Orlando - Orlando Visit End of July

Hello All,

My family and I are going to be visiting Orlando at the end of July this year. We will be travelling with our daughter who will be a week away from 1 yr old during our visit. Also my in-laws will be with us whom turned 60 recently.

We will be staying at the Floridays Resort. The ratings were great and the price was very very reasonable.

I have a few concerns, hopefully someone who has gone before can tell me.

1. We have booked a car but i'm not sure how we are supposed to get from the airport to the hotel without a car seat. The company rents one but it's literally cheaper to buy a brand new one from Amazon. What have other parents done in this case? Orlando has a mandatory child seat belt law.

2. The time of the year will be very warm and humid. What pre-cautions aside from drinking lots of water would you suggest? How about for our daughter?

3. There are a lot of parks and a lot of rides. We really want to visit Disney World and take our daughter on some very basic rides. Also the adults want to enjoy some of the day on some of the rides and then we want to watch the parade that night. I'm worried that spending all day at the park will be exausting, health concerns even come to mind due to the heat. What is the best way to plan this out?

4. My in-laws i'm not sure if they will want to wait in the sun all day. People have told me about front of the line passes that you can purchase, seems like it might be worth it especially since only 2 of us can go at once as someone needs to stay with our daughter.

5. We want to throw in a day or two of shopping what are the best places to visit? I've heard of the great outlet malls and the orlando mall which is huge. All worth it?

6. For the adults if we wanted to go spent one more day at a park. We were thinking Aquatica or Universal Studios but I don't know which is the better choice if either at all?

I really appreciate any help you can provide!

Nick

Hello All,
1. We have booked a car but i'm not sure how we are supposed to get from the airport to the hotel without a car seat. The company rents one but it's literally cheaper to buy a brand new one from Amazon. What have other parents done in this case? Orlando has a mandatory child seat belt law.Can you bring one from home?
2. The time of the year will be very warm and humid. What pre-cautions aside from drinking lots of water would you suggest? How about for our daughter?Very warm and humid is an understatement. It will be oppressive in the afternoon. I suggest going early and late and use the hotel pool or some other water attraction in the afternoon.
3. There are a lot of parks and a lot of rides. We really want to visit Disney World and take our daughter on some very basic rides. Also the adults want to enjoy some of the day on some of the rides and then we want to watch the parade that night. I'm worried that spending all day at the park will be exausting, health concerns even come to mind due to the heat. What is the best way to plan this out?See above about times to visit the parks. At that time of year they will be open to midnight. Take a nap during the day with your daughter. As well, there are very few rides your 1 year old will enjoy/understand. She will probably enjoy the pool more :) For the adults, I recommend getting Fastpasses in the morning and using them at night. No matter what time the return is - as long as you try to get on after the stated time they will allow it.
4. My in-laws i'm not sure if they will want to wait in the sun all day. People have told me about front of the line passes that you can purchase, seems like it might be worth it especially since only 2 of us can go at once as someone needs to stay with our daughter.Universal has front of the line passes, not Disney. What you can do is the baby-swap where the family waits in line and 1 adult goes on the ride while the other waits with the child. They then "swap" the child and the other adult rides.
5. We want to throw in a day or two of shopping what are the best places to visit? I've heard of the great outlet malls and the orlando mall which is huge. All worth it?Orlando has turned into a major shopping hub and there are several outlet malls. The closest to Disney are the Premium outlets. You can check out their website to see if the stores interest you. There's also a huge outlet center just passed Universal (sorry, I forgot the name). I've never been to the Orlando Mall - it's just a regular mall and not all that huge.
6. For the adults if we wanted to go spent one more day at a park. We were thinking Aquatica or Universal Studios but I don't know which is the better choice if either at all?Given the time of year, Aquatica may be your best bet. Universal will also be crowded, though you can purchase that front of the line access.

5. We want to throw in a day or two of shopping what are the best places to visit? I've heard of the great outlet malls and the orlando mall which is huge. All worth it?
Nick

There are two malls to consider, Florida Mall is a decent size one that gets a lot of tourist traffic. The other is Mall at Millenia, which is targeted as an "upscale" mall. It still has a Neiman Marcus, but for the most part it is just the usual mall stores. There are lots of outlet malls and stores, don't assume that everything they offer is a good deal.

I'm worried that spending all day at the park will be exausting, health concerns even come to mind due to the heat.


It's more than exhausting, it's literally impossible to walk around Disney parks from morning until late at night in the summer; the body cannot take it. Unless maybe you are a Navy Seal or something.

I have seen folks from cooler climates collapsing from heatstroke by early afternoon. My 5 y.o. son almost fainted mid-morning in May once.

Go early as possible, drink water constantly until you can't swallow any more, leave 12-1, have lunch, nap/swim/rest until 6-7, go back.

Be very careful with prolonged sun exposure on a baby; it can be life-threatening and an emergency can come on suddenly.

Wow! Thanks for the responses!

I spent a couple hours reading tons of info on the MouseSavers site and something that I saw of interest is that we can purchase tickets at the Floridian Hospital Gift Shops for a lower rate. Since there are 4 adults and we'll have a car this sounds like a nice option to save some money.

Are all tickets good for entry->exit->re-entry? Meaning can we do this:

Go early as possible, drink water constantly until you can't swallow any more, leave 12-1, have lunch, nap/swim/rest until 6-7, go back.

Or do we need to have a 'park hopper' pass for that option?

There are two malls to consider, Florida Mall is a decent size one that gets a lot of tourist traffic. The other is Mall at Millenia, which is targeted as an "upscale" mall. It still has a Neiman Marcus, but for the most part it is just the usual mall stores. There are lots of outlet malls and stores, don't assume that everything they offer is a good deal.

Yes the Florida Mall was the one I was thinking of thanks :).

Can you bring one from home?

We could but... Our car seat cost quite a bit and I don't want to see it damaged which I've heard they take quite a beating getting on / off the plane.

Originally I thought about taking a town car to the hotel and then having thrifty come drop the car off at our hotel the following day. It's going to be $280 or there about for a mid-sized car for a week. Since there are 4 adults and theoretically 4 large suitcases I think a mid-sized is the way to go. Also the 10% concession fee for airport pickup kinda is a wash with the airport pickup (kinda) and they will probably have a car seat or at least we can request one. Then have a car seat ordered to the hotel and wait for us when we arrive.

If someone has a better suggestions please let me know as i'm ALL eyes and ears!

Very warm and humid is an understatement. It will be oppressive in the afternoon. I suggest going early and late and use the hotel pool or some other water attraction in the afternoon.

We are coming from Costa Rica and Colombia so we are used to 30+ weather but we are also very aware of how hard this can be. So that's why it's a primary concern of ours. We want to make sure we can get the right tickets so that we can come and go from Disney.

Also is parking a one time thing or is it an entire day? So if we leave and come back that same ticket is still good?

Universal has front of the line passes, not Disney.

I think we're gonna skip Universal this year. We're only there for 6 days and we really want to only spend 1 day at Disney a few days laying around the pool and a few other days shopping. We might might consider SeaWorld or Aquatica as my daughter LOVES fish tanks.

What you can do is the baby-swap where the family waits in line and 1 adult goes on the ride while the other waits with the child. They then "swap" the child and the other adult rides.

Is this only valid for one adult? Meaning if there are 4 of us. The 3 of us would have to go first then one of us would switch with the parent or do they allow two and two?

Orlando has turned into a major shopping hub and there are several outlet malls. The closest to Disney are the Premium outlets. You can check out their website to see if the stores interest you. There's also a huge outlet center just passed Universal (sorry, I forgot the name). I've never been to the Orlando Mall - it's just a regular mall and not all that huge.

Sounds like my wife will be in Heaven! LOL :)

I spent a couple hours reading tons of info on the MouseSavers site and something that I saw of interest is that we can purchase tickets at the Floridian Hospital Gift Shops for a lower rate. Since there are 4 adults and we'll have a car this sounds like a nice option to save some money.You can also get discounted tickets from Walmart, sometimes. I'm not familiar with the hospital discount, but generally speaking from other discounts I've seen, it is not very much.
Are all tickets good for entry->exit->re-entry? Meaning can we do this: Or do we need to have a 'park hopper' pass for that option?If you have a 1 day base ticket (which is all you said you wanted to do) you can exit and re-enter the same park as many times as you would like during that one day. You cannot enter a different park.

We are coming from Costa Rica and Colombia so we are used to 30+ weather but we are also very aware of how hard this can be. So that's why it's a primary concern of ours. We want to make sure we can get the right tickets so that we can come and go from Disney.It's the humidity that will get you in Orlando. Sometimes it feels like you can't breathe. I've actually spent an entire afternoon IN the hotel pool because it was too hot to get out. :)
Also is parking a one time thing or is it an entire day? So if we leave and come back that same ticket is still good?If you save your receipt, it is good for the entire day at any disney parking lot that requires admission - not that it will matter to you since you only will be doing one park :)

I think we're gonna skip Universal this year. We're only there for 6 days and we really want to only spend 1 day at Disney a few days laying around the pool and a few other days shopping. We might might consider SeaWorld or Aquatica as my daughter LOVES fish tanks.That sounds like a great idea - I've seen Aquatica at a pretty good discount - check out their website.

Is this only valid for one adult? Meaning if there are 4 of us. The 3 of us would have to go first then one of us would switch with the parent or do they allow two and two?I'm not sure, but in practice, it really doesn't matter who is holding the child. If you have all waited on line and are at the front, 2 of you could ride, while 2 wait with the child and then do the swap.


Sounds like my wife will be in Heaven! LOL :)Bring empty suitcases :)

You can also get discounted tickets from Walmart, sometimes. I'm not familiar with the hospital discount, but generally speaking from other discounts I've seen, it is not very much.

This is what they have on the MouseSavers site:

Additionally, if you will have a car while in the Orlando area, you can buy single-day tickets even cheaper in person at any Florida Hospital Gift Shop, according to an email from the Florida Hospital Foundation in March 2011: "You can purchase Disney tickets at any Florida Hospital Gift Shop for $74 each. This is another part of the promotion on behalf of Florida Hospital for Children. I would encourage you to call before you go just to be sure they have them in stock." The closest Florida Hospitals to Walt Disney World would be in Celebration and Kissimmee. You can call the Florida Hospital Foundation for more information at (407) 303-2784. Thanks to Sara for info.

If you have a 1 day base ticket (which is all you said you wanted to do) you can exit and re-enter the same park as many times as you would like during that one day. You cannot enter a different park.

Perfect, that's all I needed to know.

It's the humidity that will get you in Orlando. Sometimes it feels like you can't breathe. I've actually spent an entire afternoon IN the hotel pool because it was too hot to get out. :)

We've planned for the entire following day to be in the pool at the hotel. We don't want to be exausted.

If you save your receipt, it is good for the entire day at any disney parking lot that requires admission - not that it will matter to you since you only will be doing one park :)

That's great info and makes me feel much better about renting a car.

That sounds like a great idea - I've seen Aquatica at a pretty good discount - check out their website.

We'll keep an eye on the specials, if they have a really smokin deal it wouldn't be a bad experience. Is it worth while to do SeaWorld & Aquatica in the same day or is it better to do 2 separate days?

I'm not sure, but in practice, it really doesn't matter who is holding the child. If you have all waited on line and are at the front, 2 of you could ride, while 2 wait with the child and then do the swap.

Ah OK!!! I understand now. You all make the line. Then you wait at the front of the line for the other parent ( parents ) to come out and take the child. Excellent!

Bring empty suitcases :)

Certainly plan on that. To bad you have to pay for every extra suit case. I just have to find one that can fit another inside :)

Buy a cheap sprayer bottle from any drug store before you leave home (the kind of sprayer you'd use to spritz water on a plant; something small). Also, bring a face cloth in a ziploc bag.

When you leave your hotel to head to the parks, fill the sprayer bottle with ice water. Do the same for the ziploc bag. You can replenish the water as needed in the park.

Use the sprayer to cool yourselves down. Rubbing the ice cold face cloth all over arms, faces, etc. has an immediate cool down effect as well. It will buy you a lot more time in the hot July sun. (They also sell fans at Disney which are attached to a bottle of ice water. They run about $20 and work but are cumbersome and become a pain in the neck. However, it might be a good investment for you if you don't bring the items I suggested.)

If you have paid for a seat for your child's flight, bring the car seat on the plane. You can always buy a cheaper car seat for the trip (or borrow one from neighbors or friends). Frankly, a few scratches on the car seat are a small price to pay for safety.

Get there early! And have fun :)

Buy a cheap sprayer bottle from any drug store before you leave home (the kind of sprayer you'd use to spritz water on a plant; something small). Also, bring a face cloth in a ziploc bag.

When you leave your hotel to head to the parks, fill the sprayer bottle with ice water. Do the same for the ziploc bag. You can replenish the water as needed in the park.

Use the sprayer to cool yourselves down. Rubbing the ice cold face cloth all over arms, faces, etc. has an immediate cool down effect as well. It will buy you a lot more time in the hot July sun. (They also sell fans at Disney which are attached to a bottle of ice water. They run about $20 and work but are cumbersome and become a pain in the neck. However, it might be a good investment for you if you don't bring the items I suggested.)

If you have paid for a seat for your child's flight, bring the car seat on the plane. You can always buy a cheaper car seat for the trip (or borrow one from neighbors or friends). Frankly, a few scratches on the car seat are a small price to pay for safety.

Get there early! And have fun :)

Thanks for all the tips. We actually will be taking some mini portable fans with us and i'll have a camel pack and a nice water bottle holster. Hopefully with that and all the water we'll pile under the stroller we'll be good.

The child seat was just easier to buy on Amazon for $49 (free shipping). Our baby is flying 'lap' so we don't have the space to put it on the plane :( and they want $35 each way for additional luggage. Seems the best way for us is to take a cab from the airport to our hotel. Then have Thrifty come pick me up the next morning.

I have some more questions about our trip mainly Disney. What rides would you consider to be 1 yr old friendly? I know there are not a ton but we would like to go on as many as possible with her!

Also what how about parking? Where is it best for us to park to have easy access to Magic Kingdom?

Also with a child I hear the fireworks can be a little over whelming. Where is the best place to watch the parade and fireworks with an infant?

Thanks in advance!

I have some more questions about our trip mainly Disney. What rides would you consider to be 1 yr old friendly? I know there are not a ton but we would like to go on as many as possible with her!There's nearly nothing for them to ride on. That's why children under 2 get in for free. Your daughter is simply too young to grasp and enjoy the park. Most of the rides in the Magic Kingdom allow her to ride on your lap and the best would be found in Fantasy Land.

Also what how about parking? Where is it best for us to park to have easy access to Magic Kingdom?The Magic Kingdom parking lot.

Also with a child I hear the fireworks can be a little over whelming. Where is the best place to watch the parade and fireworks with an infant?The best viewing area is the center of Main Street facing the castle. No matter where you go it will be loud, but not unduly so. They are fired off from a good distance away. It's really loud at Epcot, but not the MK.

You can view the parade anywhere along the route and it's not loud or overwhelming. For the nighttime parade, I would suggest frontierland, which is near the end of it.

The daytime parade is good anywhere along the route.

Universal has front of the line passes, not Disney.

Not entirely true:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/fast-pass/

Not entirely true:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/fast-pass/
:confused: Disney doesn't sell front of the line passes like Universal does, which is what the OP was asking about.

Fast pass is a completely different animal. You can't buy it, and you have to be in the park to get one for each ride, and then wait at least an hour, sometimes longer, before getting another one.

:confused: Disney doesn't sell front of the line passes like Universal does, which is what the OP was asking about.

Fast pass is a completely different animal. You can't buy it, and you have to be in the park to get one for each ride, and then wait at least an hour, sometimes longer, before getting another one.

The OP stated this:

4. My in-laws i'm not sure if they will want to wait in the sun all day. People have told me about front of the line passes that you can purchase, seems like it might be worth it especially since only 2 of us can go at once as someone needs to stay with our daughter.

He asked about purchasing a ticket that will get him and his family to the front of the line. You're right, you cannot purchase the FastPass ticket, but it does achieve part of the OP's objective (time-certainty for getting onto specific rides and minimization of the waiting time). I thought it was important to point this out to the OP, rather than completely dismissing the idea of a "front-of-the-line" pass. I'm not sure what's confusing about this.

Rides for a one year old would include It's A Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Aladdin's Magic Carpet, Carousel, Winnie the Pooh ride, Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and perhaps Pirates of the Caribbean (it's usually a cooler temperature inside, the wait can be shorter, it's dark which would work when you want her to nap...just be aware there is a small drop on the ride so hold the baby tight until that passes. Not dangerous, you just should be aware of it.)

Country Bear Jamboree is an attraction that might work too (though you might want to plan an exit strategy if she loses interest halfway through) and PhilharMagic might be fine if she isn't at a cranky moment.

As far as the fireworks, I would suggest viewing at one of the Magic Kingdom hotels (Grand Floridian or Polynesian beach/dock area, or Contemporary lobby area).

If it interests you, there are character dining experiences that you can go to with your daughter on a day that you are not at the parks. Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Hotel offers breakfast and dinner featuring Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale; Ohana Restaurant at the Polynesian offers breakfast with Lilo and Stitch, and the Grand Floridian offers a Cinderella breakfast or dinner at 1900 Park Fare. You must reserve ahead of time for these, but you would not need to have park passes to partake in the character meals here.

Hope this helps.

Thank you to both for making it clear about the FastPass tickets. I had already read about them. Do you get to select the time when you want to go on the ride or does it tell you what to go on?

It sounds like maybe in the morning it would be good to go to Fantasy Land and do some of the rides with my daughter on our lap.

I'm also curious to know which of the rides in WDW are the best for adults. Ideally to ensure that we get a fast pass for those that are the most busy and not be surprised by the line ups.

On Tuesday we plan to rent the car and the agency isn't open until 8 AM. We also need to schedule a pickup so I would imagine that they will come pick us up around 8:15 AM and we'll be out of the agency with the car around 9 AM which is when Disney opens. I would have preferred to arrive 30 min before it opens to make our way in but I don't know how important this is. Maybe it makes more sense to go on Wednesday but I heard there is a little less volume of people earlier in the week. Will heading to the monorail around 9:15 AM be a problem or are those 45 min really that valueable? Do they have the fireworks everyday? Also what time are the fireworks at?

Rides for a one year old would include It's A Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Aladdin's Magic Carpet, Carousel, Winnie the Pooh ride, Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and perhaps Pirates of the Caribbean (it's usually a cooler temperature inside, the wait can be shorter, it's dark which would work when you want her to nap...just be aware there is a small drop on the ride so hold the baby tight until that passes. Not dangerous, you just should be aware of it.)

Country Bear Jamboree is an attraction that might work too (though you might want to plan an exit strategy if she loses interest halfway through) and PhilharMagic might be fine if she isn't at a cranky moment.

As far as the fireworks, I would suggest viewing at one of the Magic Kingdom hotels (Grand Floridian or Polynesian beach/dock area, or Contemporary lobby area).

If it interests you, there are character dining experiences that you can go to with your daughter on a day that you are not at the parks. Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Hotel offers breakfast and dinner featuring Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale; Ohana Restaurant at the Polynesian offers breakfast with Lilo and Stitch, and the Grand Floridian offers a Cinderella breakfast or dinner at 1900 Park Fare. You must reserve ahead of time for these, but you would not need to have park passes to partake in the character meals here.

Hope this helps.

What a great list of rides, thank you kindly. We won't be staying at the Disney hotels, will it be a problem if we are there to watch the fireworks?

No it won't be a problem. Take the monorail to the Contemporary or Grand Floridian, or take the resort boats (found at the Magic Kingdom exit) to the Polynesian or Grand Floridian (technically, the boats are for resort guests only and they can ask for ID but I've never seen them do it.)

If you take the boat, once you disembark at the hotel, just turn around and look at the castle and that will give you your best view for fireworks.

If you take the monorail, just ask any cast member to direct you to the best place to see fireworks at the resort. They will not ask if you are staying there.

The Disney hotels have lots of restaurants, shops and common areas that can be visited by anyone, even if you are not a resort guest. When you are done, feel free to take the monorail back to the TTC (ticket and transportation center) to retrieve your car.

Nick, if there is any way you can swing it, I would try to arrive at the Disney parking lot by 830a so that you can be there immediately for the opening. My strategy for you would be to go straight through the castle and hit Dumbo, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Mad Hatter Tea Party (in that order to amximize your riding to waiting ratio), then head to Buzz Lightyear. Older members of your party can either ride Space Mountain at that time or get FastPasses if they wish (no, you can't pick the time but signs clearly tell you what the return time is).

Then you can head back towards Fantasyland and hit the Carousel and It's A Small World (these rides historically have less lines, that's why I did not suggest hitting them first). If you wish, then head over to Pirates of the Caribbean. You'll then be closer to Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad if any of the adults want to do those. (You can do the baby trade-off here, just ask the cast member stationed at each ride.)
Be advised that you will get wet on Splash Mountain, sometimes uncomfortably so. In the hot Florida heat, you usually dry within 30 mins but some people don't appreciate the wetness ;)

I'm stressed just typing it ;) and if it sounds less than relaxing, it is. Disney is not a relaxing vacation, especially when you have only one park day in the heat of the summer with a one year old and two older folks. But I promise you that, if you arrive for the park opening and follow my plan, you will knock out at least 7 of the 9 baby-friendly rides I mentioned in less than two hours.

There's a 3:00 parade and a later one right before the fireworks, but those times change so check on the Disney website before you go and reconfirm with any cast member at the park. (The firework times are also listed at the parking booths as you pay your parking fee.)

The best thing I can suggest is that you have a firm plan beforehand. It sounds like you are really trying to cover all bases and will be prepared when you get there. Nothing worse than seeing a family walk though the park gates and only then open the map and proceed to start asking each family member what they want to do. Total time waster.

Hope that has helped a bit. Feel free to continue asking questions.

No it won't be a problem. Take the monorail to the Contemporary or Grand Floridian, or take the resort boats (found at the Magic Kingdom exit) to the Polynesian or Grand Floridian (technically, the boats are for resort guests only and they can ask for ID but I've never seen them do it.)

If you take the boat, once you disembark at the hotel, just turn around and look at the castle and that will give you your best view for fireworks.

If you take the monorail, just ask any cast member to direct you to the best place to see fireworks at the resort. They will not ask if you are staying there.

The Disney hotels have lots of restaurants, shops and common areas that can be visited by anyone, even if you are not a resort guest. When you are done, feel free to take the monorail back to the TTC (ticket and transportation center) to retrieve your car.
I just discovered an excellent place to view the Fireworks from the contemporary when I was staying there.

There is a terrace on 4 (near the grocery shop) with some seating and the music is piped in. The view might be slightly obstructed by the monorail tracks, depending upon where you stand, but it's still excellent.

I just discovered an excellent place to view the Fireworks from the contemporary when I was staying there.

There is a terrace on 4 (near the grocery shop) with some seating and the music is piped in. The view might be slightly obstructed by the monorail tracks, depending upon where you stand, but it's still excellent.

Agree, that's exactly where I was taking about :) Though I haven't viewed from there since the new bridge/wing were added, the 4th floor concourse north side has a great fireworks view. If you are so inclined, you can hold the stair door open with a pencil (or some similar door jamb ie piece of wood) and climb the staircase for an even more perfect and secluded view. You want to put something in the door to be sure you can get back out ;) My son also downloaded the "Wishes" fireworks music to his ipod and we can sync it to the fireworks show for added viewing pleasure :p

Have you considered hiring a nanny for the day you go to Disney? I say this a parent of a very well traveled child, not as a kid hater.

Everyone in your family would likely have a better day if you did that. A 1yr old will not remember the day at all, will likely be terrified by some of the rides and/or huge characters coming at her, won't get her regular nap, will be too hot and physically miserable sitting a stroller most of the muggy, humid, sticky day. The adults will have to severely limit with they do at the park, and you said you only have 1 day there to see as much as you can, you'll be constantly juggling the stroller, trying to figure how to transfer the baby back and forth at rides, looking for places for diaper changes, trying to find a high chair in the eating areas, etc.

Why not get a nanny for the day, one who will stay at the hotel with you daughter, play with her, let her have her regular nap, etc? Adults can do as much Disney as the heat allows, and everyone will have more fun.

Your daughter would probably enjoy SeaWorld because of the live animals and huge (free) kids' play area and I personally find that park feels cooler on hot days, possibly because of all the water in it.

We used day nannies while traveling until my son was about 4, because sometimes parents like to spend a day or 2 of their vacation doing things that very little kids wouldn't enjoy, and I put taking a 1 yr old to Disney right smack in that category.

CDTraveler, those were my first thoughts as well. It will be miserable enough for the adults, but to add an infant into the mix will just about guarantee a difficult time for everyone.

I think the OP underestimates the crowds and the oppresive heat. Plus, he's not staying on Disney property, so going back to the hotel in the afternoon is going to take even longer.

Sorry, OP - but IMHO, CDTraveler gave you the absolute best advice for your current trip. The rest of us simply were trying to answer your questions, and probably were having the same thoughts.

Hello All,

First let me thank everyone for your continued support on this thread.

I would love to have someone look after our daughter however; 1 we don't know anyone in Orlando and 2 we barely feel comfortable leaving her with her grandparents so leaving her with a complete stranger will be completely out of the question. That is just a personal choice and I would consider your suggestion genius if we have the will power to do that :)

We will stick pretty much to the schedules provided here and we will play it by year, if we are feeling bad or having a hard time with the heat we'll simply leave and come back later in the day. If the day starts out bad we might not even go until the afternoon. Most important is seeing the parade and fireworks that night.

I can completely appreciate the severity of the weather and crowds in Orlando. Going into it knowing how bad it can get at least allows us to be prepared!

We'll be heading there next Monday and I'll be sure to report back once we return.

Thanks again to everyone!

I would love to have someone look after our daughter however; 1 we don't know anyone in Orlando and 2 we barely feel comfortable leaving her with her grandparents so leaving her with a complete stranger will be completely out of the question. That is just a personal choice and I would consider your suggestion genius if we have the will power to do that :)
A piece of parenting advice I got from my mother when my son was 2 days old was to remember that the goal of raising children is to raise them to be independent, and that means sometimes letting go. A sign of an emotionally secure child is one who trusts other adults to care for him/her as well as the parents.

I've hired nannies halfway around the world using agencies. There are many of them in Orlando - call or email a couple Disney hotels and ask who they recommend. Contact the agencies and ask about their license, their policies, if they do background checks, what training their staff has, and any specific question you might have pertaining to your child.

After doing one park with a baby, you might be ready for a sitter before you do a second park. A sunburned, tired, cranky baby isn't going to make for a happy trip for anyone!

Hello All,

First let me thank everyone for your continued support on this thread.

I would love to have someone look after our daughter however; 1 we don't know anyone in Orlando and 2 we barely feel comfortable leaving her with her grandparents so leaving her with a complete stranger will be completely out of the question. That is just a personal choice and I would consider your suggestion genius if we have the will power to do that :)

We will stick pretty much to the schedules provided here and we will play it by year, if we are feeling bad or having a hard time with the heat we'll simply leave and come back later in the day. If the day starts out bad we might not even go until the afternoon. Most important is seeing the parade and fireworks that night.

I can completely appreciate the severity of the weather and crowds in Orlando. Going into it knowing how bad it can get at least allows us to be prepared!

We'll be heading there next Monday and I'll be sure to report back once we return.

Thanks again to everyone!

Go with your instinct. Vacation isn't the time to try a new routine (or caregiver) for your child.

Go with your instinct. Vacation isn't the time to try a new routine (or caregiver) for your child.:confused: What better time could there possibly be? You've already trashed "routine" by changing your life schedule, flying off to a new place, with different food, different water, and a different bed, how much more different is it going to be to keep the same schedule with a different care giver? Meals at the right time, nap at the right time, play while not confined in a stroller outdoors in a miserable heatwave?

I checked the Orlando weather forecast for this week and next; I'd rather try a new babysitter than risk my child's health with extended periods of time exposed to extreme heat as the very young and very old are most at risk of heat stroke, dehydration and related illnesses. To each their own, I suppose.

Personally I don't mind leaving my daughter with friends and family and we have done that quite a bit. It's just a new person that I don't know at all without the ability for my daughter to talk to me and tell me if there is a problem is what bothers me.

We live in Costa Rica where the weather is quite often 30 - 40 degrees Celsius and we know all too well how much care we need to have under the sun. We will be taking every pre-caution necessary. Also most likely my wife and I will go alone to Universal/SeaWorld as I doubt after the Disney trip that the grand parents will want to tag along so we'll most likely have a day to ourselves there. The only 'planned' day we have is at Disney which is the day after we arrive.

Also for those in the same situation with the baby. Here is what we finally decided on for transportation solution.

1. Rent the car and pickup directly from the airport ( this won't eat up valuable time the next morning )

2. Rent the car-seat but RETURN it the next day during the lunch break. I already called and verified that I can return it at the kiosk 5 min away from the hotel so this won't be a problem at all! We bought a decent one on Amazon for $49. Thrifty's has a max of $75 for the car seat, so this method still ends up being cheaper and we can give the seat away at the end of our trip.

:confused: What better time could there possibly be? You've already trashed "routine" by changing your life schedule, flying off to a new place, with different food, different water, and a different bed, how much more different is it going to be to keep the same schedule with a different care giver? Meals at the right time, nap at the right time, play while not confined in a stroller outdoors in a miserable heatwave?

I checked the Orlando weather forecast for this week and next; I'd rather try a new babysitter than risk my child's health with extended periods of time exposed to extreme heat as the very young and very old are most at risk of heat stroke, dehydration and related illnesses. To each their own, I suppose.

Really? With all of the other changes you've aptly noted, you want to change the one thing the child thinks he/she can count on? The parents as caregivers? Like you said, to each his/her own, I suppose. Seems like a terrible idea to me.

I can't figure out why you're not staying on site with a 1 year old...Even two value resort rooms would be better than your plan for Floridays. If you stayed on site you wouldn't need a car since you can use Disney's Magical Express for free transportation to and from your resort.

You can also get the food plan which often comes out cheaper than cooking meals.

And most important you can leave the parks by 11 and go swimming have a nap and hop on a free bus back and forth to your resort.

I mean it. Driving from I-Drive will mean only one thing. You'll stay too long at the parks and never go back later in the day. It's just too much hassle!

We took my daughter and then 1 year old grandson in September. We thought we would melt. We were so glad we stayed on site so we could all swim a little and rest. Otherwise our vacation would have horrible especially for the baby. Think about it. 100 degrees and trapped in a hot carriage all day. Would you like that?

Just a quick question about car dental insurance. Is turre any mandatory insurance in Florida? I habe insurance with my visa but the huy who rented me the car told me i has to pay the 20/day for some BASIC insurance? Is this True?

Just a quick question about car dental insurance. Is turre any mandatory insurance in Florida? I habe insurance with my visa but the huy who rented me the car told me i has to pay the 20/day for some BASIC insurance? Is this True?

dental or rental?

It's always a good idea to check with your own auto insurance company to see exactly what they cover in a rental car. If your credit card covers "collision damage waiver" or "loss damage waiver", that "may" be all you need. Look into it!

Sorry i meant rental. Was typing in the parking lot about to leave for Disney.

I ended up cancelling the uninsured waiver (if someone without insurance crashes into me i'm covered) but since in Florida everyone must have basic insurance i don't see that being a problem for the most part.

Regarding our trip to Disney today. So we had arrived with the set plan as discussed and suggested here. It went off great! However we didn't leave at 11 am. We ended up staying straight through to 5 pm as we felt the climate although warm was not hard to bear. Our daughter didn't have any problems either. We made all the rides without a hitch except dumbo which was closed for repiars.

Only thing i would add for other readers is if you are going with older folks who won't go on the rollercoasters or log rides then consider using their two tickets to get more quick pases at different rides. We made the mistake of getting all 4 of the fastpass's for the same ride thinking they would come and if we would have only done 2 at each ride we could have streetched the fast pass to 2 other rides but we still got on splash mountain and space mountain, both were great experiences.

Tomorrow well relax around the hotel and then head out shopping later this week.

About staying on site. We only wanted one day at disney and the price of even the cheap rooms was NOT less than floridays! We did take advantage of a special and got one nite free in addition to an extremely good nightly rate due to booking months in advance.

Regards,
Nick

Nick, good to hear it worked out for you!

Enjoy the rest of your stay.

So glad to hear you are enjoying a great family vacation!!

Really? With all of the other changes you've aptly noted, you want to change the one thing the child thinks he/she can count on? The parents as caregivers? Like you said, to each his/her own, I suppose. Seems like a terrible idea to me.Are you saying that a child can only depend on parents as caregivers? That a child should be utterly dependent on two adults for her/his security, and shouldn't be encouraged to develop trust in other adults?

This is a 1 yr old, not a newborn, we're talking about. By that age, my son was happy to interact with other adults because he had previous positive experience being cared for by adults other than his parents. Kids learn what they live, and smothering has never struck me as a good idea.

Are you saying that a child can only depend on parents as caregivers? That a child should be utterly dependent on two adults for her/his security, and shouldn't be encouraged to develop trust in other adults?

This is a 1 yr old, not a newborn, we're talking about. By that age, my son was happy to interact with other adults because he had previous positive experience being cared for by adults other than his parents. Kids learn what they live, and smothering has never struck me as a good idea.

That's not even close to what I said.

I posted that, among all of the other disruptions to a "normal" routine, vacation isn't the time to introduce new caregivers.