Disney with a 2 year 10 month old boy

[wdwnewfnut]

I'm starting to officially plan our DS's first trip to Disney World for September 2014 at a value resort for two weeks. We have been twice before and I did do a ridiculous amount of research before both trips. I've started looking at the changes since our last trip in 2010. What I'm looking for is others experiences with an almost 3 year old boy. I understand that every child is different and that I don't know what my child is going to be like yet, he's almost 15 months now. I also understand that it is going to be a completely different trip than our previous ones. It will be all about him, his pace, his naps. I'm really excited that our trip is finally within sight! I've been dreaming of this trip since before DS was conceived. We are hoping to be able to visit every 3-4 years. Any and all experiences are greatly appreciated! I would like the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

[scoutie]

I think as long as you have realistic expectations (which it seems like you do), then you'll have a great time! My son was just two when we went (along with our older kids), and he had a great time. He enjoyed the electrical parade, looking at the action (sometimes from a distance!) and enjoyed many of the rides. What surprised me is that he didn't like any kind of fireworks.

We got to the parks early at rope drop, stayed there until noon and went back to the resort for naps/swim/rest. One of the days, he slept in his stroller, so we just continued our day at the park that day.

Follow his lead!

 

[jkgpa]

My middle DD was a month shy of turning three for her first trip to WDW. She had an awesome time. She was old enough that she wasn't intimidated by the characters (older DD was just under two for her first trip and even Pooh terrified her - of course, every kid is different). I would definitely say at that age it's a good idea to familiarize them with characters from Disney movies pre-trip, so they can enjoy that aspect. We went in September when crowds are very light, so we didn't have to wait in hour-long lines. The parks close earlier then, though, so we eliminated hotel break/nap time during the day and just stayed in the parks through the afternoon until we were ready to go back for the evening for dinner and/or pool time. Our almost-three-year-old enjoyed fountains, bird/duck watching, and the like just as much as the attractions, so be sure to take time to just let your kid find things that interest him rather than following a rigid to-do list. Also, our DD was potty-trained prior to visiting, which I think makes things a little easier in the parks, so I would try to get that done before you go.

 

[wdwnewfnut]

Thank you jkgpa and scouti! My fingers are crossed for being potty trained. I'm really excited to see what DS enjoys.

 

[electricsoup]

We've been a number of times with kids between 9mo and almost 5 now, and the thing we've learned best is to watch THEM for clues. If they're acting cranky - they're probably tired, overwhelmed or hungry. Let their mood (mostly) dictate the day.

At 2.5, my son was TERRIFIED of the characters. At 3, not so much. At 4+ he loves them. My daughter never had a moment of fear from 9 months to our last visit (ended yesterday ) and gave out lots of hugs and love to them. Just be prepared for either scenario.

We have lots of small snacks, lidded sippy cup and the milk boxes you don't have to refrigerate with us at all times. Saves the day when lines are long or when they just want a familiar snack.

Have a great trip!!

 

[FortForever]

We took our grandson last summer, just one month after his third birthday. Overall, we all had a great time.

His favorite ride was (and still is) Peter Pan and he wanted to do that over and over again. It turned into a bit of an issue on that trip since he kept wanting to go back to it. Other rides he enjoyed that trip were Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo & Flying carpets, Speedway, Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh, and maybe some others that I'm forgetting. He now likes Little Mermaid too, but it wasn't open yet when he was that young.

He was okay with Pirates of the Caribbean but scared by Haunted Mansion. He enjoyed the parades but hated the fireworks.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

On our first trip our younger DD was 2.5. Her favorite rides were Buzz Lightyear and Goofy's Barnstormer. She was not fond of Haunted Mansion or ITTbaB. She also hated the fireworks (all of the nighttime shows). They were just too loud. Now at 6, she still doesn't particularly care for them, I think as a result of not liking them from such an early age.

 

[jmclester]

Thank you jkgpa and scouti! My fingers are crossed for being potty trained. I'm really excited to see what DS enjoys.

In a word.....pull-ups!

Just got back with granddaughter who is 2 yrs 11 months. We stayed in the parks from rope drop to close and she napped with ease in her stoller both days. Aside from that she was a model child and enjoyed everything and walked a lot too. You'll be pleasantly surprised hopefully as I was!

 

[HappyHaunts999]

When my son 1st went to disney he was just under 3. Loved the speedway, everything in FantasyLand, parades and fireworks. He did not like the characters at first but slowly warmed up to them. He also loved the pool and playing mini golf. Not at disney, but his all time favorite thing was Gatorland. He LOVED feeding them. Best advice is to follow his lead. You will quickly find out what he likes and doesn't like. Enjoy this time and try not to stress. Everyone is different and so is each trip. Take lots of pictures and enjoy his reactions. Time goes by quickly. My little boy is now 17 and thankfully still loves disney, but now his focus is on Star Wars Weekends.

 

[lisagirl88]

We took our twins last year when they were 2 yrs. 9 months and they had a blast. I was actually happy that they weren't fully potty trained at the time because when you are in the middle of a show, in line for a ride or not near a bathroom it is handy to have the pull ups!!! My toddlers also use the pottly a lot. My twins HATED the fireworks, but they pretty much loved everything else. I honestly think they liked the resort pool(we stayed in a family suite at ASMu)just as much as all the rides HAve fun!!!!

 

[claryche]

We took our son on his first trip at 18 months, but then again at 2 and a half and 3. So really close to your son's age.

First wanted to say don't stress on the potty training thing. My son wasn't even potty trained at 3, he actually turned 3 at Disney and wasn't trained until a month later. And except for having to carry pull ups to the parks, I would have rather had it that way over being in line and having to rush him to the potty, because at least with him when he was first trained, it was a last minute gotta go now thing.

Second, my son loves characters always have. I prepared him a little bit before by taking him places that had characters, like Chuck E Cheese, Red Robin and local mascots. I think it really helped. Also you might want to have an early on Character meal, and maybe let that be the first experience with them. I think it might be less strained. Maybe. And let me tell you our best character dining is always at O'hana for breakfast. The characters always seem to have more time to spend with us, as compared to Chef Mickey's.

Third, my son was still napping at that age, and we would schedule a nap back in the room. But let me tell you it never happened that way. We would head back to the room, lights out and all of us would lay down and he was just too excited to take a nap. We would even wait for an hour and no nap. So then we would be like well let's go back to the parks and he would fall asleep on the bus or in the stroller as soon as we got there. So I finally was like he'll sleep when he needs to sleep and I'm not going to worry about it.

Fourth, my son loved all the rides at that age. I will tell you though that sometimes it's the rides that you don't expect to scare them, that will. When my son was 3, we rode Living with the Land for the first time, and the thunderstorm at the beginning scared him. POTC didn't even scare him as much as LWTL scared him. And the only part of POTC that scared him was the fog at the beginning, but he still loved it.

Fifth, baby care centers are good even for 2/3 year olds. We have gone in there before to take a break from the heat, and my son loved it. He didn't want to leave.

Sixth, take extra clothes, especially for the water play areas. I always find it funny to see the parents telling the kids don't get too wet. I'm the parent who said go for it, I planned ahead for this. And my son loved it.

Seventh, on my son's 3rd birthday trip, I brought his birthday presents, which were all Disney related. And the presents weren't from us, they were from Mickey. And he loved it. It kept him from wanting tons of things in the park. And now that he is older, he gets his own gift cards each morning from a different character. Yes, he will soon be 7 and still believes that Mickey and the other characters some how come into our room and leave him a gift card. It's so cool.

Eighth, we still haven't done any of the waterparks, because he isn't a good swimmer. And we always hit each of the 4 main parks. At that age, his favorite parks were probably MK and HS.

Every child is different and what happens on one trip might not be the case on the next or even on the next day. So the main thing I would say is just let lose, try not to stress and enjoy the little moments. When I look back at my pictures, a lot of times, it's the pictures that I took of the little things that I love the most. Like my son running to me while waiting in line for the bus. Or him acting like a bunny when we saw a bunny at the resort. You sound like you are going to have plenty of time for those moments. Take tons of pictures. Do photopass, because I still look back on those pictures and love seeing him grow as he is holding Tinkerbell in his hand. And remember that you can never take too many pictures.

Hope you have a magical time.

 

[bennifer]

I have to agree with the potty training...don't sweat it! On our last trip, DS was 2.5 and I waited until we got back to start the potty training. That's my first piece of advice. The next is definitely bring a change of clothes! Also, my DS liked looking at the characters from a distance, and he liked to wave at them, but he did NOT want to get close to them! He loved the Winnie the Pooh ride and Small World, but didn't like the shows. My older DS was 5 on our first trip, so obviously a little older, but he's the adventurous one. If I had known what the world had to offer him, we would have been going when he was much younger! The point is: Every kid's different, try to go with the flow, and have fun!

 

[scootch]

If flying, get on the plane as LATE as possible. The first year I took my girls(they were 2 1/2 and 5 and daddy didn't go).. I boarded early. I had a bag of dollar store toys and we went thru them before take off. Then my 2 1/2 year old just climbed from seat to seat and I was exhausted before we even got there!! The flight home(and every flight since, well, almost, they are 10 and 13 now)... i boarded as late as I could as long as I had a seat assignment.

Take a full size stroller... this way he can nap at the park and you don't have to leave for naps. Although I highly suggest taking a midafternoon break just to get out of the parks.

Enjoy whatever makes him happy and don't worry about seeing everything. We watched the show in front of the castle 4 times in three days our first trip.... they loved it, and I just loved watching them.

Splurge for photopass... so you can enjoy watching him and not worry about taking pictures all the time. Worth getting to truly enjoy his reaction instead of trying so hard to get that perfect shot.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

I'm starting to officially plan our DS's first trip to Disney World for September 2014 at a value resort for two weeks. We have been twice before and I did do a ridiculous amount of research before both trips. I've started looking at the changes since our last trip in 2010. What I'm looking for is others experiences with an almost 3 year old boy. . I also understand that it is going to be a completely different trip than our previous ones. It will be all about him, his pace, his naps. I'm really excited that our trip is finally within sight! I've been dreaming of this trip since before DS was conceived. We are hoping to be able to visit every 3-4 years. Any and all experiences are greatly appreciated! I would like the good, the bad and the ugly.

Follow your above bolded comment and your trip will be nearly perfect! Each of our kids (now 17 & 20) visited WDW for the first time when they were 2 1/2 and each trip was incredible. DD loved to hug every single character, DS not so much but he loved seeing and riding and exploring everything! We went 100% at their pace and it was perfect!

Enjoy your very special trip... You will treasure it always !!!!i

 

[wdwnewfnut]

Thank you everyone!! I hadn't thought about the benefits of not being potty trained! I won't worry about it now, if he is he is. I have already planned to bring extra clothes specifically for the water areas as we are planning to go during september. I want him to be able to pretty much do whatever he enjoys while there. Right now we are hoping to do a character meal, maybe 2. He loves Winnie the Pooh now so maybe CP. I also have a vision of breakfast at the castle with him dressed as Prince Charming. We'll have to wait till he's a little older to see what his interests are.

We will be flying and I am dreading that already. There will most likely be no direct flights either. Right now he is not one to sit still happily for very long. Hoping this changes! Also my DH gets motion sickness flying so he'll be pretty much useless. He'll be the one with the barf bag. Needless to say he is already dreading the flights.

Thanks again for the advice and personal experiences! They give me ideas and allow me to look at things in a different way, ie potty training.

 

[lotus1197]

We went right after Thanksgiving the week before our son turned 3 and i gotta say he was a trooper.The only thing i was really worried about was his nap schedule as we are pretty consistent with that @ home.We tried getting back to the hotel, but it never failed he would fall asleep right after lunch on the way to catch the shuttle back to the resort and by the time we got there, he would be wide awake.We are going back the end of this month and have pretty much decided that we will just let him nap in the stroller and stay from rope drop to closing.

Also the whole potty training thing is too much to try and juggle at the parks, just use pull-ups and hit the restrooms when you can, luckily he only had a few accidents, but that was while we were in lines and could not get out of them.

One thing i didn't see mentioned was snacks.I would get a few groceries delivered from one of the local stores(if you not gonna have a car) for fruit,yogurt,goldfish etc etc, or whatever he prefers to eat.We have a picky eater, so it was really hard getting him to eat different things at the different ts/cs places.

As far as the characters go, every kid is gonna be different.Ours went to a county fair and was scared of a local radio mascot(cat), but absolutely loved all the characters @ the parks.

One a side note make sure to take him to the Disney Junior live on stage, he should love the dance party with Jake and the Neverland pirates.

Enjoy!

 

[hookedonears]

I'm starting to officially plan our DS's first trip to Disney World for September 2014 at a value resort for two weeks. We have been twice before and I did do a ridiculous amount of research before both trips. I've started looking at the changes since our last trip in 2010. What I'm looking for is others experiences with an almost 3 year old boy. I understand that every child is different and that I don't know what my child is going to be like yet, he's almost 15 months now. I also understand that it is going to be a completely different trip than our previous ones. It will be all about him, his pace, his naps. I'm really excited that our trip is finally within sight! I've been dreaming of this trip since before DS was conceived. We are hoping to be able to visit every 3-4 years. Any and all experiences are greatly appreciated! I would like the good, the bad and the ugly.

Really not comparable, but our first trip to the World as a family was when our daughter was 2 1/2. The trip went perfectly. We only stayed 5 days 4 nights and we stayed at the Polly. Even though we had the Grand Parents to help, I don't think we would have wanted to stay any longer than that, because a 2 1/2 was still a lot of work.

 

[gwmort]

I had an epiphany when I started to think of the parks for my kids as "parks".

At that age they loved just going to the local playground, running around and having fun climbing on stuff while we sat on benches and watched or ran along with them. Disney is like a super-park, where the little ones can do all that and add in some really big family rides they can do with the parents (like Dumbo, peoplemover, small world, etc...).

The first year I got frustrated waiting while they played in the 100 acre wood playground because we weren't hitting big attractions and checking off our list of touring objectives. When I woke up and saw how much fun they were having just exploring and playing with us around, I learned to let go and enjoy the moments. We ended up having some great times just playing in the sidewalk fountains and walking around once we lost the commando drive.

They are a few years older now and still the Boneyard in AK is one of their favorite things to look forward to.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Our first trip as a family was when my son was 22 months. That trip was awesome! He loved everything, was scared of nothing, had a great time.

Our second trip was a year later, when he was 34 months. Yeah. We had That Kid on many of the rides that he loved the year before. He claimed to be scared of almost everything, but we drug him on anyway. He didn't want to meet a lot of the characters. He generally spent the week in a bad mood. He was in a tough phase in general, though, and we'd just gone through a huge change at home by moving out of state, so there was a lot of upset in our house at the time. What's weird, though is that when we got home...the way he talks about the trip, he had the MOST MAGICAL TIME EVER! LOL. He talks about all of his favorite rides, who his favorite characters were, and how much fun he had. Buh? It's like we weren't on the same trip.

So, do make sure to manage your expectations. Also, at that age his #1 favorite attraction was Tom Sawyer's Island. We spent so much time there, it was a bit ridiculous. As long as you go with the flow, you'll all have a great time.

 

[Annie78]

We went when DS was 2 and 8 months. He generally loved everything in Fantasyland (this was before NF, other than Dumbo x2, opened), although the dark rides had a moment of "nooo, noooo" and hiding against our shoulder before relaxing and liking it. He LOVED IASW and the Teacups. He may have enjoyed the Dumbo tent even more than Dumbo
I would start with a more quiet character interaction - like Mickey & Minnie at Town Square - before a more crowded situation like a character meal. DS had already seen characters walking around before meeting Mickey and Minnie, but there was still some nervousness. He was super excited when he met Mickey, then got panicky about Minnie for some reason, then relaxed and loved it again.
He also loved musicians of all kids: Main Street Philharmonic, taiko drummers at Epcot, the steel drum band at Epcot, etc.
We watched Wishes from the TTC dock - this turned out to be perfect, as there were no loud booms to scare him, no crazy crowds, but we had a great view. I recommend this option for little kids.