Vacation Planning Help!

[Zeike]

Hi to all. Here is our situation, we have a 5 yeard old, plus twins. We are planning on a trip for Jan. 2008, the twins will be only 10 months old. We are worried about baby provisions, best time to go, best place to stay for now a family of 5 and any past experiences you great people have had with a similar situation. We last visited on 2004, we just don't want to penalize the 5 year old and make him wait until the twins get some age. Any help?? Thanks!

[Strmchsr]

Baby provisions won't be a problem. If you rent a car, there's a Walmart, Publix, etc not too far away. If you don't rent a car the resorts will all have the basic baby supplies, but you can also order from Garden Grocer (http://www.gardengrocer.com/) and have whatever you need delivered to your room. As for which resort, that really doesn't matter too much. I assume you'll want a crib (which Disney can provide) for the babies. That still leaves plenty of room for the rest of you no matter which resort you're in. POR is often a good one for families, especially with the trundle bed, but any of the resorts will be fine depending on your budget.

[RaRaRoundTheWorld]

We went this past January (and are planning to go again this upcoming January). Our DS was a little older - 18 mo, and my sister-in-law went with a 10 mo. old. Here are some things I/we did:

- Bring a good stroller with storage. But, be prepared to remove the contents for the gate security check.
- There are baby care centers, with microwaves, at all the parks.
- We brought disposable bibs, stick-on placemats, a bottle washer, a small container of dish soap for the sippies and bottles, and a small box of laundry detergent.
- Visit the parks early. The crowds are lower and line waits are lower.
- The MK train or transit authority are great ways to have fun and get in a little relaxation.
- Get fastpasses for everything even if the lines aren't bad. We literally walked on to every ride.
- The hotel counter-service restaurants will bag up your meals for take-away.
- Most airlines will allow you to check your stroller just before you enter the airplane, we just had to tell them at check-in.
- We both used Garden Grocer for snacks and water, but we brought our own diapers and wipes. We had no issues with the service, which was very timely.
- Request a fridge. Our hotel gave us one, as well as a step stool for the sinks, at no extra charge.
- I scheduled 3-4 hours to stay in our hotel around nap time. We personally don't like to let our kids nap in their stroller and my DH and I also enjoyed the mid-day break.
- We stayed at a monorail hotel, since we were really only planning to visit the MK and didn't rent a car. It was so easy, and our kids (still preschoolers) loved the MK the best.
- We booked an MK view room so we could see the fireworks and water pagent from our balcony. This was great when the little ones fell asleep early.
- Although we didn't want to use it, the hotels have kids clubs that perhaps your 5 year old might want to use while the little ones nap.

I'm sorry so much is about the MK - that's just where we ended up the most. I could go on, but I don't want to bore you!
Good luck!

[NJMan66]

Hi to all. Here is our situation, we have a 5 yeard old, plus twins. We are planning on a trip for Jan. 2008, the twins will be only 10 months old. We are worried about baby provisions, best time to go, best place to stay for now a family of 5 and any past experiences you great people have had with a similar situation. We last visited on 2004, we just don't want to penalize the 5 year old and make him wait until the twins get some age. Any help?? Thanks!

If money is not an issue in your plans, you would be most comfortable in a 2 Bedroom at one of the DVC properties - Saratoga Springs, Beach Club, Boardwalk... I only suggest this because having 3 rooms with young children will just make your experience that much better for you and your 5 yr old; especially at night when the younger kids go to bed.