1st WDW Trip w/ my 1yr old-Last Day & Final Thoughts

**Pooshu11** · 07-09-2009, 02:15 AM

http://http://www2.snapfish.com/thum...NAME=snapfish/Timeframe: 6/29/09-7/3/09
Resort: Beach Club Resort

Me (33yrs old)
DH (33yrs old)
DS (16 months old)

On our last day, we woke up and went for our last swim in the pool. Our flight was at 2:40pm so we spent a little over 1hr at the pool. We watched DS play in the sand, visited the pool w/ the sinking sand and DH and I went on the water slide one last time. This pool was absolutely awsome! Glad we chose to stay here. We returned to the room and checked out before 12pm. We decided to get sandwiches at Earl and take it to the airport. After buying lunch, I ran to Goofy's candy store to buy one more gift for someone who I had forgotten. Then off we went to the airport. Traffic was smooth. Check-in was a bit crazier than I expected but we got to our gate. I realized here that our trip has officially ended and got a bit sad

. We got on the plane and DS was fidgety for the 1st hr but eventually fell asleep and slept through the rest of the ride. We got home around 6pm and had a wonderful quiet evening, followed by some restful sleep!

Final Thoughts
It still hasn't been a week since we got back (it will be on Fri.). My mind is still in Fla. but is slowly returning back to NJ as the daily routines are once again setting in. I find myself looking at the time and wondering where I would be and what I would be doing now if I were in DW. While everything is still fresh on my mind, I thought I might as well record my report and here is the finished product. A very big thank you to everyone at Intercot who posted information, answered my questions and gave me advice about bringing a little one to DW. Everyone was so helpful on this site and pretty much what everyone stated was accurate and dependable information. You can bring a child under the age of 3 to DW and have a great time. I'll always remember the way he devoured the dessert from Ohana's, the smile he had on the carousel ride at DD and how he enjoyed playing in the sand at the BC pool. I do recommend that if you could, bring an extra person along-that would certainly maximize the enjoyment of your trip. Since this was a last minute trip for us, we couldn't get anyone to come down w/ us. But we made the most of it and had a great time. DH and I are constantly on the go and like to fit a lot of activites, especially at DW. Our trip may seem hectic but there was a lot of downtime and moments where we let DS enjoy what he was doing for awhile or let him rest. Because I was very detail-oriented about describing our trip, it probably sounded busy. In fact, this trip was more time at the resort and less time at the parks. The only time we visited the parks was during the evening EMH and for a few hours (w/ the exception to the day in MK and luch at Epcot). The resort was the main point for us and ultimately, were very happy w/ our choice. It was in a very central locale where we could walk to Epcot, take a boat to HS, and activity galore on the boardwalk. There were so many things we wanted to do on the Boardwalk but didn't get to do like the bike riding, boat riding, etc...

Here are some recommendations I'd like to make if you are traveling w/ 2 adults and a 1yr old:

Park hopper passes-We had corporate discounts for our passes so we bought the full week. Next time, we'll only buy a couple of days. It wasn't necessary to buy every day for us. This may be different for other families, especially if you are traveling with more adults-you may visit the park more often.

Rental car-Disney's transportation is excellent but there's nothing like being able to slip in and out of places whenever you need to, especially with a child who is melting. We waited for a couple of friendships, most notably to HS. 15mins is not long for us, but certainly was for DS. We truly wished we drove there that night. We also brought our car seat from home, which we were not charged for on the plane, saved us some $ by not renting a car seat and DS was comfortable in his familiar seat.

Pool-If you go when it's hot, most likely the pool is where your family will spend a lot of their time. pick a fun pool where the little one will enjoy. I think all of the Disney resorts have kiddie pools, but BC had the shallow pool where DS could walk into and of course, the sand!

Rides-I guess w/ this one you won't really know unless you ride them w/ your child. I was surprised at how many rides they allowed 1yr olds to ride. Mine was okay w/ every ride. We just tried to find a ride he really seemed to like and rode that over and over (i.e. triceratops and nemo living seas)

Dinner-DH and I definitley decided that we would have counter service for most of our stay during our next visit. As much as we enjoy table service at Disney, it didn't work out well w/ our little one. If we had another person joining us that probably would've made our dining experience better. Something to think about if you are planning to travel w/ only 2 adults and child(ren).

Items-One of the most valuable things we brought, thanks to advice from an intercot member was a rain cover for the stroller! 2 people came up to us, asking where we bought it! I saw a lot of families putting ponchos over their strollers but not 100% coverage, you know? So I highly recommend bringing this.

Overall, a wonderful trip and quite different from our usual trip we take w/ just the 2 of us. I used to always admire families boarding the trams w/ their strollers and their children, watching an adult fold the stoller up and the other frantically guiding their kids into their seat. Going through that experience personally was really fun! I felt complete, like I was here at my favorite place in the world, with 2 of my favorite people in the world. Can't top that! And also all the wonderful people we encountered and got to know, thanks to DS. We never met so many people in DW until we brought him there. As we plan to expand our family w/ in the next year, I hope to bring everyone back to DW in the future and hope to have as much fun as we did this year. Thank you so much for tuning in. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this report-and I hope I get to read some of your trip reports so I can feel like I'm back at my 2nd home!

I've attached some pictures we took on our trip. I wanted to save them till the end, since I didn't get to attach them on trip report 1 and didn't want to start attaching starting report 2. This is my 1st time doing this so I hope this works! Thank you for letting me share!

**Pooshu11** · 07-09-2009, 02:21 AM

Okay, so the link I posted is not opening the picture site. so here another way.http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailsh...1209_44871209/

**DizNee143** · 07-09-2009, 12:24 PM

sounds like a nice last few hours in disney!
i really liked reading all about your vacation! mde me feel like i was there! glad you and your family had such a great time! i hope to be able to take my kid there when they are that age..i know they wont remember a thing but i think it will be such fun!

**aprilisis** · 07-09-2009, 01:03 PM

I loved reading your report. Thanks for sharing. Great photos, too! Your DS is adorable.

**BluewaterBrad** · 07-09-2009, 04:06 PM

i enjoyed all your reports. Thank You!!

**obsessive planner** · 07-09-2009, 04:26 PM

Thank you for posting your trip report. I really enjoyed reading them. Your pics are great and your son is so sweet. I especially liked the ones of him sleeping. They are such angels asleep aren't they?

**Madzac** · 07-09-2009, 10:48 PM

I really enjoyed reading your trip reports!!! IT brought lots of memories of the two trips we have taken with 1 yr olds. This most recent trip in May we had grandma with us and it was really nice to have the extra hands!

Dont totally give up on the TS!! We certainly agree it helps to limit it with little ones. We do more buffets as you can eat a little quicker and the kids really enjoy the character meals. By your next trip your little man will love those I would bet!! We also learned the hard way that an early eat time after a nap is the best!!!

Thanks again for sharing!

**vizsla** · 07-10-2009, 05:33 AM

Thanks for the reports. I enjoyed reading them.

**yjgirl32** · 07-10-2009, 08:38 AM

Great Report. I really enjoyed reading them. Thank you very much for sharing.

**faline** · 07-10-2009, 03:42 PM

Sounds like you really enjoyed seeing the World through your son's eyes! Thanks for the reports!

**January-2007** · 07-13-2009, 06:44 PM

Thanks for reporting!

**disneykidsince1970** · 07-14-2009, 08:27 AM

I confess I only have a sec to read and I haven't read all of your reports - i focused on the FINAL THOUGHTS (my fave in general). Sounds like you were well prepared and enjoyed which is great.

I was just going to quickly share my experience w/ my 4 yo daughter adn 2 yr old son. I am an AVID Disney-goer - just like the moniker - since 1970! My dad worked there while I was growing up and before the big expansion plans happened n the 80s...I knew that place like the back of my hand! My sister and I consider Disney World home as we moved a lot when we were kids but the one consistent thing was Disney... much to mom's chagrin, it is true.

At any rate, I was really disappointed w/ myself when, in April, I travelled for the first time w/ my kids (I live in Switzerland now so harder to jaunt over for a long weekend!), and all of our plans didn't go quite as perfectly as...well, as well as planned!

While DH humors my (and my sister's) Disney habit, he isn't in love like we are. I hadn't planned on all his needs - I had planned for the kids - mobile snacks, extra everything, right amount of clothes, tips for toy-buying, tips for packing, transportation tips, places to eat, etc....BUT... I hadn't imagined that DH would not just take my orders every 5 secs and go along.

He went along most times but.... I hadn't included him enough in the planning and frankly, he just doesn't understand that grabbing a hotdog via a tagteam approach to in turn get FastPasses for something else so that the other person can also grab a neon necklace on the way back - all so you can catch a short line at Dumbo for your hot sweaty 2 yo is actually FUN! I mean, c'mon - who doesn't get how great that is??

Also - Nikki (sister) did a lot of the planning and while she is very close to the kids, I fogot to remind her that a 2 hour nap really equates to a 3.5 hour adventure (potty, snack, nap, wake-up, potty, get dressed, juice, etc.). SO... our planned nap breaks turned into afternoon activities....which was fine - 4yo got to enjoy the pool or we ALL benefitted from a nap..but, seemed disappointing at the time b/c it wasn't my plan (yes, I am totally TypeA).

We also took a car and were so glad b/c after the first night of waiting for a bus at Ft Wilderness - EXACTLY like you said, a 15 min wait is pleasurable with no kids and the anticipation of your destination...with 2 toddlers, it is an adventure in distraction...!! So... we ended up driving and like you, happy with the familiar carseat, air-conditioning!!!, and the pre-planted book for the ride back to the hotel.

Glad you enjoyed the trip and thanks for letting me put my own final thoughts onto yours!

...on another note... Nikki and I will take a quick sisters-only 2 nighter in November - YEA!!!

**thejens** · 07-15-2009, 10:06 PM

I loved your report. You son (and entire family) is just beautiful. It is wonderful (if occassionally stressful) to vacation with kids isn't it!? It gets easier as they get older. In fact, it is fascinating to see how each year they experience things in a completely different way. Best of luck with your future plans! Your report totally made me want to go back to BCR. I think you made the right choice for his age. We loved AKL this year and enjoyed Kidani Village, but I think Beach Club is better for the very little ones. Thanks for sharing!

**Pooshu11** · 07-15-2009, 11:20 PM

Hi everyone, thank you so much for the posts!

Disneykid, thanks so much for sharing and confirming/concurring your experiences. The reality is that it is really difficult to travel w/ a toddler but who wants to think of it that way when you are at DW right? Anyway, have a great time in November! I'm so envious you are going, even if for only 2 days.

Thejens, I read all of your trip reports before I went on my trip and I loved them! It made the anticipation of going to DW greater and maximized my enjoyment there, as well as some great info. I learned from your experiences. So, thank you so much also! Can't wait for your next one!