Baby L2H and first visit to Disney

Hi all

It's been a while since I posted , have been busy with baby L2H who has just turned 1 !
We are planning a trip to Florida before he turns 2 and has to pay full fare and I have some questions.

1. Will he be too young to enjoy Disney etc it if we travel just before his b'day in Feb next year ?
2. Will the weather be nice at that time of year ?
3. I have enough miles for us all to travel in EC, but also have the Amex vouchers that we could use to upgrade to PE. There is also availability in PE for the dates we want. However I am not sure how it would work with the vouchers as we would be in PE, would we then just use miles to upgrade babyL2H to PE ?
4. Where should we stay ? Somewhere child friendly, perhaps with childrens clubs with good access to all the parks ?

Apologies for so many questions, but it will be our fisrt trip to Florida too [:D]
Any advice you can offer would be appreciated.
L2H

I think you will find all the answers you need on The Dibb where members will be falling over themselves to offer advice on anything Disney.

Someone else will soon pop up about PE etc on here.

Have a fab trip

quote:Originally posted by lovetoholiday

Apologies for so many questions, but it will be our fisrt trip to Florida too [:D]
Any advice you can offer would be appreciated.
L2H
No problem, 1st hand experience taking Mini NH who was 2.5,a year ago so nearly same age & went same time of yr, also a VS & other Airline veteran:

In order:
1. No, although don't expect them to remember, you will be limited on what you can ride on obviously, but as a overall experience WDW is designed for it! You realise you'll be setting yourself up for an annual event! NB suggest a character breakfast in Crystal Palace (Whinnie et al) EGG's suggestion of the DIBB..[y]

2. Feb can be hit & miss, we had very cold couple of days but then basking in sun on others.
3. Rtn upgrade often worth it as usually a night flight. Search other threads for the use of these, availability will be your potential problem as PE popular especially on rtn.
4. Where do you start, nearly 99% are, but you need to get to Travel agents to get some info & prices, depends when you're going and your budget etc etc.

Hand full of us travel with mini Vflyers who also inflict toddlers on other peoples travelling time...So you'll likely get some pointers..

Remember, just go and enjoy it!

You want any other advise for flying with baby L2H, PM me if you want.

Thanks to you both. Have just had a quick look at the Dibb. Looks fab.
I think I have just realised what a big choice there is going to be, and how much there is to see [:0]

L2H

A quick thought on accommodation L2H. Have you considered hiring a villa instead of a hotel? Plenty of room to spread out and for baby l2H to explore plus the advantage of your own swimming pool so you won't have to share one with the great unwashed [:w]. But seriously folks, me and the present Mrs Treelo took our grandchildren there a couple of years ago (they were 5 and 3) and they totally adored the whole experience. One thing though, they were mainly interested in spending time in the pool, despite all the attractions (sic) Disney has to offer [:D]

[HighFlyer]

quote:Originally posted by Treelo
One thing though, they were mainly interested in spending time in the pool, despite all the attractions (sic) Disney has to offer [:D]


Yup, a few years ago now I went to Florida with my family. My 7 year old cousin, when asked what his favorite part of the holiday was, bearing in mind we'd taken him to Discovery Cove, swam with Dolphins, got him on Tower of Terror and met Mickey Mouse, he said that without a doubt, his favorite part of the whole two weeks was swimming in the pool after the parks. Kids! Tsk.

L2H, the Dibb will probably tell you this, but one piece of advice I would give would be to not try pack too much in. I find Florida can be a tiring holiday; lots of walking, long days, so much to see and do and take in, so do balance it out with days where you have nothing too strenuous to recharge you for the next day. [y]

Thanks,
Sarah

quote:Originally posted by lovetoholiday
Thanks to you both. Have just had a quick look at the Dibb. Looks fab.
I think I have just realised what a big choice there is going to be, and how much there is to see [:0]
L2H


IMHO you'll only want to do Magic Kingdom with Baby, Epcot/Animal Kingdom/etc will be lost for actual baby enjoyment.
Your enjoyment being a different thing [:?]

Given the age, I'd try and make sure you enjoy it yourself. Everywhere is child, and more so baby friendly - Eating out/ changing facilities etc

Word of warning though if you take your own pram into Disney, don't lock it up to something whilst you go on an attraction.
Ours nearly got 'towed', they swooped on me within seconds, as I was wary of leaving a bugaboo waiting for the great unwashed to wander off with. [:?]
but rest assured, everyone seems to just park em up, and all seemed fine.

Seaworld the other one I'd recommend, as very good for interactive stuff for little ones.

NH

All the Orlando area makes access to the Disney parks easy - I'd recommend you hire a sat nav via the car hire if you haven't got your own as the area is vast. Like Sarah has said, spending time in the parks is exhausting, particularly with little ones in tow.Jnr will have a lovely time-Dragonbaby was much the same age when she had her first Disney experience and it was magical for us all (she still loves it at 16).I'd also second the villa /apartment suggestion -far more relaxing.There are some properties on the forum (villa section) who give discounts for v-flyer bookings.My experience of the weather in Feb has been good- nice and warm but not oppressively hot.The Dibb is a pletora of Disney/ Orlando related info which can be useful.
Don't know how you'd fare with BL2H if you're going to use your upgrade vouchers and miles, perhaps a call to FC is in order?
DL

[Neil]

Well we are in Florida at the moment, so I can certainly help on the weather question. It is nice, has been about 70 today and similar since Friday, although on Sat morning there was frost on the ground/car first thing and last night was really cold too, so you will certainly need to pack some jumpers/long trousers. Saying that, from tomorrow it is due to be early 80's until at least early next week, so it is a real mixed bag.

I would also suggest that you don't try and do too much, although it is not easy. We are meant to be having a 'relaxing' version of Disney and the like this time, but we have just walked in 12 hours after leaving our villa for a packed day at Universal, with very sore feet! Feb however is a good time to come, although the parks were packed over the weekend, it was nice and quiet today, no real long queues at all.

A villa gets my vote also, lots of space, you aren't confined to just one room, it is SO nice to get away from the parks and the whole Disney thing and price wise they are very good also.

Neil

1. Try to get a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger.
2. Do consider staying at a WDW resort. Yes, they can be a little more expensive on the surface, but they offer great value, IMO. And with little ones, it can take as little as 20 minutes to get back to your hotel from a park using Disney Transportation. None of that car park, train, ferry business just to get into the Magic Kingdom.

I havn't got the Unofficial Guide to WDW but I have many of the others and they are really excellent and packed with the info you need rather than pretty pictures of other guide books. Attractions are rated by age group too rather than a generic one.

I get mine from W H Smiths - cheaper than buying / ordering in the shop