Toddler travelers: how much were you *really* able to do?

[branv]

This is our first trip with a child, our DS will be 2y2mos. I think I need a reality check. In theory I know to take it easy, don't over plan. We're doing mornings, afternoon hotel breaks/naps (my kiddo refuses to stroller nap). A few nights in the parks, but it being slow part of November, we'll still be in our room by 9 pm.

But I start fiddling with Touring Plans personalized plans, and even though I select the "Very Relaxed" walking pace option, I find myself filling every moment with something. It's hard not to do that since our longest stretches of "in park" time are about four hours. But, for instance, you read a trip report by someone with a toddler and it looks like they've managed like 3 rides in 4 hours!! Our first morning at MK (on a 3 crowd day) has us using FP+ and RS to do:

8:20 am Crystal Palace
Winnie Pooh
Dumbo
Barnstormer
Pete's Side Show Donald/Goofy
Under the Sea
Mad Tea Party
Speedway
Mine Train (W/RS)
Carousel
Peter Pan
IaSW

And TP has us done with these by 12:15 pm! Even my inexperienced self considers this highly unlikely even with a relatively easy going toddler.

So give it to me straight. What were your days like? What were you really able to do?

 

[Grace W]

We too are traveling with a toddler who will be almost two when we go. We also went last year when she was 11 months. We are staying Saturday to Monday and have our plans booked up. I will say we do expect to miss things, have break downs, and need naps. We plan to spend a good amount of time at the resort at the pool because she is happy there. I will say last year, we did get alot done, but this year I will anticipate it being different, being is she knows how to run and say whats on her mind. haha.

 

[Grace W]

Also, I have a pre-trip report in the progress if you look at my signature, you can see our plans and compare!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Assuming your Fps are for Peter pan and 7DMT, and crowds really are low, i would find it maybe doable. Lines for the speedway and small world have been strangely high my last few trips.The CP breakfast makes me think you might not have time. those meals take so long.

Honestly, I hate in room breaks. they take up too much time. DD sleeps well in her stroller though, so that helps.

 

[Grace W]

I would also suggest making plans for whenever your DD is in the best mood. For example, my DD is in a great mood in the morning so we tried to do a lot early on.

 

[caitcance]

When I was there in May with my 2 yr old (and 5 and 6 yr olds ) the crowds were low and our MK morning looked comparable to what you listed. I was pretty surprised with how much we were able to do. We did short park days (rope drop to 2pm or so), then pool time and early bed times. Skipped nap most days but she was fine as long as she was in bed by 7:30 or so. The last night we went all out and stayed for Wishes and put the kids to bed at midnight, and even then they did well.

 

[Ava]

Last year we had a 5-year-old and a 16-month-old. Checking my notes for the trip report I never wrote (haha), on our first morning in MK we did:

8:05 ADR at CRT
Small World
Pooh
Mine Train (FP+)
Under the Sea
Ariel's Grotto (I remember we had a bit of a wait for this one but DD5 really wanted to see mermaid Ariel.)
Stop at Gaston's Tavern
ETWB (FP+)
12:25 lunch at BOG

So we did 6 attractions in about 3 hours.

I think your TP plan is a little ambitious, especially since there's no way you'll be finished with breakfast before the park opens. I've also found that character meets always take longer than you think they will, even if there's only a short wait. (Like the family in front of you spends 10 minutes taking a million photos, or just when you get near the front of the line the character has to go for a break. No way to predict those things.)
I would just have in your mind what attractions you want to prioritize and what you'd be okay with skipping. That way if you're running behind schedule or someone needs a break, you'll know if you want to pick the plan back up where you left off or skip something and move on.

 

[FrozenDuck]

We went last year with my 2 year old, and although she has never napped in her stroller for normal outings (zoo, parks, etc), she conked out in the stroller every day at Disney and we never ended up heading back to the resorts. Some days nap time was before lunch, some days it was late afternoon, and a couple times she slept straight through a meal.

I think TP is a bit optimistic; I think it'll take a full hour+ more than anticipated.

Our character M&G's took longer (totally worthwhile!), the play/waiting area at Dumbo's consumed extra time, we had to return a couple times for "honey spills" (temp closures) at Pooh's.

 

[jacknsally19]

So I agree with others that say if you start early on a low crowd day it is pretty amazing how much you get done. That being said, I find it pretty difficult to keep my 'plan' on track with a toddler particularly when it comes to fantasyland. I have found that my DD gets excited / sidetracked by non-ride activities.... Like the sword and the stone, the water play area, random characters, and we spent a ridiculous amt of time in the Dumbo play area. The other thing is that the carousel she wants to ride over and over again. Since I go back to WDW at least annually, I am pretty relaxed and let her kind of lead the way. She is also pretty opinionated and I don't feel the need to argue when it comes to touring plans so I guess I am trying to say that YMMV. But I do think touring plans doesn't appreciate the curiousity of toddlers!

 

[DopeyDame]

I do think that plan is a little overly ambitious, but the plan itself really isn't the issue. Make any plans you want The key to a good trip with the toddler is to be totally and 100% ok if plans change or completely fall apart. (And I don't mean "I will suck it up and not be miserable" ok, I mean really truly "this is an adventure can't wait to see what happens next!" kind of OK)

Maybe your child will love rides and meet and greets and you'll mostly stick to your plan. Or maybe the spraying water outside barnstormers completely mesmerizes her and you spend an hour there. Maybe you get in line for dumbo, she sees the waiting/play area, and you end up playing there and never actually riding dumbo. Maybe she wants to ride the carousal 800 times in a row while your fast pass for 7DMT expires. These things happen. And they make for amazing, fantastic, magical trips.

 

[branv]

Thanks everyone! This is exactly what I thought. I was mostly shocked at everything that fit into that time period (even if it's in an "ideal" crowd situation). The above plan was allowing for 70 minutes at CP, but no "free time". Let's face it, the diaper changes *alone* need more time

Right now for that first morning, I've got FP+ plans for Peter Pan, WtP, one FP+ for 7DMT (with RS, just need one), and then use one FP+ for DH and DS on Speedway. Our second group priority will be Dumbo, Tea Cups, and Barnstormer, third priority Under the Sea and Donald Duck, and perhaps save IaSW and Carousel for our second MK morning (we have three mornings there total). With space for magic in between.

I am not one of those who thinks a vacation is only about one member of a family. I think it's important even on a WDW vacation that DS learn others wishes matter too, and if that means he throws a fit because he can't get everything he wants when he wants it, so be it. That being said, the trip really is around 75% all about him, just shhhhhh don't tell him that. We definitely are willing to give up plans and schedules just to sit and watch him play and laugh over something seemingly small. Thanks to FP+ era, it just helps to know what is totally unrealistic and what is probable planning wise.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

You can check out my trip report in my siggie from last year when DS was almost 3 to get an idea of what we could do with a not-yet potty trained toddler. But I also had a Disney-averse DH and my mom in tow too. We crisscrossed the parks more than I wanted because of rides being down/ADRs, and the bathroom stops ate up a lot of time too, especially at AK. At MK we got Dumbo, Pooh, and Tea Cups done inside the first hour but after that we were at 2 rides an hour at the most I think.

 

[Moushe]

Driving home now from a 2 day trip with a 2.5 yo and a 9mo.

We were actually able to do A LOT! My 2.5yo son is very hyperactive so the key for us was to Keep Moving! We had a pre opening ADR & FP for 9, 10, &11. Once these were used up we got another and continued getting more.

We had already decided parades and fireworks were not important so that helped.

We had a lunchtime ADR at Crystal Palace which was a welcomed break from the heat.

Both kids slept in the stroller so we found a shady spot (POC) entrance and relaxed until the woke up.

In total we did 11 rides so yes I'd say we did a lot!

 

[ah1126]

I think a lot depends on your kid and family. We went right before my DD turned 2 and did a lot! We were in the parks from Morning to fireworks and she did Amazing. But that is her personality. I am a stay at home Mom, so she didn't have a set schedule at home, no set bed time or wake time. She napped everyday in the stroller or on a ride or in a show.

My biggest advice is to pack snacks!! No one in the party is happy when they are hungry and it is easy to lose track of time when you are going from ride to ride.

Another thing that worked great at that age were the slip on diapers or pull ups. This way if she was just wet, I didn't have to wait for the changing table in the bathroom, I could just take her into a regular stall with me.

 

[AshleeH]

We did everything that didn't have a height requirement and had a great trip!

 

[DSNY4ever]

We took DS at 2 and had an AWESOME time- here's our video

We did a lot. Pretty much the only things we skipped were the movies in the world showcase and the Hall of presidents and the American Adventure. We knew he wouldn't sit quietly through those. But he loved all the rides and shows like Nemo, the Lion King, Flights of Wonder etc. He did also LOVE break time at the pool, so make sure to make time for that!

 

[branv]

We took DS at 2 and had an AWESOME time- here's our video

We did a lot. Pretty much the only things we skipped were the movies in the world showcase and the Hall of presidents and the American Adventure. We knew he wouldn't sit quietly through those. But he loved all the rides and shows like Nemo, the Lion King, Flights of Wonder etc. He did also LOVE break time at the pool, so make sure to make time for that!

I tried to post this on your original video thanking you, but not sure you saw it. I had remembered seeing this video from when DS was an infant, and looked for it again once we booked our trip. I thought it might help him to get an idea of character sizes, the rides, etc. He LOVES this video. He wants to watch it at least once a week. DH and I joke that twenty years from now he's going to claim to have certain WDW memories and we're going to be like, "Errrr....that wasn't you, that was on YouTube."

So another thank you. It's been such a great tool for helping to prepare him!

 

[danceintherain]

When we took our two year old, we did pretty much everything I had planned. For MK, that was pretty intensive touring. I'd have to look at the TR I only halfway finished, but I don't remember him being a hindrance to anything. The other adults I brought on the trip with us were an entirely different story....
Overall, DS pretty much goes where I tell him to go, and is very easy to distract by something else. So if it's an issue of him being completely entranced by pigeons and we need to get to an ADR, I can usually move him along fine.

When I plan trips, I usually make a list of 4 or 5 things for each day that are priorities. I'll plan more stuff, but those are the things that I make sure happen.
For example, for our last trip (April 2013 so before FP+ and the Mine Train) I knew that I wanted to take DS to meet the fairies and do Enchanted Tales with Belle, so I planned two mornings at the Magic Kingdom, and headed to each of those first. I also wanted to take him on the Peter Pan ride and have him meet Donald Duck, so I FPed what I could etc. Again, he wasn't the problem. I easily got him dressed, fed, and ready in time for Rope Drop. It was the adults who got us to the MK 5 minutes after Rope Drop on the fairies day, so we ended up waiting in line for 40 minutes, which set us back the entire morning. We also had a late evening ADR at BOG, so that was another priority.

He did get tired and overstimulated, but that was expected, so I tried to make sure he at least had quiet time in the stroller during his usual nap time, if we weren't on a break.

For our upcoming trip, I'll be traveling with a 5 year old and a 1 year old, so I think managing their separate needs will be more difficult, but not impossible. My biggest concern is that I only managed to get a 2pm FP for 7DMT, which is in the middle of our usual break. I may end up sending DH back to the hotel with the 1 year old as the usual time, and just keep DS with me. Making it a 'sleep in' day won't work, because my kids have no idea what that means.

 

[jbcole82]

We took my daughter when she was 18 months and are going again in two weeks (she'll be a couple of weeks from turning 3). She would pass out in her stroller last time, but we did try to give her breaks when she needed them. She also adored the water parks, so I made time to work that into my planning this time too. I think the thing you have to prepare for is that kids might want to spend a long time at certain things--things as an adult you don't find that fascinating. I remember her wanting to sit on a bench in epcot and watch a group of ducks for what seemed like eternity. But honestly, it's best to let them do that sometimes. I tried to tell myself that it's her vacation too. Pack lots of snacks and other distractions so you can keep them happy in the stroller and on buses, etc. Have fun. Bringing your child to Disney World makes it that much more magical!!

 

[Grace W]

We took my daughter when she was 18 months and are going again in two weeks (she'll be a couple of weeks from turning 3). She would pass out in her stroller last time, but we did try to give her breaks when she needed them. She also adored the water parks, so I made time to work that into my planning this time too. I think the thing you have to prepare for is that kids might want to spend a long time at certain things--things as an adult you don't find that fascinating. I remember her wanting to sit on a bench in epcot and watch a group of ducks for what seemed like eternity. But honestly, it's best to let them do that sometimes. I tried to tell myself that it's her vacation too. Pack lots of snacks and other distractions so you can keep them happy in the stroller and on buses, etc. Have fun. Bringing your child to Disney World makes it that much more magical!!

I wouldn't have it any other way! We too took ours when she was 18 months and going in two weeks and she will be turning 2