Disney trip

Ok, I asked about seats on the carseat board, so I thought I would move over here to see if anyone wanted to sharesome Disney advice. I have not been to disney since 1977, so I'm guessing alot has changed!

It will be me and ds (4). This is a "we have been through it and need a serious break " indulgence trip.
Ds says he loves rides, but when he cannot control the movement he gets alittle uncomfortable if I am not on the ride with him. He loves shows, characters, and any kind of performances. He is crazy about water and swimming. He is familar with most things Disney (he loves the disney channel), but has not watched more then a few minutes of any movies (he is a very sensitive soul). He has been to Disney on Ice and was mesmerized.

I am leaning at staying at a value disney resort. I would like to stay several days at disney and also go to seaworld. Any suggustions?

How many days would you suggust? (Ds can go all day, he does not nap, or sleep much period). I tend to be one of those folsk who approach vacation like a military operation, iykwim. Since ds has come along I am learning to slow down, take things "out of order", and just "chill".

Do you think I should take his stroller or wait and rent one if needed? I have a back injury, so carrying him for long is difficult.

Has anyone been to the pirate dinner theatre? Ds loves pirates, but again is very sensitive.

Any advice/suggustions would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks,
Wendy

Sorry just realized you started this thread here, I just posted some more info on the other one. If I think of more, I'll post it here.

I would probably try to bring a small stroller if possible. Do you have a lightweight one with a carry strap? He is 4 and will inevitiably get tired of walking eventually. My dd is almost 4 and we still take our Mac Volo when we go to Disney, Sea World, and the like. The parks can get very crowded and I am scared to death of losing my dd! She also gets tired and will ask to be carried, and that just isn't going to happen - and I don't even have back problems! Plus, the stroller could be used to hold purchases when ds is not in it. You can certainly rent one if you would prefer, but I don't suggest it unless you reserve it ahead of time. With peak season coming up, there likely won't be any strollers to rent without a reservation.

They have Fast Pass for a lot of the rides, so that should make for less waiting in line. Fast Pass is the only way we will do Disney!

If he's mostly familiar with Playhouse Disney, he's going to love going to MGM. He will be able to see Little Einsteins, Stanley, and all of his favorite characters.

Are you going to go to either one of the water parks? I think Typhoon Lagoon is geared more toward the younger crowd. We used to go all the time. DD loves it there, and she got to see Lilo and Stitch - her favorite characters at the time!

And - if you go to Sea World, be sure to bring ds's swim trunks. They have a great area in the Shamu's Happy Harbor where he can play in the water. I've learned since moving to FL to bring dd's swim suit wherever we go because there will more than likely be an area for water play!

That's all I can think of for now....

Disney alone has so much to offer that it is just overwhelming. While Seaworld is our favorite park in Orlando (we're just water people), Disney alone will offer more than you can do in a week (probably more). Disney has (on property) 4 water parks, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom, and probably more that I just can't think of! If you can stay on property for several days you can spend a day (or more) practically free just cruising around the resorts checking things out and relaxing. The resorts are really top notch with activities for kids everywhere (free!). Plus, this is good to scope things out for any future trips. They used to (probably still do) offer a park pass package that includes resort + all parks, which is really cool because if one park is crowded, you can just bail out and check out another. We went to Animal Kingdom shortly after it first opened and it was so packed that we bailed out after 2 hours. If we had just paid for that park for the day, I would've vapor-locked! They also have a lot of special programs at Disney, but they are pretty pricey. We did a behind the scenes tour that was like $150 a piece, but took you underground the Magic Kingdom and a ton of other stuff that most people never see. Anyhow, I better stop there. You might search for a Disney forum, I wouldn't doubt if there are some out there!

Let us know how Disney with a 4year old goes.

We just went to DL in Feb. Aiden was almost 5 and Mikkel was 22 mo. We stayed off-site but it was right across the street from the gates so we walked everywhere.

I bought a Maclaren Twin Techno for the trip and am so glad I did. Aiden spent 95% of his time in the stroller... he's also a stroller kid though, much prefers riding to walking. If your DS likes to ride, I would probably take a light umbrella for him just in case... the stroller rental line-ups were ridiculously long when we were there and they were quite bulky, especially for a 4 year old.

We're debating on whether to go to DW next or back to DL. I'm not sure how much there is for little kids to do at DW and then the whole carseat situation... I get very nervous if my kids are not in seats, so I'd be interested on hearing how it went when you get back.