Disney with a 2 year old?

[Miss LD]

Hoping someone can share an opinion.
We're talking about our annual family "summer" vacation (which if it's disney we do in May). We have started doing WDW annually, and love it. But, both dh and I are a little hesitant about bringing our daughter at the age of 2.
We brought her for her first birthday last year and it went well (our ds will be 6), but since that time she has started walking and running and is really *spirited*.
We'd stay probably at the Poly since it's easy.
But, any thoughts? Would you skip it for a year and wait till she's 3 or go for it?

 

[JustinsMommy07]

I say go for it!!! We just got back from the Disney Cruise and Disney World with DS (turned 2 in August.) We had a blast. He had such a great time. We let him run around a bit in the less crowded areas and he walked around the parks alot. Luckily we weren't in any rush because it took us a real long time to get anywhere. He loved the characters and even stood in line to get his autograph book signed and his picture taken. This surprised us alot! As long as you're willing to slow things down and take breaks I think you should go for it!

 

[reducereuserecycle]

go for it

 

[ndgqccmiller]

We took our dd when she was two and she did great. We took lots of snacks, a doggy backpack with a tail that I could hold so she could walk and not be in her stroller the whole time. She was able to ride a lot of rides and enjoyed most of the characters. I say do it!

 

[TinkerbelleMom]

I say do it too...she's still free! I agree with the animal backpack, we've got one, and it worked well to keep her from getting too far away. You'll probably not want to plan on active potty training, dealing with diapers is easier to manage in the parks than having to go RIGHT NOW lol. And do plan on taking time to for an afternoon nap, everyone will be happier.

 

[cogero]

oh definately take her. We are taking our son for his second birthday in November. This will be his 3rd trip. We took our daughter for the first time when she was 25 months. It is the best time with kids in my opinion.

 

[Fall1]

We are taking 28 month old twins on their 1st trip next month and I can't wait. I'm sure DH and I will be just as exhausted as they are at night!!

 

[yekcoh_99]

We just got back 2 days ago from our 1st family vacation with our DS (3 1/2) and out DD who turned 2 while we were there. Exhausting... YES. Wonderful time and memories... ABSOLUTELY!! We rented a double stroller (side by side) from Orlando Strollers which was fantastic! Delivered to your hotel. Quick and Easy to fold for the trams/buses. Cloth and more comfortable than hard park strollers. And best of all...they recline for napping. HUGE HUGE HUGE! We also rented a full size crib from A Baby's Best Friend (www.abbf.com). Both items were under $100 each and were well worth the money. The crib was full sized like home and she slept like a dream. She's still too small for the beds/pull out couches and too big for the pack and plays...so the crib was fantastic.

Both kids loved the parades, so we never missed one of those. When she wouldn't go down for a nap I could usually get her to fall asleep by taking her on a ride (the people mover rides in tomorrow land that are 10+ minutes worked really well for this) and there's typically no lines to get on those. She did very well in the strollers, but can be "spirited" herself, so we let her walk some and stayed right with her. They loved Ariel's Grotto and we brought a change of clothes for that day. We did a half day at Epcot, which doesn't have much for kids, but in my opinion probably had the best character greeting. ALL indoors w/AC and one after the other so you don't have to keep getting in a new line to see the next character. We met all 5 major characters (Mickey, pluto, goofey, etc.) and were only in there about 20 minutes maybe. AK greetings were great too, but you have to keep
getting in new lines. Hot too since they're all outdoors.

All in our, our 2 toddlers had a ball and we had a wonderful time. Go for it and have a wonderful time!

 

[ktlm]

We took my VERY spirited DD at 2 yrs 10 months. It was absolutely wonderful! It was such a magical age. Everything was real to her and she was completely engrossed and in awe. She actually was better at WDW than she is at home.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

DO it!! We're taking our "spirited" DD again. We took her in May at 22mos, and again in October at 27 months. She's a live wire also... I know what you mean! But it's nothing at all to worry about. I also suggest the little "backpacks" for her, they were a lifesaver for us.

 

[AirGoofy]

We took youngest before she turned 2 and she did find. She was scared of the characters at first (had to be held), but she warmed up to most of them while we were there. Make sure you have a change of clothes, stroller for child to sleep, or plan to return for nap(s) during the day.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

We took DS at 2.5 and it was wonderful! He was so into the parks and meeting Mickey (and assorted others) and was super excited for the rides (Nemo and MI Laugh Floor was a HUGE hit...)

He had an autograph book and a big smile on his face the entire time. We took our own stroller and some assorted snacks in our day pack. I also made sure to bring his kid-proof camera - it had games on it that he would sit and play in the queues so time flew by.

 

[SaraMc]

We took DS last year when he was just a little over 2. He did great. Our " Happy Wanderer" had a Monkey Backpack leash thing and that helped a lot. We also brought our Maclaren stroller that leans back so he could lie down if he needed to.
Most days we would go back to the room for a couple of hours after lunch for a nap for him and Me ( I was about 8 weeks pregnant then) . Made a world of diffrence having that downtime and good rest for him.
Remember that they are off thier normal routine and most toddlers crave routine. There are more pictures than I care to say where he has a soother in his mouth. But really it was better than the tears because he was not on his normal schedule. But I would do it again in a heartbeat. He's 3 now and still talks about when we went and went to small world and saw the scrary guys singing ( we went to Mickey's not so scary Halloween party and the dapper dans were undead there)

Cant wait to take him again and see what he remembers from this upcoming trip and to see his sister's reaction to everything!

 

[rotlex]

Very refreshing to read this thread. We returned from a wonderful trip just a few weeks ago, with our DS, 10 months at the time, and DD, 7 years.

I have already booked a bounce back for next year due to the deal in the room, but frankly, have been a bit worried about how our son will be when he is "almost 2". Reading this makes me feel a bit better though, and yeah, I'm already psyched about a trip for next August with him.

 

[lilybrooke14]

We took DD at 2 1/2 and she did great. We made it a point to spend some time every day letting her burn off some energy. Playing on the beach, swimming, etc. She loved the playground below Splash Mountain. We didn't go back to the room for naps, she just slept in her stroller. We made sure not to get up early and stay up late in the same day, and we built in a few days to sleep in and relax a bit more. We also took it at her pace. Channel 96 on the resort TV had a continuous classic Disney cartoon loop, which turned out to be really handy. She loved the characters, and she had a blast! A year later she still talks about it all the time. It was wonderful, and I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

 

[dhardawa]

We just got back Saturday. My son turned two last month. I was a bit worried about how he'd handle lines, the heat, the characters, etc. but he did great. I would definitely take a 2 year old again.

 

[bookmama]

do it. We took a 6 month old and an 18 month old 2 years ago and they loved it. Just remember to take it slow and not try to stay in the parks all day.

 

[Dziactor]

I took our 2 y/o in June and while it wasnt easy, it was worth it. Thankfully my wife has more patience than I do.

 

[jscott27]

We took our DS at ages 1.5, 2.5 and 4.5, and we took our DD at 1.5 (when DS was 4.5). We have never regretted it, and plan on going in Nov. with DD now 2.5 and DD 5.5. We always bring our own stroller along (plane side check and use it in the airports) and let them walk when they want to. You just have to plan to do things that they can do, and this is the first time I am looking at how we might split up some in order to allow our DS to do some of the bigger rides.

The big bonus this year is that our DD will get a lot more out of the trip, and we still won't have to pay for her to get into the parks!

 

[CandyHead09]

oh no I'd take her just make sure you watch her really close or get one of those back packs that you can hold on to just make sure your not getting to lost in the magic and dragging I hate when parents do that >.< it makes me so mad! My cousins tony was two when he went and LOVED IT! he had so much fun and was also VERY energetic so we all just watched him closely or had him in the stroller he's four now and talks constantly of disney haha

it's really cute because now that he's a little older he isnt so sure about planes and has decided that the rest of his family will fly and he and I (he thinks I'm his sister lol) will go on a bus to disney haha so cute :]