Talk to Me About Taking a Toddler (infant info included!)

Thanks so much! I don’t know why the break to cool ice packs hadn’t crossed my mind, duh! Haha Any suggestions on ones that stay cold longer? From what I’ve seen and experienced they never stay cold for more than 30 mins?

We’re also going budget this trip and staying at Pop Century. No P&Ps in those rooms :(

The Dynarex ones worked okay to keep breast milk cold on a three hour drive...I used 4 in a soft sided cooler. The milk was also cold going in.
I had a lot of luck with the ice machine ice in the refillable ice pack in a freezer Ziploc. I use the freezer ones because they are thicker and usually don't leak as bad.
You can also rent pack and plays. And the resort should have them on request. There are also inflatable bed rolls to put on the sides of a bed. I'm going to take a pair of those just in case my DS has issues sleeping in the crib and instead will sleep in the bed. The rental places also have toddler beds for rent too. We considered that, but he's done okay sleeping in our bed at hotels before. He's just more wiggly now, so the bed rolls should work in keeping him on the bed and in his area.
 
Surprisingly, there is a HUGE lack in things for toddlers and sadly with each new addition to the parks they become less and less for the under 3 age group. If you read the DFB article I linked, you’ll also see there is very little food available for this age group as well.

Are you talking about Disney here? If so, I’m super confused about this statement. My son went at 18 months and the week before he turned 3. We did 4.5 park days each trip and there were things we didn’t get to on each trip. No biggie, we plan to go back in the future. But my son had an absolute blast. He still talks about the last trip and it was more than 2 months ago. He fell in love with TSL and now likes to watch the Toy Story movies (whereas he didn’t have much interest before the trip).

As far as food...by the time a kid is a year old (barring any developmental delays), they can eat pretty much whatever an adult eats. Since my son was a year old, we haven’t cooked special meals for him. Sunday night, we had beef stew. So did the 3 year old. Last night, we had salmon. So did the 3 year old. Tonight, we had meatball sandwiches. So did the 3 year old. He liked the kids meals at Disney at both 18 months and at almost 3. We did some character buffet/AYCTE meals and we found lots for him to eat on the buffets. It seems to me that there is plenty of stuff for people of any age to eat at Disney. And they’re great about food allergies/intolerances too, from what I’ve been told by family members.
 
Are you talking about Disney here? If so, I’m super confused about this statement. My son went at 18 months and the week before he turned 3. We did 4.5 park days each trip and there were things we didn’t get to on each trip. No biggie, we plan to go back in the future. But my son had an absolute blast. He still talks about the last trip and it was more than 2 months ago. He fell in love with TSL and now likes to watch the Toy Story movies (whereas he didn’t have much interest before the trip).

As far as food...by the time a kid is a year old (barring any developmental delays), they can eat pretty much whatever an adult eats. Since my son was a year old, we haven’t cooked special meals for him. Sunday night, we had beef stew. So did the 3 year old. Last night, we had salmon. So did the 3 year old. Tonight, we had meatball sandwiches. So did the 3 year old. He liked the kids meals at Disney at both 18 months and at almost 3. We did some character buffet/AYCTE meals and we found lots for him to eat on the buffets. It seems to me that there is plenty of stuff for people of any age to eat at Disney. And they’re great about food allergies/intolerances too, from what I’ve been told by family members.

I am, and I understand that. I was referring to the early eaters like my son who are between 1-2 and maybe aren’t eating as well as yours yet. My little one is still transitioning and I was in search of more toddler friendly items such as applesauce and yogurt pouches, puffs, etc as well as whole milk and organic items. I guess I was thinking about more snack based items than meals because, like you, he will eat from our plates for lunch and dinner as he can but I like to have some supplemental items on hand just in case he doesn’t eat much.

In regards to rides, he had a blast at 7 months and I’m sure he will again, but my point was the direction Disney seems to be going. All the new additions seem to be very Sci Fi (with the exception of Toy Story Land.) Pandora, Galaxy’s Edge, Tron, etc. It seems as though things for the littles seem to be dwindling. Even Toy Story Land doesn’t really have rides geared to that age, just fun theming! MK is our saving grace :) I wasn’t saying we wouldn’t have fun, of course we’ll have a blast! Just noting that Disney is trending more toward an older age at the moment.
 
For keeping milk cold, couldn't you just using a small cooler with a bag of ice from machine and then get a cup or two of ice from a counter service to replenish ? I'd lay down a washcloth in the bag first for any drips.

Does you child only drink milk? No juice or plain water? Maybe have him drink the milk first and save the other things for later. (Please note, this is not a comment of what the child drinks, just trying to make suggestions that may not be thought of)
 
For keeping milk cold, couldn't you just using a small cooler with a bag of ice from machine and then get a cup or two of ice from a counter service to replenish ? I'd lay down a washcloth in the bag first for any drips.

Does you child only drink milk? No juice or plain water? Maybe have him drink the milk first and save the other things for later. (Please note, this is not a comment of what the child drinks, just trying to make suggestions that may not be thought of)

Thank you! And thank you for noting it wasn’t a judgement ;) He does drink water and drinks a water/OJ combo. I was actually thinking of exactly what you just said. Maybe milk in the morning, water in the parks, milk when we come back for a nap and milk before bed? That way we could have milk in the room and wouldn’t need to worry about keeping it cold in the parks.

I was initially most curious if it was available for purchase so we wouldn’t have to stop at a grocery store or use Prime Now for delivery, but I’m thinking that’s probably what we’ll do so we can keep him on his normal milk since it’s not available at Disney!

Thanks so much for your suggestions!
 
We took our then 7.5 month old baby boy to WDW in April and are planning to go again in a couple weeks when he’s 16.5 months old.

During the last trip we did very little. It was more about just being there. He was on full milk and was napping a lot. We used the baby care centers but weren’t huge fans (except for the fact that diaper changes were more comfortable than the restroom areas.) We spent very little time in the parks because the new Disney resort room refrigerators do not have freezers. We had no way to refreeze our ice packs at night, and therefore, could not keep his milk cold for very long during our park time. Guest Services kindly offered for Bell Services to freeze them for us but when we picked them up each day they were barely frozen ‍♀️

This time around I’m expecting to be in the parks more and since we didn’t have much experience in the parks last time, I’m now full of questions.

1. Will our stroller have to stay outside of all dining establishments?
2. How hard is it to find high chairs at counter service locations?
3. Do the parks/resorts offer organic whole milk options like Horizon?
*we’d bring our own, but the ice pack freezer issue would be the problem
4. Are there toddler snacks/pouches available at any of the resort counter service/grab n go/gift shop locations? Trying to decide how much to bring or Garden Grocer
5. Any suggestions for places his dad and I can chill/explore that are a little quieter if he falls asleep in the stroller while we’re touring the parks? He’s a light sleeper so last time we found it was too loud/bright/hot for him to nap much in the stroller. Not sure if it’ll be different this time.

What else do I need to know that I haven’t thought of? Tips?

Thanks so much!!

As I type this, there are three pages to the thread, but I'll toss in my opinion anyway! Last time I went, it was with a pregnant wife, a 4 yo and a 2 yo.

1) Some. You'll have to look in to specific ones, but most likely you will have to.
2) I never had an issue, but who knows. Depends on the day and the establishment I guess?
3) That's a good question, that I can't answer. It's possible it's available in some of the hotel shops though.
4) That'll vary I think. I would call the resort to find out. Personally, you're better off getting them delivered anyway.
5) When planning a trip with very young kids, make sure you plan around breaks. Sit down meals (like character meals at lunch and/or dinner), people mover, hall of presidents, carousel of progress. If you're going to watch parades or fireworks, get there 30-40m early and grab a nice spot and just relax while you wait for the event. Is the Railroad was a great one, but that's not operational because of Tron construction I assume?

There are a lot of other tips. I'd use the search feature and just read a few threads here. My biggest tip is, like I said, plan your days around breaks in the day. Meals, Shows etc.
 
We’re also going budget this trip and staying at Pop Century. No P&Ps in those rooms :(

You should have no problem getting a Pack'n'Play at POP. Stayed there twice, requested both times. The first time it came after we arrived, the second time it was already in the room when we arrived.
 


I am, and I understand that. I was referring to the early eaters like my son who are between 1-2 and maybe aren’t eating as well as yours yet. My little one is still transitioning and I was in search of more toddler friendly items such as applesauce and yogurt pouches, puffs, etc as well as whole milk and organic items. I guess I was thinking about more snack based items than meals because, like you, he will eat from our plates for lunch and dinner as he can but I like to have some supplemental items on hand just in case he doesn’t eat much.

In regards to rides, he had a blast at 7 months and I’m sure he will again, but my point was the direction Disney seems to be going. All the new additions seem to be very Sci Fi (with the exception of Toy Story Land.) Pandora, Galaxy’s Edge, Tron, etc. It seems as though things for the littles seem to be dwindling. Even Toy Story Land doesn’t really have rides geared to that age, just fun theming! MK is our saving grace :) I wasn’t saying we wouldn’t have fun, of course we’ll have a blast! Just noting that Disney is trending more toward an older age at the moment.
I agree with you on rides. Food too like the examples you gave, but we drove so I packed my own. But, it seems all of the additions include more thrill rides. I know ppl complain now when WDW adds a simple old school dark ride. But, if you have little ones that’s the rides you need & what used to make Disney unique from other theme parks.
 
You should have no problem getting a Pack'n'Play at POP. Stayed there twice, requested both times. The first time it came after we arrived, the second time it was already in the room when we arrived.

Thanks! I was referring to them not already being in every room like they are at many of the resorts. I’ve heard mixed reviews on the cleanliness of the ones Disney offers. Have you used them and had a good experience?

I agree with you on rides. Food too like the examples you gave, but we drove so I packed my own. But, it seems all of the additions include more thrill rides. I know ppl complain now when WDW adds a simple old school dark ride. But, if you have little ones that’s the rides you need & what used to make Disney unique from other theme parks.
Totally!!
 
Thanks! I was referring to them not already being in every room like they are at many of the resorts. I’ve heard mixed reviews on the cleanliness of the ones Disney offers. Have you used them and had a good experience?


Totally!!
Never had any issues, one was brand new, the other was in good shape, both included a Mickey fitted sheet that smelled clean, it came packaged in a zip-bag and was neatly folded which leads me to believe it was washed.
I always give the exposed surfaces and mattress a good wipe with a diaper wipe or disinfecting wipe before use, always good to do a little cleaning. Hand sanitizer on a paper or cloth towel works in a pinch too for cleaning.
 
I know most of your questions have been answered but I'll chime in as well.
Our last trip was in 2017 and we took our then 19 month old.
She LOVED it, it was a most amazing trip.
She slept a lot in the stroller - we have a Baby Jogger City Tour which was fantastic for WDW, it folds with one hand and was easy to get on and off the buses - don't be one of those people with the HUGE stroller that doesn't fold, that's never good for anyone. We found that when she was sleeping we were able to do a lot of what we wanted to do, but we tried to keep it indoors so it was cooler when she was sleeping - lots of browsing in the shops, also you can sit in the counter service places while they nap and just people watch or have a chat with your partner.
I never had an issue getting a high chair at QS restaurants, they had plenty and quite often CM's would bring one over when they saw us going for a table.
The Baby Centres are also a great place to chill out when you need it. They sell baby food there if you need it but TBH I'd bring what you can from home or get it delivered.

We are going back this coming September and our older Daughter will now be 3.5 years old but we will have our new baby with us who will be 10 months at time of travel - we can't wait!
 
Never had any issues, one was brand new, the other was in good shape, both included a Mickey fitted sheet that smelled clean, it came packaged in a zip-bag and was neatly folded which leads me to believe it was washed.
I always give the exposed surfaces and mattress a good wipe with a diaper wipe or disinfecting wipe before use, always good to do a little cleaning. Hand sanitizer on a paper or cloth towel works in a pinch too for cleaning.

Thank you! Good to hear someone who had a good experience. We’ll most likely end up taking our 4Moms one since we’re driving, but this is good info for future visits!

I know most of your questions have been answered but I'll chime in as well.
Our last trip was in 2017 and we took our then 19 month old.
She LOVED it, it was a most amazing trip.
She slept a lot in the stroller - we have a Baby Jogger City Tour which was fantastic for WDW, it folds with one hand and was easy to get on and off the buses - don't be one of those people with the HUGE stroller that doesn't fold, that's never good for anyone. We found that when she was sleeping we were able to do a lot of what we wanted to do, but we tried to keep it indoors so it was cooler when she was sleeping - lots of browsing in the shops, also you can sit in the counter service places while they nap and just people watch or have a chat with your partner.
I never had an issue getting a high chair at QS restaurants, they had plenty and quite often CM's would bring one over when they saw us going for a table.
The Baby Centres are also a great place to chill out when you need it. They sell baby food there if you need it but TBH I'd bring what you can from home or get it delivered.

We are going back this coming September and our older Daughter will now be 3.5 years old but we will have our new baby with us who will be 10 months at time of travel - we can't wait!

Thank you! And (sad to say) we were those people when we took him at 7 months old. We LOVE LOVE our stroller and his seat faced us and is super easy to maneuver and so my husband really wanted to take it but it was a PAIN to collapse with the seat facing that way and didn’t transport well on the buses. And I was that annoying new first time mom like aw but I wanna see his face as he sees everything and I didn’t want to turn the seat forward. We used the bus one day and after that we drove to the parks the rest of the week (only to learn that getting strollers on and off trams was even more annoying than the buses, ha!) #newparentproblems haha! He’s still insisting on taking our stroller this time but it’s much easier to collapse now that the seat faces out! Hopefully we won’t be those people this time!

So they let you into counter services with your baby sleeping in the stroller? I’d heard they don’t let the strollers in and we were turned away once even though he was asleep. It was SO hot out so we struggled to find places we could hang while he slept. Good to know maybe some places will allow it.

Our plan is to try to go back in Sept so maybe we’ll see ya there! Have fun!!
 
Thank you! And (sad to say) we were those people when we took him at 7 months old. We LOVE LOVE our stroller and his seat faced us and is super easy to maneuver and so my husband really wanted to take it but it was a PAIN to collapse with the seat facing that way and didn’t transport well on the buses. And I was that annoying new first time mom like aw but I wanna see his face as he sees everything and I didn’t want to turn the seat forward. We used the bus one day and after that we drove to the parks the rest of the week (only to learn that getting strollers on and off trams was even more annoying than the buses, ha!) #newparentproblems haha! He’s still insisting on taking our stroller this time but it’s much easier to collapse now that the seat faces out! Hopefully we won’t be those people this time!

So they let you into counter services with your baby sleeping in the stroller? I’d heard they don’t let the strollers in and we were turned away once even though he was asleep. It was SO hot out so we struggled to find places we could hang while he slept. Good to know maybe some places will allow it.

Our plan is to try to go back in Sept so maybe we’ll see ya there! Have fun!!

OMG, you were turned away?
We took our stroller into every single QS restaurant no issue in every park and others had theirs in there as well. I think maybe you had a cranky CM? or it could be because it was a big stroller?
Yeah, you learn pretty quickly about the giant stroller hey. We weren't at WDW but were traveling locally at home and found out FAST how hard it is to get around with those things, so that's when we bought the Baby Jogger city tour, wow what an easy stroller to travel with. But this coming trip we will need a double stroller as the 3 year old is bound to get tired walking sooner or later, so that might be a different story. We just bought a Baby Jogger city mini double so it's not huge but still bigger than we are used to.
 
OMG, you were turned away?
We took our stroller into every single QS restaurant no issue in every park and others had theirs in there as well. I think maybe you had a cranky CM? or it could be because it was a big stroller?
Yeah, you learn pretty quickly about the giant stroller hey. We weren't at WDW but were traveling locally at home and found out FAST how hard it is to get around with those things, so that's when we bought the Baby Jogger city tour, wow what an easy stroller to travel with. But this coming trip we will need a double stroller as the 3 year old is bound to get tired walking sooner or later, so that might be a different story. We just bought a Baby Jogger city mini double so it's not huge but still bigger than we are used to.

We were! A Cosmic Rays CM was at the door and “offered us” the outside seating area since we wanted to keep him in the stroller and I explained that it was very hot out and he was asleep and he apologized but said strollers weren’t permitted inside.

We’re planning to take our Quinny Buzz stroller again (eye roll, haha!) I’ll let you know how it goes!
 
We were! A Cosmic Rays CM was at the door and “offered us” the outside seating area since we wanted to keep him in the stroller and I explained that it was very hot out and he was asleep and he apologized but said strollers weren’t permitted inside.

We’re planning to take our Quinny Buzz stroller again (eye roll, haha!) I’ll let you know how it goes!
Wow, may I ask when you went? We went in Sept 2017, I'm wondering if it was after we went and if things have changed since. We never tried Cosmic Ray's but went into Pinocchios, Colombia Harbor House, Pesco Bills, Main Street Ice Creamery all with no issues at all. And sometimes our toddler wasn't even in the stroller, they just let us take the empty stroller inside. No one said anything.
 
Since it is very recommended to go back to the hotel for a nap, would it make more sense to get an insulated/stainless sippy cup or bottle and just order milk from garden grocer and keep it in your fridge in the room. You can fill in the morning and then when you come back to the room in the afternoon refil it again. My insulated sippy keeps milk cold. I even toss an ice cube in for good measure. Just make sure you wash it well.

I use the Contiga brand from Target.

Also- I agree with the sentiment that swapping to 1% or 2% won't help with digestion issues. Raw milk and goats milk are the easiest to digest but you might want to increase probiotics because some people have harder time with milk because we are supposed to be eating fermented foods daily but it has sorta slipped from our culture.
I will NOT bring raw milk into the parks or with us though so we will buy a gallon of Organic and keep it in the fridge.

Coconut milk is also very high is yummy fats but not sugars (or protein really) that may be an option for you to try.

You can bring a lunch box into the parks to keep a sippy even colder and pack your own toddler snacks. We are bringing in our entire lunches and some park snacks . I would maybe have 2 ice packs, and when you get back to the room, swap them out.

I think you can still request a P&P or crib at Pop Century too.
 
Since it is very recommended to go back to the hotel for a nap

By who?

That works for some people, but not others. We tried it one day on our first trip when DS was 18 months and it was a miserable fail. He didn’t sleep at all. He slept so much better in the stroller in the park. I don’t think he was into the idea of a forced nap on vacation.

So while it is a good strategy for some, I wouldn’t say it’s “very recommended” as there are many for whom it is not a good strategy.
 
Wow, may I ask when you went? We went in Sept 2017, I'm wondering if it was after we went and if things have changed since. We never tried Cosmic Ray's but went into Pinocchios, Colombia Harbor House, Pesco Bills, Main Street Ice Creamery all with no issues at all. And sometimes our toddler wasn't even in the stroller, they just let us take the empty stroller inside. No one said anything.
We had no problems this past Nov & even took it many table service. We never tried Cosmic Ray though.
 
You can bring a lunch box into the parks to keep a sippy even colder and pack your own toddler snacks. We are bringing in our entire lunches and some park snacks . I would maybe have 2 ice packs, and

To add to this, if you bring food into the park and plan to leave it in the stroller when you go on rides, make sure it is sealed and stashed well. We were at AK waiting for the Safari, and there was a squirrel working over the strollers. We watched it unzip a lunch bag and steal a baggie of chips. We couldn't do anything because we were too far from the stroller parking. We kind of stood in awe of that squirrel. We watched birds also try to steal stuff, but the squirrel was the real winner.
 
We were! A Cosmic Rays CM was at the door and “offered us” the outside seating area since we wanted to keep him in the stroller and I explained that it was very hot out and he was asleep and he apologized but said strollers weren’t permitted inside.

We’re planning to take our Quinny Buzz stroller again (eye roll, haha!) I’ll let you know how it goes!

This seems more much more like our typical experience. There are just some places that don’t allow it in and getting it in depends on how gracious the “bouncer” CM is. We’ve been told no plenty and we always ask very graciously and say “ok thank you” and walk away when they say no.

Satuli in Pandora is an example of a place where they’ve said yes and no before depending on the CM.

The Land pavilion is a place where they always say no. So you can’t get to sunshine seasons with stroller, even when our youngest was 11months old and fast asleep.
 

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