Orlando Vacation

You can get info on Disney World at disneyworld.com. They have a "Mom's Panel" on there that is really good. It answers lot of questions. You can bring a cooler into the park but there are very specific requirements as to how big they can be. I don't know what they are, have not looked it up yet. But you can go there and check the requirements. My suggestion for the park, we are going in June and have not been before (doing lot of studying), is either Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom. They seem best for young children.
Good Luck!

Found this online:

You can bring a cooler into the parks with a few exceptions. There are size restrictions whether it is a cooler with or without wheels. I will list all of the items that a guest is not permitted to bring into the park (including the size restrictions) as it is listed on the Walt Disney World website so you can see not only the cooler restrictions but other items in case you are curious for future reference so there is no confusion.

Items that you may not bring into the Theme Parks include, but are not limited to:

Items with wheels, such as wagons, skateboards, scooters, inline skates, shoes with built-in wheels, two-wheeled or three-wheeled conveyances, strollers larger than 36" x 52", suitcases, coolers, or backpacks with or without wheels larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high (coolers required for medication may be stored in a locker or at Guest Relations), and any trailer-like object that is pushed or towed by an ECV wheelchair or stroller
Alcoholic beverages
Weapons of any kind
Folding chairs
Glass containers (excluding baby food jars and perfume bottles)
Pets (unless they are service animals)
In Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park (for the safety of the wildlife), balloons, straws and drink lids are not permitted.

Note: Guests are not permitted to pull items behind them. Any item that requires a Guest to pull it behind them, including a stroller, is not permitted into the Park.

I hope this answers your question. Have a magical day!

Best wishes,

Hello M. S,
I can maybe answer a few of your questions. In regards going to Disney, take a plastic cup with you, so you can fill it up with water from water fountains through out the day. If you are going this summer, it is very hot. Buy you a little fan (hopefully one that holds water and can spray) that can be hung around your neck, when not holding it up to cool you off. It gets extremely warm there. You can purchase these in the park, but you'll pay a good penny. I do not believe you can take in a cooler. Learn the 'fast past' system, before you go. This will save you time with standing in line. We learned about it so late into our day. Well all i can think of, hope this helps.

Car seats are available at an additional cost from most major car rental companies. Some people prefer to bring their carseats and have the children sit in them on the plane if you are buying a ticket for them. It gives them some familiarity in an unfamiliar situation. MAke sure you use some coupons when you rent the car, there are bunch out there that can really help. (If you need info on that just email me back.) As to your stroller question, you can not bring it on the plane. It will be gate checked. Which means you leave it at the door of the airplane when you board and they bring it back to you as you deplane in the jetway. We went to Disney this year with 2 little ones and we rented the double stroller at the park. It worked out perfectly, it has lots of pockets and places to put things. You can bring food and water into the park which was a surprise to me. We brought water and juice boxes and snacks and only ate one restaurant meal per day while at the parks. It worked great for us.

My family is doing the florida vacaton as well. We found that we saved almost 1000$ by taking the trip to Tampa instead. Hotels are cheaper, you still have the great beaches, zoo and aquarium. Disney is only about an hour and a half away so we are taking our kids to disney for a day as well. Have fun!!

We have done a LOT of flying and this is what I have found: if you are buying your child a ticket, a car seat and stroller are allowed and do not count towards baggage. If you are not buying a ticket, some nice people will allow it not to count as baggage, but most people will count it towards your total. Call the car rental and find out if or how much they charge for car seats. Its usually been pretty minimal if any charge, although we have been unpleasantly surprised once. Since you are doing a family reunion, I HIGHLY suggest calling people who are driving, even if you do not know them well, and asking around if anyone has extra car seats or cribs, etc. EVEN if you are allowed to bring all these things, let me tell you, pushing a stroller, and trying to pull luggage, and two cars seats through the airport, especially if you have to make bathroom trips, the whole thing is a challenge. If you can get someone to bring these items for you, it is such a blessing. ALSO, if you have not traveled recently, most airlines will ask for your baby's birth certificate, especially if they are riding on your lap, so make sure you have that or something that shows my age, because once when my daughter was 22 months, we had a real battle because they said she was over 2 and federal requirements wouldn't let her on without proof of her age. Pack baby benadryl in case of ear trouble or fussiness (also, my Dr. told me recently, taking a sudafed before flying can really help prevent ear trouble in adults). We just bought a portable DVD player and it made our last flight SO much more relaxing (if you don't have one, ask your friends if you can borrow one, or most laptops have a feature that plays DVDs) One of the tricks that has helped me the most is, after you pass through security, buy water. We always pack snacks, and not drinks because you can't get them through security, but sometimes it is a LONG wait until they bring drinks, so a little something to hold the kids over really helps. Wear shoes that slip off so you don't have to struggle with lacing up while pushing a double stroller. Good luck, the whole thing can be a bit of a challenge, but a fun experience anyway.

I went to Disney when I was 17. There are three different parks. Depending on when your going and what you want to do, I would try to schedule it out before hand with an outside ride then an indoor ride or 3D movie. It gets super hot and kids get tired quickly. I dont think we were allowed to bring any outdoor food. Its really expensive to eat there too. Go to the Disney site to plan out the day. Have fun.

You can rent car seats with your rental, but they can cost as much as $25 per day per seat. We always take our seat with us, but you need to check with your airline to see how you will be charged. We fly southwest and they count a car seat and a pack/play as one item. If you purchased the seats for your kids (they are not lap children) you can take your car seat on with you and use it on the plane. As for your stroller you can take it all the way to the entrance of the plane. There is an exterior door at the end of the jetway where you leave your stroller, they put it on the plane very last and when you get off in Florida it will be returned to you at the same location. Sometimes you have to wait a few minutes for them to bring it up and make sure you get the ticket agent to gate check the stroller before leaving it at the door. Have a great vacation.

Hi, my name is S. and I own the Dream Dinners on 620. I have taken my kids to Disneyworld or land every year for the past 10. You will gate check you stroller when you board and it will be there when you arrive. The Magic Kingdom is a wonderful place for little ones, but can be very overwhelming. Plan on not seeing everything in one day, which means you will have to go back when they are older. You can't take in coolers, but you can take a backpack with "snacks" for little ones. The best secret is the powder packets that can be added to water. You can buy a few bottles of water and have drinks all day! There is also a "Mommy and baby" area at the park which allows you to have a calm place to change diapers get a bottle or whatever. Last time all diaper supplies were free. You can also save money by staying somewhere with a kitchen. If you do that, take some meals with you. We have lots of clients who travel with there dinners to save money.

CAn't help you with the Theme parks as I have never actually been to Disney World only Land (in CA). . . but can help with the others

car seats - -I haven't rented on myself, but I know that the internet reservations give you a place to click for extras such as car seats. When my brother brought neice to TX to visit while still needing one, they checked her seat in as luggage. I beleive most airlines still allow a car seat as a no charge check-in piece. . . I would feel safer with my own so would check the airline first.

Stroller - see this one all the time - - use the stroller - double or single - to go to the gate - kiddo's have to come out to go through security checkpoint but then you can put them back while you get re-dressed :-) When you get to the gate, tell the counter person that you will need to gate check the stroller, they will tag it and when you get on board, you just leave it at the door . . . when you land, they will bring it back to you at the door.

Airlines want you to take family vacations so they make things as easy as they "safely" can.

Good luck and have fun!

Usually they let you use your stroller up to the gate and then you check it and they will bring it to you at the next gate when you arrive. You can also check your car seats...I don't think they count this as extra baggage...check with the airline. Disney is great (for adults too :) Our double stroller had a major tire blow out and we had to rent...so they have back up. Not sure about the cooler...our favorite park was Magic Kingdom...it was magic :)

You've already gotten some great advice! I just have to respond though because we have 4 kids (ages 10, 7, 3, 1) and are heading to Disney World in just a few weeks. We've gone several times over the past few years and LOVE it. If you're going to only pick one park, I definitely recommend Magic Kingdom. It's just classic Disney and there are TONS of rides for even the youngest little ones.

Just be patient, don't stress out, you won't see every single thing, just enjoy the time there. They have a great nighttime parade where all the characters have lights all over their costumes. My kids LOVE that.

Like I said, the most important thing about going to Disney World is just to relax, soak up what you can, watch your kiddos face(s) light up and take lots of pics. You can even print off a customized map of the park ahead of time where you can choose which rides/attractions you are most interested in seeing. Then your map will only show those things -- that way you don't feel overwhelmed with everything there is to choose from.

Have a great trip!!!

I take it you are flying there? You can check the car seats from home for free (they are "safety devices"). The car rental place does have car seats, but they charge you per day per seat. I ended up paying more for car seats than the car the last time that I did that. I thought it would be easier.

Disney discourages coolers. Take snacks in the diaper bag. Ask for cups of ice then fill them at the water fountain. Water is free. Get large drinks with no ice, then cups of ice. Share meals. exp. Get one hamburger with fries, the next with the fruit. (desert) or no fries at all. saves $ Can you drive? from Austin its a 19 hr drive straight thru. We've done it for 25 yrs. 15 of those with just the husband & I trading off the driving. Driving is a lot cheeper. sounds like you have little ones. Go to the Magic Kingdom. If a ride has a height retriction ask the person at the front of the ride if they have a baby trade off, that way, all stand in line once, but you both get to ride.(Space Mntn, Big Thunder, Splash) Utlilize the fast pass system. Why wait in one 45 min. line when you can ride 2 other rides, then wait 5 minutes at the fast pass one. (Jungel Cruise, Pooh) Me? I'm 49, married 31 yrs, gone to WDW in June for 25 yrs. with now a 26, 25,24,16,15 yr old. Yes my kids have grown up going to Disney every yr. Now they plan their vacations at the same time.

You didn't say how old your children are nor if you are travelling alone. I will imagine that they are 1 or 2. Take your stroller. It is essential to have a place to corral kids in the airport, and also a place where they can fall asleep if need be.
RE: the flight. Take new toys that you buy at the dollar store. They should be small things that you can pop out when things get stressful as little ones are not big on sitting for long periods. Wind up plastic toys are on sale now from post Easter chicks and bunnies. If your husband is with you, take turns running the kids in empty corridors before your flights so they won't be so miserable sitting.
Bring twice as many snacks and diapers as you think you might need. The airline does not provide the diapers and snacks don't arrive when kids want them. Bring emergency goodies that they don't get at home- maybe a tootsie pop or two. All these things will make your life easier as well as that of the other passengers.
Depending on the age, do dry runs of the flights. Seat them in chairs one behind the other. "first the lady says: Please be seated, be sure your seatbelts are securly fastened.....etc." Then do all of the noise and bumps of the plane. Remind them that we can get up when the "sit down" light if off. But then we have to get back in our seats. Try to travel when they would be sleeping. If small, they can use their carseats and might sleep comfortably. Don't forget loveys, stuffed toys etc. You will need that stroller to lug it all to the gate.
Go early to Disney, it is cooler. Go to hotel, nap, go back.
Good luck. Invasions are planned with less strategizing.
K.

Some car rentals charge you for using their carseats and some don't. Also, you can brang the stroller, they will put it on the plane for u. When you give them your boardin
g pass they will check it for you. Also, see if your insurance company has discounts for car rentals because we have Usaa and we get major discounts.