Disney World and a 2 year old?

[Nathansmommy]

DH and I went to DW by ourselves last year and we stayed at the Pop century, we are taking DS for his 2nd birthday next year in Feb. Did your LO had fun at this age? Which rides was she/he able to ride in each park, did you have character dinning? Did LO like it? What else did you do? And which resort do you recommend fpr us to stay wwith DS? Thank you

 

[geraghty]

We stayed at POFQ when our ds was 20 months old. He was able to do the water slide as long as we were there to catch him. I would recommend POFQ due to it's small size, but at that age any resort will work. He will be able to do all the slow moving rides, and shows, especially in MK. Really too many to list. Our son liked Chef Mickeys best, but enjoyed all the character meals. He did not care for the meet & greets.

I would recommend taking another person if you can. We took my mil and one evening my dw and I went to MK after the kids went to bed. You can do parent swap, but I don't like to ride by myself.

Whatever you do, he will have a blast!

 

[jazzyscoob]

My kids loved Disney at that age. They really loved watching the parades, the rides and the shows. We did Chef Mickey and Hollywood & Vine. DS loved getting up close with the characters. DD was scared to death of them at that age.

Like PP said having another adult with you when the kids are young is really helpful. We usually have at least 3 adults with us so we can all ride the thrill rides with someone else. Last summer DH had to work so I went with my mom. We had a great time but I don't ride alone so we skipped TOT, RnRC, etc.

 

[luvmy2babies]

My ds went for 9 nights at 2.5 and we had a wonderful time. On the trip with us was my (then) 9 year-old daughter. It was just the three of us.

We had the regular dining plan and had one table service meal per day with the exception of our arrival and departure days. We had CRT to take up that extra dining credit. Since it was my last trip with ds for free and dd as a Disney child, we had lots of character meals.

Crystal Palace breakfast
Chef Mickey's dinner
Tusker House breakfast
Akershaus breakfast
Cinderella's Royal Table dinner
Hollywood and Vine breakfast
Garden Grill dinner

Our one non-character meal was dinner at Ohana, which my dd voted best food of the trip.

My son ate free at all of these places at 2.5. I think he ate his weight in grapes wherever they had them. Ohana, Garden Grill and Akershaus were family style where it was all you care to eat, but brought to you.

Cinderella's Royal Table we ordered from a menu. Ds ate from the bread they brought us, and ate from both mine and dd's appetizers. They brought him a plate of pasta and he got a free drink and dessert.

The rest were buffets where he got his own free plate.

At counter service places there were lots of places where the portions were large enough that I shared my adult plate with him.

He was nervous around a few of the characters, but nervous for him meant they got a wave and high five, instead of hug and photo. For meet and greets with photopass, he would smile and interact with any character from about 3 feet away and he'd smile for the photo and give a hug if I was holding him. He walked straight up to his pal Mickey Mouse like I wasn't even there though.

We stayed at All-Star Movies. It fit our budget and the children loved the decor and the kiddie pool. We stayed in the Toy Story area on the trip last year and they had a lot of fun playing around the giant toys.

Here he is in RC the day we arrived. He wanted to pose in that car everyday.

He could ride anything without a height requirement and one of the things I love about Disney is that there are so many of these rides. He enjoyed all of the shows at various parks, the splash pad at Epcot, the safari and animals at AK, the parades and fireworks.

We are headed back in 3 weeks. This time we are staying at Pop because that was the cheapest I could get with the discount I had. He was so cute talking about how he wanted to go back to see Mickey. This will be the 3rd trip for the three of us. He went at 10 months and 2.5 years. I have no regrets of either trip.

 

[DznyGal]

So glad I found this thread, I have a lot of the same questions.
We are looking to take our son who will be 27 months this November.

I hope OP doesn't mind me asking a few more questions.
1. How many days did you go? We are thinking 5 or 7?
2. Did you think the park hopper option is worth the price? We plan to go back to the hotel for naps in the afternoon, but dont know if we will feel stuck having to go back to the same park.
3. Did you go to the parks every day, or take a day to explore Downtown Disney and the resort?
4. Dining plan... We are thinking the quick service plan and maybe pay out of pocket for a character meal.


Thanks!

 

[quagmire0]

Our DS was a little younger when he went two years ago - 18 mos. But he enjoyed just about every ride he could go on. Only rides that freaked him out at all were Figment (the part where he says 'did someone say HAVE A BLAST?!!?' and there's a loud pop), and I think Philharmagic and Muppets 4D had some 'effects' that bothered him. Other than that, he had a blast on everything else.

We went for 7 days, no hopper, and did naps at the condo on most of the days. Our kids aren't stroller sleeper. Honestly, I found the nap time to be just as valuable for the adults. I was crankiest on the days that we didn't take a break. As for hopper, I might decide to add that on when we get there this year. I felt like AK and HS may have been better half days with kids that age. Then again, I think doing 'pool time' instead of going back to the parks after naps might have been a good plan as well. Remember that you can add the hopper at any time during your trip - just make sure to use your tickets first and then ask for the hopper. (Asking for the hopper right away supposedly negates any discounts that you got when you bought the tickets).

Meal plan depends if you are onsite or not. We stay offsite, so it's much cheaper to have our breakfasts and lunches at the condo and then do table service dinners there (or go to a restaurant outside WDW).

 

[6disneykids]

We took DD2 in March, and ate at Chef Mickey's, Tusker House and Hollywood & Vine and Cinderella's Royal Table. She loved all the interaction.

She rode many of the rides that did not have a height requirement. She seemed to have a great time at DHS, mostly because of the Disney Junior stage show and H&V. The other place she had fun was the kidcot stops in the World Showcase part of Epcot, she loved coloring her Duffy Bear puppet. I know not all kids would sit still for that though.

While my family is not mid day breakers, we are an every 2 days take a break from the parks family. We would use this break to spend time at the pool, go to DTD and sleep in.

We did take a couple of little breaks at the Baby Care Centers in each of the parks.

 

[luvmy2babies]

So glad I found this thread, I have a lot of the same questions.
We are looking to take our son who will be 27 months this November.

I hope OP doesn't mind me asking a few more questions.
1. How many days did you go? We are thinking 5 or 7?
2. Did you think the park hopper option is worth the price? We plan to go back to the hotel for naps in the afternoon, but dont know if we will feel stuck having to go back to the same park.
3. Did you go to the parks every day, or take a day to explore Downtown Disney and the resort?
4. Dining plan... We are thinking the quick service plan and maybe pay out of pocket for a character meal.


Thanks!

We had a November trip that was during Thanksgiving week. We had 6 days. Unless you are going during that week, the parks will close a little earlier, so I probably wouldn’t invest in a hopper unless you are in that crowd that likes to eat in Epcot every evening no matter where you have been earlier. I would wait on it. You can always add it after arrival.

I would do 7 days so you can pace yourselves. Our last trip was in June of last year. It was 10 days with 8 park days. We started at 4pm on our arrival day, toured for the next 4 days, then had a rest day in the middle then toured 4 more, then no park on departure day.

We are not big fans of the midday break only because we are more fans of ending touring early say around 2 or 3pm. And that is because (1) we love rope drop and need to be in bed early and (2) my son is a stroller napper on vacation. We do a mix of midday breaks and half-days. It is just as much for dd and me as it is for ds. If I left at midday solely for the intention of him getting his nap (which he takes at daycare from about noon to 2), I would be sorely disappointed. I found that out on our 2nd trip when he was 2 when he fell asleep on the way to the bus and woke up as soon as we got off the bus back at the resort.

But regardless it was good on certain days to get back to the resort midday to cool down, get off our feet and change clothes. I have 3 midday breaks planned for this trip coming up in 3 weeks. Two are on MK days and the other is on our Epcot day. On 3 other days, which are AK and DHS days I want to end earlier and get back to use the pool. On our final park day, we’ll sleep for a while and do early pool time because I want them to last through the night time Magic Kingdom entertainment. Sometimes it is warm enough in November to use the pool, sometimes not. On our November trip, it got up to 84 degrees one day, other days it was mid-70s.

We have honestly not done Down Town Disney yet. Unlike our first two trips, our arrival day this time will be a non-park day this time so we may venture over there. I wanted to do it on our non-park day last trip, but it rained all morning, so we just lounged in the room.

Dining plan will be free for your toddler if he eats off your plates and there are several places that have portions large enough to share, especially with a 2 year-old. If you choose a buffet or family style character meal, that will also be free for your toddler. I’d suggest going to www.allears.net to check out menus for the different quick service places, and prices for the character meals and quick service meals and decide if the dining plan will work for you. On our previous two trips it worked great for us. This one coming, not so much. So, for our 8 nights, I have 3 table service meals planned and the rest will be counter service OOP.

 

[geraghty]

So glad I found this thread, I have a lot of the same questions.
We are looking to take our son who will be 27 months this November.

I hope OP doesn't mind me asking a few more questions.
1. How many days did you go? We are thinking 5 or 7?
2. Did you think the park hopper option is worth the price? We plan to go back to the hotel for naps in the afternoon, but dont know if we will feel stuck having to go back to the same park.
3. Did you go to the parks every day, or take a day to explore Downtown Disney and the resort?
4. Dining plan... We are thinking the quick service plan and maybe pay out of pocket for a character meal.


Thanks!

1. We went for 7 nights with 6 park days
2. Bought hopper never used it. You can add it while you're there if you decide to hop. Did not know that, wish I did.
3. Went to parks every day, except travel days. Explored DTD in the evening and last day before flying out. Explored resort every day because we too came back for naps but only went back to the parks twice at night. We were at RD every day and earlier if they had emh.
4. You'll have to do the math, it really depends on what meals you do because cost can vary widely.

 

[Taylor'sMom]

We've taken DD annually at every age. For the toddler years...

I don't think you need a hopper pass. If you decide you want it, you can always upgrade there. Look at the calendar and decide where to go each day (based on what days they have EMH or parades, fireworks, etc.). then just plan to attend that park on that day. Try the mid-day break the first day. If it works, continue doing that. But you may find that your child will throw a fit when you leave, or will just NOT sleep in the room with so much outside the door they'll miss...but they may fall asleep in a stroller just fine.
I would aim for at least 1 evening at Mk to see the evening parade and fireworks. Our family LOVES Fantasmic and I would recommend at least one evening at HS for that too- but some kids do get scared. maybe sit further back so they don't feel the water and heat. or if your child is easily scared, skip it.
One tip for toddlers I can't recommends enough... EASE them into Disney. they may love the fair/carnival rides at home, but Disney is far more intense. Start off with Dumbo and easy things like that... work in Its a Small World and Peter Pan. Save darker/scare potential rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and haunted mansion, until later in the trip... or at LEAST later in the day when they'd acclimated. I think if you try for that stuff too soon, they may just be scared of anything you throw at them for the whole week. Pay attention to your child and ease into it.
Our DD loved character dining, but some more than others. The O'hana breakfast and Hollywood and vine were favorites. I would suggest only booking 1 this first trip, so you don't waste the money if they are scared of the characters.
We prefer the value resorts. We like ASM, but pop is our fave. Look at the themeing and pick which you think your child will like.
Our DD loved Blizzard Beach at that age. But don't feel the need to plan and pay for an activity every day... "free" downtime at the pool can be just as exciting to them at that age! plan a down-day (walk around the resort,, use the pool, DTD, etc.), after every couple park days.

 

[Nathansmommy]

Thank you so much! Is the weather hot during Feb? DS has eczema, so we're trying to go when it's lets hot and humid so it won't bother him. We are going towards the Cars Suite at the Art of animation resort, did any of you get the dinning plan? Was it worth it?

 

[tigger51276]

So glad I found this thread, I have a lot of the same questions.
We are looking to take our son who will be 27 months this November.

I hope OP doesn't mind me asking a few more questions.
1. How many days did you go? We are thinking 5 or 7?
2. Did you think the park hopper option is worth the price? We plan to go back to the hotel for naps in the afternoon, but dont know if we will feel stuck having to go back to the same park.
3. Did you go to the parks every day, or take a day to explore Downtown Disney and the resort?
4. Dining plan... We are thinking the quick service plan and maybe pay out of pocket for a character meal.


Thanks!

I've been taking my girls since my DD9 was DD7months. We usually go for 10-14 days. I absolutely love the park hopper option because we will go to one park earlier in the day and then if another park has night magic hours then we go there. It is amazing how much you can get done in a park during night magic hours! I also just love how relaxing it can be walking around the parks at night listening to the sights and sounds. We tend to do the parks everyday and will save DTD for nights when a park isn't open late and we also usually hit there on our last day for any last minute souvinears. I have done the meal plan several times now and for me and my family it is just not worth the price. My kids and I drink water with our meals so it's a waste of money to "pay" for drinks with the meal plan and also we do not eat dessert with our meals so again it's another cost we are prepaying for and not using. I also find the meals are really big and just too much food. I can get one adult half chicken meal for $10-11 and feed the 3 of us. Granted not all meals work that way. For a lot of lunches I actually bring a couple pkgs of bagels from home and peanut butter/jelly/fluff and toast them in the room and make sandwiches that we can eat whenever we get hungry. I get a bit tired of Disney food as it all seems to taste the same.
However, if you are just looking for the convienece of having everything paid for and don't care that you may be paying more than you would out of pocket then the dining plan is great in that sense. I paid out of pocket for our meals last year for the first time in years and saved $300 for the three of us!

 

[tigger51276]

Thank you so much! Is the weather hot during Feb? DS has eczema, so we're trying to go when it's lets hot and humid so it won't bother him. We are going towards the Cars Suite at the Art of animation resort, did any of you get the dinning plan? Was it worth it?

It's usually not too hot in Feb, but with it being Florida you never know if you'll get 80 degree weather or 40 degree. Also I have found it can get "REALLY" cold at night, like 30's so make sure you are prepared for really cold winter weather and summer weather alike!

 

[geraghty]

Thank you so much! Is the weather hot during Feb? DS has eczema, so we're trying to go when it's lets hot and humid so it won't bother him. We are going towards the Cars Suite at the Art of animation resort, did any of you get the dinning plan? Was it worth it?

February is the middle of winter. Heat should not be an issue. You will love the cars suite. We got the dining plan because we had a lot of character meals, and it made sense financially. We ate at Akershus, Cape May, CM, 1900, SOA and H&V. If your big eaters and like buffets, than yes. If you're not big eaters, than no. There is not a lot of savings in the dining plan, but there can be some if your sit down meals are usually dinner. It really depends on what your dining plans are. If you like to just eat where the wind blows you, than paying oop is probably better.

 

[Countryrunner262]

DH and I went to DW by ourselves last year and we stayed at the Pop century, we are taking DS for his 2nd birthday next year in Feb. Did your LO had fun at this age? Which rides was she/he able to ride in each park, did you have character dinning? Did LO like it? What else did you do? And which resort do you recommend fpr us to stay wwith DS? Thank you

A few years back we took our 3 and 2 year old at the time. What a nightmare for us! First, dealing with strollers was such a pain, but totally needed! If they did not make height requirements, the only way my husband I could do a ride is if we went solo. We would also have to take time out of the day for naps.

My kids are now 7 and 6. We asked if they remember anything from that visit. My 7 year old can on some things, but my 6 year old can not. We are planning Dec 2013 and April 2014 trips this year. I'm excited to take them at this age! No strollers, no naps, and we can all ride together!!!

I'm not saying you will not have fun, you will, it's Disney!

Good luck!

 

[etedesco]

I took my 20-month old and we stayed for 7 days, which was perfect for us. I wanted a tantrum-free trip, so kept him on a normal schedule as much as possible. We were at rope drop, toured until lunch, ate lunch and napped then swam at the hotel for the evening. He went to bed at normal time (7). We will follow the same pattern for our next trip.

Honestly, even without going back in the evenings and hopping, we did so much and had such a great trip. The beautiful part of WDW is so much of it can be experienced as a family, even when you have very small children.

His favorite parts were meeting characters, and he loved the dance party at the Hollywood and Vine character meal. Strangely, his favorite attraction was the Imaginarium after Figment's ride in Epcot.

You will have such a great time!

 

[etedesco]

Oh, PS- you asked about resorts and I vote you return to POP. It has a great splash pad for littles and the food court has a great variety. We ate there almost every night; other resorts will give you more limited choices. Plus, if you are using Disney transportation it has it's own bus and you don't have to stop at other resorts.

 

[melindae10]

We just got back about 3 weeks ago. It was me, my DH, my parents and my 5 year old DD and 2 year old DS. He just turned two in January. Before the trip we watched all the Disney movies I could get my hands on and of course they watch Disney Jr. in the mornings. I wanted them to know the characters. We also watched You Tube videos of the rides and of the character meet and greets. My DS seemed to have a great time. We went for 7 days and stayed at the Beach Club. We did the Park Hopper because we went to Epcot many nights for dinner. We didn't do the dinning plan, we are not huge eaters so it didn't make sense, plus if I did get a dessert maybe I wanted a desert from somewhere else not from that restrauant. More freedom I guess. We had two character breakfasts, Crystal Palace and the Princess breakfast in Epcot. The rest of breakfast was in the room. For lunch we did CS and dinner was a TS. We usually got a snack somewhere during the day also. For the four of us in my family we spent about $900.00 on food for the week, my 2 year old either split a kids meal with my 5 year old or ate off our plates. At the buffets he was allowed to have his own plate and he was free. We tried to go back to the room for naps, but usually he ended up falling asleep in the stroller before we got back. He would be passed out for hours in that stroller! He was great with the characters, loved giving him high fives and getting their autographs. He would give them the pen and DD would give them the book. I think giving him something "to do" when meeting them helped him feel comfortable. He loved all the Dumbo type rides and the shows. Also loved the monarail, the train, the bus, and the boats. Also loved the fireworks! He didn't have any interest in the pool at the hotel but had a blast at Typhoon Lagoon in the kids area, he loved the small little tube ride they had. Since we have gotten back he seems to like his stuffed Mickey, Tigger, and Pluto a lot more and also is more interested in the cartoons than we was before. If he sees something on TV from Disney World that he saw there he will point it out and tell me he was there!
The trip was for my DD and I thought if anything my DS will just enjoy being with the family and his grandparents but he seemed to love it also and get some memories from it. We will be going back in three years when he is 5.
Every child is different, but I do think that there is alot to enjoy at Disney at any age!

 

[rachael95]

What hotel would you all suggest for me, DH and our DS who will be 18 months. We would prefer not paying out the nose, but I'm really wanting a suite because DS STILL is not sleeping through the night most nights. So I'd like to be able to shut the door and let DH sleep while I'm taking care of him - at least he's down to just 1 wake-up most nights now compared to 3-4. This is our first time with a child at Disney so I'm feeling like everything I knew before has been thrown out the window.

Thanks!

 

[luvmy2babies]

What hotel would you all suggest for me, DH and our DS who will be 18 months. We would prefer not paying out the nose, but I'm really wanting a suite because DS STILL is not sleeping through the night most nights. So I'd like to be able to shut the door and let DH sleep while I'm taking care of him - at least he's down to just 1 wake-up most nights now compared to 3-4. This is our first time with a child at Disney so I'm feeling like everything I knew before has been thrown out the window.

Thanks!

Will you have a car? A suite on Disney property is going to cost quite a bit unless you rent points from a Disney Vacation Club owner. So, you're most likely going to have to stay off site if a suite is really important to you.

I'd suggest taking a look at the Orlando Hotels and Attractions forum on here. Some people get really good deals on 2 or 3 bedroom condos within a short drive of the main gate.