Travelling with a 2.5yr old whilst pregnant .... - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
We're on the verge of booking a couple of nights at Sequoia Lodge in September to celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary having stayed at NPBC for our honeymoon.
We've been to the parks a few times but not for 4-5 years so I'm struggling to get my head around changes and how to "do" the parks with a toddler. Added to the mix will be that I will be nearly 7 months pregnant!
So we'll need to keep it as relaxing as possible, keep walking to the minimum as well as seeing as much as possible and spending as little as possible! We considered other holidays but decided that we were always disappointed with them compared with Disney even with these restrictions.
We're planning on taking the buggy (will it be safe-ish if we all go on a ride together? obviously carrying any valubles with us), loaded with a small amount of snacks and drinks. Waterproof and warm clothes to cover those eventualities. Hopefully a toddler won't have too much of an idea about spending loads on souveniers and will also prevent the option of lovely sit down dinners.
So any pointers please? Are the buses from hotel to park worth using? Does the hotel pool really not open until the afternoon (I'm sure I read this somewhere)? Is it worth getting up for breakfast at 7am to avoid the rush?
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I can't help much - the only thing I would say is that it's worth getting up early to avoid the rush. We much prefer an early breakfast and then getting straight into the parks.
We've never personally used the buses to get to and from the parks from the hotels. We've always walked. My friend did take them and found them fine, but I know when she went, there were problems with pickpockets on the bus - someone had their purse stolen on their bus and hers was stolen and she thinks it could've been on the bus. I don't know if those problems remain now (this was last October), but it's worth keeping a close eye - and probably hand - on valuables on the buses, just to be safe.
That sounds like you have a wonderful trip coming up! Taking your little one to DLP for the first time will probably be both amazing and a little overwhelming at times - especially with you being 7-months pregnant!
In the Disneyland Park, I assume you'll end up spending a great deal of your time in Fantasyland, simply because there are the most attractions suitable for a 2 year old (and a pregnant lady, for that matter ) there: Dumbo, the fairy boats, It's a Small World, the Lancelot carrousel, maybe even Casey Jr. (circus train). At the Walt Disney Studios Park, only Stitch live and the Flying Carpets are toddler-friendly.
If it's raining (which happened to me in September 2007 on 3 of our 4 days at DLP ), your best bet will be to find a restaurant and sit it out. Unfortunately, most of the parks isn't very pleasant in heavy rain.
I've stayed at the Sequoia Lodge twice so far and love it! There's a very cute photo op corner where they bring out characters at certain times a day. It would make for an adorable pic with your little one Also, I think one of the restaurants at the Sequoia Lodge offers a buffet for dinner. In December, the hotel pool was open in the mornings. It may differ based on how full the hotel is. We were there right before Christmas so the pool got pretty crowded in the late afternoon.
The bus from the Sequoia Lodge runs frequently. It may get pretty crowded, though, and honestly, the walk from the bus station to the park entrance is only slightly shorter than walking directly from the hotel. I have back problems so I can't walk too much but we ended up not taking the bus once last time we were there.
I know that most people feel comfortable leaving their buggy outside when enjoying an attraction. As long as you take anything "loose" with you, it should be fine.
About the "getting up early to avoid the rush" question, well, I guess it depends. If you're at DLP in September during the week (Monday through Thursday especially), the parks won't be too crowded. They do fill up on sunny days on the weekends, however. I'd get to the parks early on those days. Also, if your DH wants to ride Crush's Coaster or the Tower of Terror (both rides you can't go on while being pregnant, sorry) in the Walt Disney Studios Park, I suggest going early at least one day or the wait will be 90 minutes (Crush's Coaster doesn't have FP).
That's all I can think of right now. Hope it helps!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
) there: Dumbo, the fairy boats, It's a Small World, the Lancelot carrousel, maybe even Casey Jr. (circus train). At the Walt Disney Studios Park, only Stitch live and the Flying Carpets are toddler-friendly. 
), your best bet will be to find a restaurant and sit it out. Unfortunately, most of the parks isn't very pleasant in heavy rain. 
There's a very cute photo op corner where they bring out characters at certain times a day. It would make for an adorable pic with your little one 
Linear Mode
