[Code Name Mama]

Hi mamas! We are taking a much needed vacation (and late honeymoon ) to Orlando this year - we'll be traveling late October/early November. We'll have our ds with us, he'll be 22 months old at the time. We'll be there for 7 days/6 nights, and we're staying in the downtown Disney/Lake Buena Vista area.

I'm pretty sure we're doing Animal Kingdom (we love our animals!), and perhaps Sea World (omg that is expensive though). We also want to do a day at the beach, and we'd love to maybe see some real wildlife (would Silver Springs park 90 miles NW of Orlando be sufficient?).

We don't do characters (or TV/Disney movies/etc.), so I'm wavering on the Magic Kingdom, but I guess ds would probably like the rides and the parades.

Can you give me some help planning our trip? There is SO much info online, I'm a little overwhelmed. Places to go, tips to remember, etc. would all be helpful.

We are on a pretty tight budget, but we will have a little spending money.

TIA!! (cross posted in the Florida tribal area but not getting much of a response)

 

[astrophe27]

Everyone has their own tastes and energy level, but I wouldn't plan so much and I'd try to stay close to site since you are already staying in the Downtown disney area. Travel can be rough on kidlets.

Bring umbrella stroller for sure. And even now my child is only up for 4-5 rides and she's done. That translates to 4-5 hours at theme park max.

Consider getting annual passes and coming back again next year before they expire to get more mileage out of the tickets cost.

Going straight up Hotel Blvd (away from Downtown Disney) you will hit the crossroads shopping plaza where you hit restaurants and grocery store. So you don't have to feel stuck with on site food/prices.

Plan some lower key days. Does it HAVE to be "real beach?" or will a strip of sand and water do since baby doesn't know? If so, you could head over to hotels that have that decor and hang out. I think the playground at Animal Kingdom Lodge is 24 hrs so it could be fun to bus over there to look at the animals and then play. Perhaps having these lower key moments in between theme park and Silver Springs would help you ease from one thing to another while catching some rest in between?

We don't do the characters thing, but since we never see it at home nor have the toys, taking DD to Magic Kingdom was fun for her and we could "leave the park and the park" when we left when she was 2 or 3.

Consider window clings, travel magnadoodle and other amusements for the trip down.

Oct/Nov is food and wine festival time at Epcot. You may consider that.

HTH!
A.

 

[dancindoula]

Those are all great suggestions. Also, Silver Springs is in my home town (about 10 minutes from where I'm sitting now!) and it's a very low-key park. The only "rides" are a carousel and this little maypole spinny thing that lifts you gently into the air to let you see the river and park. There are animals to pet and little exhibits to see and a kids play area (which I seem to recall having some wet features, so maybe bring a change of clothes). Do all three boat rides since they are all different and relaxing.

Some similar places that are closer to Orlando are Bok Tower Gardens and Cypress Gardens. Or there's the Florida Aquarium in Tampa (along with Busch Gardens, of course).

As far as the beach, staying at one of the "beach-like" pools might do for your little one. However, if you really want to go to a beach check out Cape Canaveral State Park. It's closer than Daytona and nicely quiet and secluded. Bring a picnic and blankets and you can spend all day on a lovely strip of sand with fewer than a dozen (if that) people around you. If you must head up towards Daytona, drive just a bit further north to Ormond Beach since that one is pretty family friendly and somewhat less crowded. Personally I would be happy never to set a toe in the sand of Daytona again (says this Florida native) because it's ridiculously crowded and with the cars driving up and down the beach it's like trying to relax by lying on a sidewalk next to a highway.

Hope that gives you a few more ideas without being just too many options!

 

[MommytoTwo]

We just went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot with DS (6) DD (4) and DS2 (23 mos) - he had a BLAST. He loved Magic Kingdom - but he watches Mickey on tv. Epcot was fairly lame.
www.allearsnet.com is a great site for planning.
Oh, Gatorland is lots of fun for all ages too.

 

[PatchChild]

We're bringing our two year old to Disney this fall as well. Forget the branding of characters, I know he'll have a ball on the rides, and my DH and I love it so really we're going for us.

They are actually having a lot of really good deals on food and lodging at Disney right now so it's way cheeper than it usually is.

 

[allnaturalmom]

Hello,
I just wanted to add that each of the disney parks has a 'baby station/nursing center' that is very nice. Animal kingdom and disney studios each have private rooms for nursing. I'm not sure if epcot's baby center has private rooms, but magic kingdom's room is nice, but shared w/all nursers. They've all got rocking chairs, dimmed lighting, and nice accommodations (tvs playing disney cartoons for older siblings/husbands

though it did come in handy, kitchen set-ups, high chairs, changing stations, any supplies you could need, etc...). These were so great for taking a break/nursing/letting dd nap a bit...etc...

hth