I absolutely loved reading the trip reports and found them really helpful so perhaps my experiences can help someone who will be traveling with small children.

Travel dates: April 19 – 25, 2008
Travel method: Personal Auto – Driving from DC
Resort: All Stars Movies
Accommodations: Standard Room w/King Bed in Mighty Ducks Section
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Recent Disney Fanatic w/3 previous trips to WDW and 1 trip to Disneyland in the past 3 years
Cast of characters: Me – Carin (39 years old) – My son Aidan (4 yrs old) and daughter Kate (2 yrs old)

PRE TRIP REPORT

We are recent WDW fans which began with our first trip in August 2006 which was only planned for 2 days but we extended to 5 days staying at the Wilderness Lodge Villas, 2nd trip in November 2006 at Port Orleans – Riverside, and 3rd trip in November 2007 staying offsite at the Sheraton Vistiana Villas. Also, I went to Disneyland in September 2007 for a weekend after a conference in LA. I decided we would push up our trip for 2008 as my son will start Kindergarten in the fall and did not want to take him out of school and my husband is a stay at home dad needed a break from the kids.

DAY 1- SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2008

Left the DC area yesterday and stayed overnight in Savannah, GA so only had about 4 hours of driving in the morning and arrived at the AS Movies resort around 1pm. We were originally booked into a preferred room but, all the King size beds had showers and my toddlers will not take showers so they moved us to the Mighty Ducks section for a King bed with a bath. The room was ready so we were able to check in and get our room keys right away. There was almost no wait at that time to check-in and they gave my kids balloons and coloring books and crayons which they loved. The cast members were really helpful especially the baggage porters who helped me get all our numerous bags to our room very quickly. The refrigerator we requested was there waiting for us but it did not close very well so I had to put a heavy bag in front of the door in order to keep it closed. Since this worked, I didn’t complain. The rooms are definitely smaller but for the price and since we were just a party of 1 adult and 2 little kids, it was fine for us. When staying in the Mighty Ducks section I found it closer to walk over to the All Stars Music main building for buses and food court rather than schlep all the way to the Movies main building. Last word on the resort, I had read that it tends to fill up with tours with large numbers of teenagers which was definitely the case when I was there but it wasn’t too loud even though the pool was right outside our door but then again, I generally fell into bed exhausted after chasing my kids through the parks each day.

After we unpacked a few bags, we took a bus over to Animal Kingdom but after just an hour or so, I realized the kids were just too tired from the day and ˝ of driving so we headed back to the resort for dinner and bed.

DAY 2 – SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2008 – MAGIC KINGDOM

We got up early to be at the park opening for Magic Kingdom which we took a bus from the AS Music section. Now just for a moment picture this, Mom with backpack full of diapers, snacks and bottled water, 2 year old in one arm and the double stroller in the other – so to all those wonderful kindhearted people who offered help getting on and off buses and offering seats at peak times, I want to extend my sincerest thanks and gratitude from the bottom of my heart and aching back. For every bad experience I’ve had with impatient people cursing me under their breath, I’ve met at least 2 or 3 who were understanding and helpful, especially the cast members. Now I’ve always read that it makes a huge difference in wait times by getting to the parks before they open but this is the first time I was actually able to achieve this. They were not wrong. We were able to ride Peter Pan 3 times in a row and one time they did not even make us get off the ride and just ride again. Peter Pan is far and away my kid’s favorite ride at Magic Kingdom. We then rode Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella’s Carousel and Philharmagic. We then headed back to Main Street to meet our tour guide for the Family Magic Tour which my 4 year old loved but was hard to participate in with a double stroller – imagine trying to run through the masses of people pushing a double stroller without mowing them down. At the end, we got to meet Peter Pan and Wendy and my son was thrilled that they let him hold Captain Hook’s hook. Just one minor complaint, after spending $27 per person and participating in a 2 hour tour/hunt, Peter Pan didn’t even have time to give autographs as he has to be in a show that started right as we were finishing.

We had lunch at the park at the hotdog place on Main Street which I love the corndog bites and back to the hotel for the afternoon nap which is essential for toddlers. I tried to forego the nap one day which resulted in constant meltdowns in my 2 year old by 3 or 4 pm. After their nap, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for our dinner reservation at Crystal Palace. We had the basic dining plan but both of my children has several food allergies that make eating out tricky (dairy, eggs, nuts, shellfish) so when I made the ADR’s, I listed out all their allergies and upon seating at the restaurants, the chef comes out and takes us through the buffets or menus to tell me what is safe for them to eat and will often make special dishes without the ingredients they are allergic to. This is one of the things I love about Disney and really sets them apart from other parks/resorts. However, I think the buffets are so busy, especially the character meals, that the chef’s only told me what was on the buffet they could eat, which was not very much. So if anyone has significant allergies, I would not recommend the buffets. At one of the character lunches at Hollywood and Vine, my kids were only able to eat roasted chicken, steamed broccoli and salad which seemed meager given they charge around $20 for this. The kids really enjoyed seeing Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eyeore so they still had fun.

After dinner, we went to Adventureland and rode Alladin’s Magic Carpets and then crossed over to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear. Then back to the hotel for bed.

More to come...

You are a brave soul taking two toddlers on your own to WDW! I waited to take my kids till they were 21 & 18:D My hat's off to you & keep up the good work. Can't wait to read more.

Aghh - the dreamed of family break, you arrive with your 2 small ones and realise it's a shower and they've never done that. That happened to us in France one time, glad you sorted it out! My children learnt how to shower that holiday ;) Really looking forward to hearing how you got on. I'm guessing you got stung by the horrendous new doble buggy price?

The next day we went to DHS which I still call MGM...so please forgive me if I goof and continue to call it MGM. Got there at the opening and walked on to Muppetvision 3-D which I've found that my 2 year will not keep her 3-D glasses on so she does not really enjoy them but the 4 year old just loves and tries to grab the pictures he sees.

We then saw the Power Rangers which my son loves. I have to say that the character interactions are great for my toddlers who are not afraid of them. Even my 2 year old who won't go anyone will run right up to characters as long as they are not people (ie. princesses, etc) and are the characters who wear the full costumes including over their heads... makes no sense to me whatsoever.

We then had the character lunch at Hollywood & Vine which is fun but again had the same problem with the buffets and allergies not mixing well.

The 2 year was really tired and fell asleep after lunch so I just walked around with the 4 year old while she slept in her stroller. He was really excited to see Handy Manny and the other Little Einstein characters we didn't see at the character lunch. We then camped out on the parade route that was marked in the map just behind the Indiana Jones show while the kids napped and waited for the parade.

Saddly, about 5-10 minutes before the parade was to start and after an hour of waiting, I was told that we would not see any of the shows in the parade in that location, which really frustrated me and all the other people who had been waiting patiently to see the new parade. I was so disappointed as the rest of the parade route was packed and the kids would have been able to see the show 5-6 people deep as they are so small.:mad:

So I went to the guest services desk and recommended that they should really update the maps so that others don't get stuck in the same situation we found ourselves in. I was so disappointed and the kids were hot and tired that we just left the park and went back to the hotel.

We then spent the rest of the day at the resort pool and had an early night.

I had read that the double stroller had gone up significantly before we left but my kids are still so small that I need to bring my own double stroller with me for the resort and shopping, so I didn't have to pay the high rental fees. However, I did have to lug the fairly large (even though it does fold up fairly flat) and heavy double stroller onto buses and in and out of the car.

WOW! You are amazing. Two little ones on your own. I'm going to have my hubby and two grandparents with me, and I'm still nervous . . . and we only have one kid! He's a trooper, though, so we'll be fine.

I'm looking forward to any tips you can send our way. I'm glad to hear all the rides your four-year-old enjoys. Gives me a good idea of what mine will like. He's been to DLR two times, but as he gets older, his preferences change. :) That is so funny about your daughter and how she prefers the fuzzies as opposed to the face characters - it's usually the other way around! Hey - whatever works and makes her (and in turn, you) happy. :)

As the mother of a 2 and 4 next week, I am in awe.

My son (the 4 year old) is fairly brave as long as his dad or I are with him but his favorite rides were:

Magic Kingdom has the most attractions that appeal to toddlers:

-Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
-Ticket & Transportation Authority (some parts are dark)
-Winnie the Pooh
-Mad Tea Party Teacups (it's not too bad if you don't spin the cup)
-Dumbo
-Cinderella's Carosel (I'm a terrible speller)
-Mickey's Philharmagic (which can be a bit loud)
-Peter Pan (one of his all time favorite rides)
-It's a Small World
-Snow White (but this ride is a bit dark and the witch can be scary)
-Haunted Mansion (can be scary for smaller kids but I stressed that it was not real and just for fun - after that he loved it)
-Aladin's Magic Carpets
-Enchanted Tiki Room (can be loud at times)
-Jungle Cruise
-Monster's Laugh Floor
-Country Bears Jamboree

Epcot

-The Seas with Nemo
-Turtle Talk w/Crush
-Circle of Life
-Epcot has a great character meet & greet area - last time we went we got to see Micky, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Chip & Dale by standing in one line which moved fairly quickly.

I know that there are other appropriate rides but we didn't get to much at Epcot and unfortunately, missed it entirely in this most recent trip.

DHS

-Muppetvision 3-D
-Playhouse Disney On-Stage
-The Great Movie Ride has some sets and costumes from some scary movies so it might scare smaller kids.
-this is the only park where you can find the Power Rangers- if you child wants to see them get there before they are scheduled to arrive because they can only stay about 30 minutes and each power ranger has a separate line. Last time we were able to get 3 rangers autographs and photos.
-this is the only park that also has the Playhouse Disney characters (Jojo, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, etc) and Kim Possible characters.
-I was really surprised but my son really liked the High School Musical show they have at the hat.
-We unfortunately missed the Indiana Jones and Little Mermaid shows but hopefully we'll see those on the next trip in 2010.

Animal Kingdom

-Safari ride which we did at the very end of the day and saw so many animals up close- it was amazing. However, my son thought the story line was real so he was worried about the baby elephant and if it would be ok.
-Rafiki Planet Watch - liked the train ride and the animals there - also got to see Jiminy Cricket and Pocahontas there.
-The Pocahontas show which is fairly short and my son loved how the animals were part of the show.
-There is a dino ride like Dumbo but I can't remember the name in Dinoland.
-Animal Kingdom is a great park to just stroll around as long as we were not blocking anyone to enjoy the landscaping and animal enclosures.
-I've not been able to see the Lion King show but I hear that is amazing so maybe for the next trip.

I know I'm missing a lot here, but my basic survival skill in going to the parks with small kids is to focus on them (which is why I ended up missing Epcot completely and at Magic Kingdom 4 days out of our 7 days). If your son still takes naps make sure you stick to their schedule as much as possible. This made it really difficult in planning our ADR's because for my kids late lunches run into nap time.

One last thing I remembered is that DisneyQuest actually had a section for smaller kids which my kids really enjoyed. Not worth the cost if you don't have the Water Parks add on to your ticket but if you do it is fun for them. And Blizzard Beach has a very nice kids area with kids water slides that my son would have gone down all day if he could.

Hope this helps and you have a great trip. It sounds like you have some backup so you and your husband can do some fun grown up activities which I missed. Oh well - they're only small for so long.

Thanks! That is a great list - I'm sure he'll like pretty much the same! He's not a napper any more (poor me), but he does tend to zonk out in his stroller after a long day. Maybe we're lucky there. If Nana and Opa end up wanting to take a break, I'm sure he'll be happy to as well. We'll just have to see as time goes on. He'll be four at the end of June. That will make him almost 4 1/2 by the time we go and you know what six months does to a kid at this age - it's like cat years - they grow so fast and change so much. You just never know what phase is around the corner. Maybe naps again . . . maybe?? (as I listen to him making blast-off sounds with his rockets in the other room - no nap. =sigh=)

Thanks for the toddler tips! We'll be going down in August with friends and we both have young kids (3 year olds). Reading your report just makes me more excited for my upcoming trip! I can't wait to read more.