peterpanandwendy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 13, 2014
Hi everyone, we actually went last August, and we are planning our second trip as a family for next March, but as I started planning I realized that we learned A LOT last summer, and some of it might be relevant to other Canadian's planning their own trips with small kids…
So, I thought I would write a sort of trip report/tips/what we learned in order to help others in our shoes.
So, here goes! If you are Canadian, and have small children, and are planning your first family trip to Disney, this post is for you
WHO ARE WE?
We are J and T. We have a one year old little girl with a cognitive delay (I) and a very energetic three year old boy (F).
We are from southern BC.
This was not our first trip to Disney as a couple. We had both been various times as children, and when we learned about our shared passion for everything Disney we fell instantly in love
We came to Disneyland for our honeymoon, eight years ago. We then came another four times after that as a couple, usually driving and camping. When we learned of our daughter's special needs, we were both excited to plan a much needed trip to our happy place.
WHEN?
We planned our trip for August. We are both in the educational field, and so had to use our summer holiday for our trip.
Tip #1 - Do NOT go to Disneyland with small children in the summer if you don't have to.
We are booking for March break this time. It was just too hot. We had done it a few times in the summer as a couple and found it very enjoyable as we could stop and take shady breaks and drink a few cold ones and go at a slow pace. This was just not possible with the kids who were hot and cranky and tired and could not sit in a nice air conditioned restaurant and watch us leisurely drink some beers.
When we went as a couple we did not have to push around strollers and carry diaper bags and back packs full of snacks and water bottles. This made a HUGE difference when we went with the kids. We found that we felt the heat a lot more and were a lot more cranky and tired and irritable as well, just because of the sheer extra weight that was constantly hanging off us.
I tried wearing my daughter in an Ergo carrier, but by 10:00am she and I were both so sweaty and sticky, and even with a hat I could not keep the sun off of her. We ended up renting a stroller every day for the rest of the trip so that we could stay cool.
Tip #2 - If you must go in the summer…
- Bring water bottles and juice boxes in a cooler with ice packs. There are water fountains around the park so you can refill your water bottles.
- Bring a few light weight scarves (long/pashmina style). The work wonders for covering the stroller if your little one falls asleep. They are light so you still get airflow while keeping the sun off your little one.
- I LOVE my baby carrier. But not at Disneyland. Plan to use strollers, not baby carriers if you are there in the summer. Baby carriers are really, really hot. Sticky, slippery, sweaty hot, and baby will really have trouble getting away from the sun and staying cool up against your warm body. I highly recommend either bringing or renting a stroller so baby can have some airflow, and a more comfortable place to rest/nap. Plus, for you, carrying around a baby/toddler in a carrier can make you overheat much faster and then you have no where to put baby when you stop for a rest.
So, I thought I would write a sort of trip report/tips/what we learned in order to help others in our shoes.
So, here goes! If you are Canadian, and have small children, and are planning your first family trip to Disney, this post is for you
WHO ARE WE?
We are J and T. We have a one year old little girl with a cognitive delay (I) and a very energetic three year old boy (F).
We are from southern BC.
This was not our first trip to Disney as a couple. We had both been various times as children, and when we learned about our shared passion for everything Disney we fell instantly in love
We came to Disneyland for our honeymoon, eight years ago. We then came another four times after that as a couple, usually driving and camping. When we learned of our daughter's special needs, we were both excited to plan a much needed trip to our happy place. WHEN?
We planned our trip for August. We are both in the educational field, and so had to use our summer holiday for our trip.
Tip #1 - Do NOT go to Disneyland with small children in the summer if you don't have to.
We are booking for March break this time. It was just too hot. We had done it a few times in the summer as a couple and found it very enjoyable as we could stop and take shady breaks and drink a few cold ones and go at a slow pace. This was just not possible with the kids who were hot and cranky and tired and could not sit in a nice air conditioned restaurant and watch us leisurely drink some beers.
When we went as a couple we did not have to push around strollers and carry diaper bags and back packs full of snacks and water bottles. This made a HUGE difference when we went with the kids. We found that we felt the heat a lot more and were a lot more cranky and tired and irritable as well, just because of the sheer extra weight that was constantly hanging off us.
I tried wearing my daughter in an Ergo carrier, but by 10:00am she and I were both so sweaty and sticky, and even with a hat I could not keep the sun off of her. We ended up renting a stroller every day for the rest of the trip so that we could stay cool.
Tip #2 - If you must go in the summer…
- Bring water bottles and juice boxes in a cooler with ice packs. There are water fountains around the park so you can refill your water bottles.
- Bring a few light weight scarves (long/pashmina style). The work wonders for covering the stroller if your little one falls asleep. They are light so you still get airflow while keeping the sun off your little one.
- I LOVE my baby carrier. But not at Disneyland. Plan to use strollers, not baby carriers if you are there in the summer. Baby carriers are really, really hot. Sticky, slippery, sweaty hot, and baby will really have trouble getting away from the sun and staying cool up against your warm body. I highly recommend either bringing or renting a stroller so baby can have some airflow, and a more comfortable place to rest/nap. Plus, for you, carrying around a baby/toddler in a carrier can make you overheat much faster and then you have no where to put baby when you stop for a rest.
