching the kids then the adult waiting can go in the lightning lane and bring an extra person with you! More details HERE
Q: Best Disney tips for pregnancy?
Bring your own snacks & water! Invest in some really good sneakers like these Hoka’s– you underestimate how much you walk! Also, we shared some pregnancy friendly rides we both went on when we were pregnant HERE
Q: Did you bring your own pack n’ play or does the hotel provide one?
The resorts have them! You just need to request on to be in your room! You can even request a crib. I’d just say bring an extra sheet.
Q: Food situation! Did you nurse? Pump? Bottles?
Everyone did something different! Anne is nursing so would typically try to find a cool area indoors while in the parks or if she was at the pool would nurse at the tables with his fan going on him. Hudson switch to bottles with formula (finally got him to take it not warmed) so it was easy to grab and go, just bring extra formula or nurse more often for extra feedings throughout the day. Also, I brought these pouches (& so did my SIL for her kids) for Hudson for the parks! It was so hot that we made sure to offer a few more ounces here and there for the babies!
Q: How old were the kiddos that went to Disney?
The girls were 5 (almost 6), 4, 3, 15 months & the boys were 5, 3, 1 year, 7 months & 3 months!
Q: Hardest age for Disney?
Grace would say Charlotte’s age, 15 months, because she wouldn’t nap in her stroller (then would be cranky all day) and wants to walk around/get out of the stroller! If your baby is good at stroller naps then you’ll be fine!
Q: Typical Day @ the parks?
On park days we were all up early, like 6am and tried to get there for the parks opening. Staying at the resorts we were able to get into the parks 30 minutes earlier than visitors not staying at Disney resorts. Don’t forget you need to make a park reservation still! We’d run to the rides that tend to have the longest wait time and try to get through a bunch of rides early before it got too busy. Around 1 we all would tend to break off and manage to make our way back to the hotel, some of us would leave earlier or later, just depends on the kids! Lunch/snacks and naps 2-4 and by 430/5pm we were all an our way back to another park for the night for dinner and rides!
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