DisneyWorld - Bloomfield,NJ

Stay on the property. We always stayed at the Polynesian. It was an easy boat taxi or monorail ride back to the hotel for nap time, snack or whatever.

We love the Polynesian and would stay no where else.

We rented strollers while there...

Book all character dinners, events well in advance.

Pack lightly and buy what you need when you get there... much easier. (diapers, etc)

Enjoy!

Is your stroller a side-by-side? If it is, I wouldn't bring it. You need a skinny one to get through places. Hopefully you have one that is a double back and front. You really don't want to go through a big airport without the kids being in a stroller.

Now, if you have two umbrella strollers, and two adults, that would be good too. Light weight is good, and you can hang your stuff on the strollers as well.

Don't ship a box of diapers. Just pick them up down there in a store (if you are renting a car, that's really easy.) I would think that you could stash diapers here and there for the plane trip - stroller, suitcase, pocketbook, jacket pockets, etc. if you are staying on the grounds and not renting a car.

Take sippy cups and after you get through security, fill them with something to drink. Have them sip on them while the plane ascends so their ears won't hurt so much. Order children's meals for them in advance with the airlines. Bring snacks too.

The water at Disney tastes awful. Get bottled water before you get into the park. I hope you'll have a little frig in your room at least. If you can freeze the water, the bottles can be ice packs for a soft bag to keep your lunch in. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are great for lunch, along with fruit. If you can stop at a grocery and get that, along with cereal for breakfast and milk, you'll have breakfast and lunch taken care of and then you can go out for dinner. That's a great savings, compared to the expensive meal tickets. (For more opinions on the meal plan, check the thread about Disney written earlier today.)

Have a great time!
Dawn

I haven't used this, but overheard someone talking about it. If I were to use it, I would order a case or 2 of water, diapers, etc. Bottled water (SmartWater) at the park is $4 a bottle!

Grocery delivery to your hotel at WDW
http://magicalmemoryplanners.com/2011/02/grocery-delivery...

Rent their strollers, much better. Go to allears.net and you will have all
your questioned answered. A lot depends on how long you will be there.
When in November? If before Thanksgiving it should not be too crowded.
If Thanksgiving weekend, it will be packed. Where are you staying? Will you have a car. A bit more information would be great.

Don't ship a box of diapers! WHERE would you send them. Who would keep them until you got there? Stop by a Walmart (or whatever your preferred store) on your way to the hotel and get them there.

If you have a stroller you like that you know is comfortable for your kids, I'd take that. It'll be nice to have in the airport as well. You can take it as far as the plane, and have them "gate check" it for you which means it goes on last and off first, and will be waiting for you when you deplane.

Bring your own carseats, don't rent them with your car.

Plan MORE time than you think you will need to get from place to place and be prepared to leave the parks mid day to head back to the hotel for a nap and swim. Once you've spent the money it's tempting to want to stay in the park all day and get your money's worth, but in my opinion the money is only well spent if everyone is happy :)

I love Disney, I would take my family every year if my husband was as big of a Disney fan as I am!
We went a few times when my boys were little and the first thing I would say is you really do want your own stroller. I am not sure if you are flying but if you are I would just gate check it, so its waiting for you at the gate. The Disney strollers are nice, but they don't have much storage room underneath like a personal stroller would.
Also, if you order diapers online you can usually just let the hotel know you are having it delivered to be waiting for you, and that way you may be able to get free shipping.
My last tip would be to also get some kind of harness..I know people hate the idea of "leashing" a child, but oh my goodness..in those crowds you will be so, so happy to have them connected to you whenever that aren't in that stroller!!
We used one like this:
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
Have a great time!

Hi! We are leaving on Saturday for our first Disney World trip. I'm so excited!!!! My children are 4 and 2 so my experience will be similar to yours in regards to kids so young. I will let you know how my trip goes. We are staying at the Polynesian because we wanted to be on the monorail. We actually rented a stroller from a place called Baby Wheels Orlando. It is a double stroller that folds up with one hand in one motion. They offer a free rain guard, free cooler and free parent tray with their rental and they will deliver and pick up at our hotel. They also have an option to add on a case of bottled water for an extra charge, which we did. I have heard that the Disney strollers are hard plastic and don't lay back in case the kids want to nap. They also put on a personalized license plate to help with stroller mix up which I guess is so common at Disney. I have found a great website called www.tipsfromthedisneydiva.com. It's been really informative. If you haven't yet, get the book The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Very helpful. It breaks down every ride has restaurant descriptions and ratings, resort reviews, extremely helpful tips. We booked our trip two months ago and I didn't have a problem scheduling a princess breakfast but we had a L. trouble booking Chef Mickey's and some dinner reservations. We did get some, but not at the most convenient times. So make sure you book those as soon as you can. My strategy is to know the things that we definitely don't want to miss, but to be flexible. My kids still nap so I plan on incorporating those into the day. If one or both starts to get fussy, we are open to going back to the hotel to swim or rest and not stressing about seeing everything, which is impossible even in the six days we are staying. I'll let you know how our trip goes!

Hi Evelyn,

We went a year ago when my son just turned 4. In general he didn't use a stroller any more but we brought his and it worked out great, so bring one for your 5 year old because it's tough to be on your feet all day there. The benefit of bringing your own is that you can use them in the airport, too. We stayed outside of the park and rented a car. There were several places right by our hotel to buy groceries, etc., so I think you can plan on buying once you are there (unless you are staying right in the park and won't have a car -- I don't know what kind of shopping situation there is right in the park). Carry snacks and drinks with you at the parks. Downtown Disney was a big hit with my son and it's free (except maybe for certain special events and any shopping you might want to do). You can walk along the length of it and then take a ferry ride back to the parking area. At the Magic Kingdom you can register for a later time for the popular rides and then go back to the front of the line at your designated time. The plane had individual TV screens for each seat, making the flight easy. Check in at the airport in Orlando was a nightmare -- so crowded and disorganized. I hadn't planned for that but otherwise the whole trip was pretty easy. Finally, check out an Orlando travel book from the library -- low-tech but helpful. Enjoy!

i will bring as much diapers as possible but, if you are potty training get rid of diapers and just bring the pull ups.. overnight pull ups and the regular pull ups.. You know that it will be more expensive there anything will. I would look at the website or call the place where you are staying and make your decision about the stroller. I would get a harness so u can strap the little one on you at the airport.. If the 5 year old can walk she will be so excited. Bring lots of snacks on the plane bring coloring books etc.. bring dvd player with there favorite movie.. Charge the battery before you go.. Ask the airline to make sure they put you in a seat with a plug so u can use your computer or whatever you bring. i would bring
chewy snack when plane takes off my daughters ears bothered her so i kept telling her to chew.. she was fine. Also i heard if you pay for a tour guide you can get on and off of rides no problem.. Also get meals included.. and call ahead to see how to arrange sitting at breakfast with the characters.. I would call your hotel and ask them all the questions you may have.. they will help you its there job. See what parks are included or if you need a certain pass..

I would rent the Disney double stroller at the parks rather than try to manage lugging one around from your resort/hotel to the parks and back each day. We always rent a car (even if we stay on Disney property) and the first night DH runs out to Target or Walmart to pick up some basics for the room, simple breakfast foods, sunscreen, whatever we forgot or was too hard to pack, etc. That is the time I would get diapers if you need them. Have fun, I'm jealous, I love DisneyWorld!