21 month old

[terlane97]

We going to WDW in May and our DS will be 22 mos and I was wondering how other parents of children handle their mode of transportation with them as to whether they let them walk, use a stroller or a "leash" for them. Our DS gets fidgety in the stroller and wants to get out but he is not very good at "listening" to us...um he likes to run (fast) and I am not sure of what places WDW has for toddlers that age so I can just let him be "free" for a bit....

 

[dman11]

A stroller is a must for a little one at WDW. Bring your own, they usually feel more comfortable in their own stroller than a rented one.

We took our DD when she was about a year older than your DS and took our stroller which she would use when tired but rarely any other time, unless we insisted, because there was so much else to do and see. We would either cary her or hold her hand.

There are quite a few places around WDW to let little ones get out and play. At MK there's Pooh's playground and the jungle gym in Toon Town and MGM has the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.

Just a personal opinion (please don't anyone get mad, it's just my opinion) but I hate to see kids tethered on a leash. Leashes should be reserved for dogs not kids. I would much rather hold their hand.

 

[SnowWhite12]

We are going first week of June, and DD will be 25 months then. We are bringing her stroller, but we will definitely be using the child harness that we just bought. She will not walk while holding her hand. She loves to walk but always tries to run ahead. We are just not willing to risk her getting hurt or lost in the parks; so a "leash" we will use. Bought the one at Babies R' Us that goes around the chest.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Bring the stroller and the harness. I took my kids in the fall and my ds was 20 mos. He is not a stroller lover but surprisingly he didn't really want to walk much. I think all the people can be really intimidating to a little one. I would rather see a child harnessed than running away from their parents. You know your little one best, if hand holding doesn't work, use the leash!

I bet your little one will sit in the stroller a ton more than you think. Dinsey is tiring!

 

[Tigger&Aidan]

We took our DS last year at that age and he was ok with being in the stroller and hand holding otherwise. It seemed to work ok if we let him "loose" for a little while - like the Pooh playground at MK, which he loved! We took my parents with us, so they were able to help with taking turns holding hands, etc - you know how it can be to deal with a 2 yr old that only wants to hold grandma's hand right now but in 5 mintues, only wants to hold Mommy's hand...

Now, this year when we go back, it will likely be a different story! He's not much for hand holding and doesn't listen well, so we'll consider the "leash". I don't think i'd normally use this at home, but given the crowdsat WDW, I'd probably feel better if I knew he couldn't get away....

 

[surfer_ed]

The stroller is good to carry your stuff, keeping your hands free, during the times he is not in it.

 

[Princess Roo]

When we took DS at 21 months, he didn't want much to do with the stroller, except for the long walks. We just made him hold our hand if he wanted to get out. If he let go, he got 1 warning and then would be put back in the stroller or picked up. He "got it" pretty quickly and then it worked well for us

 

[A&J's mom]

We are going at the end of June and our DS will be 22 mos. He usually does really well in the stroller, but I know he'll want to get out and run. I have considered the 'leash' and even saw a thread about it a couple of weeks ago, but can't remember where it was at. I'm hoping that he'll do really good holding our hands and my parents are going with us so we'll have two more sets of eyes watching him and DD!