WDW with 2 year old

[Hettie]

Hi! My husband and I are WDW veterans and last October we took our first trip with our son who was 5 months old at the time. We'll be going back next September when he's 2 and 4 months, hopefully staying at the Poly if I can get the booking with my DVC points.

Since he's my first child, I don't really know what it will be like next time and would LOVE to hear about your experiences with a toddler in that age range --links to trip reports would be awesome!

 

[linkelly]

Hi! Going with our 2 year, 4 month old in late August. Will update then! (Fingers Crossed)

 

[MinMou]

I haven't taken a child to WDW, but we did take our 2 yr old (2 yr 2 mo) to Disneyland last year. We had heard horror stories of children freaking out when meeting the characters, so before we went, we took him to our local Rainforest Cafe, and to Chuck E Cheese. He had no problems with the characters there, so we did a couple of character meals, and took him to meet Mickey in the park. Other things our little guy loved was Dumbo (he even wanted to sit in the static Dumbo they had off to the side), Disney Jr On Stage, train rides, boat rides and driving a car on the track with Daddy. He also liked the Enchanted Tiki Room, and tasting Dole Whip while we waited. At WDW, Disney Jr is at Hollywood Studios, and while lots of people say not to bother with that park, I say that if your child watches the Disney Jr channel, then do not miss this.

Don't be surprised if your child 1) doesn't want to get off a ride and 2) wants to go on the same ride over and over and......
We tried to have one planned event a day, and then played everything by ear, since little ones have their own logic. Even though we tried to prepare our son for where we where going, it didn't register until we got to dinner and he saw Goofy. (DL has Goofy's Kitchen instead of Chef Mickey). And even then, he didn't understand that there is LOTS to do and see, hence wanting to repeat rides.

We set aside one afternoon for the pool, and we tried to get him to nap first. Hindsight tells me that we should have gone to the pool, and then let him nap later. Oh well.

 

[aliwolly]

My husband and I have always been sort of park commandos on our Disney trips, and it didn't occur to us to be any other way when we brought our son with us when he was 22 months old. Maybe it's genetics, and he's got Disney park commando in his veins (LOL) but we had a great trip!

We made sure to rent a stroller that would go all the way flat in case he fell asleep in it while we were walking around, and that worked out pretty well for us. Sometimes he'd fight us about getting into the stroller, but it's loud walking around the parks and nobody noticed him crying under the closed sunshade, and he'd quickly fall asleep because he was so tired.

He loved the shows and the parades, and wasn't afraid of the characters. I have the most adorable picture of him kissing Minnie's nose! Disney Junior live was a hit for him – I still smile at the memory of him trying to grab the tissue paper gold dabloons as they floated to the ground and dancing to the music. The first time he saw fireworks was at Disney, and thankfully they weren't too loud or scary for him and he really loved them!

His absolute most favorite ride was Small World. He still talked about going on that ride all the way up until we took him again this past fall when he was almost 4 years old.

The one big change for us from previous trips was dining. We used to always be the folks who did signature restaurants just about every night. We found that on that trip doing a table service every night wasn't enjoyable. The most relaxing meals we had on that trip or the ones when we would bring takeout counter service back to our villa and eat at the table there. Our little guy enjoyed to be free range time and the ability to get up and down and explore the room on his own.

That's the one thing that you'll want to consider: making sure that there are breaks in the day where your toddler can be a bit free range. The circus area over by Dumbo in the Magic Kingdom is a good spot for that, and the Square in Italy was a great place for it as well. At that age, they want to use that mobility they just work so hard to learn, so sitting in the stroller or being held the entire time will start to frustrate them.

I think that the most important piece of advice I could give would be to just try and relax and remember that you're there to have fun, and so are they. And their version of fun might be just to slow down and watch a parade that never interested you before or touch every single bar on a handrail while they stare at ducks. That's one of the benefits of being a family who enjoys going back to Disney so often, you don't feel the pressure to try and do it all

 

[wmjeffer]

We took my daughter last year right after she turned two...and I have to say it was VERY difficult! She is a pretty laid-back, sweet kid, but had lots of issues in the parks. I don't think there is any way to know for sure how they will react to such a stimulating environment (even other theme parks, since we had taken her to Busch Gardens before with no issues!). But, here are some things I learned:

1. I didn't think about how much my daughter would be in the stroller...and she hated that! I wish I had gotten her used to spending more time in the stroller leading up to the trip. We ended up holding her A LOT - so much, in fact, that I ended up hurting my back on the trip

2. Going back to the hotel for afternoon naps was a total bust for us. We'd rush to get out of the park right after lunch time and she didn't nap most of the time and then getting back out to the parks was such a pain. We wasted so much time! But this might not be as much of an issue for you, being on the monorail.

3. She wasn't really scared on any rides, even Haunted Mansion. I don't think she "got it" at that age. But we're taking her again in November and I definitely think she would be scared now! So, that can be a plus with younger kids!

4. Her night sleep was very poor during the trip (she had been a great sleeper prior). I rented a crib, even brought her crib bedding from home, but she would cry at night and eventually ended up in my bed for the rest of the trip. I didn't get a lot of sleep!

5. Child swap is great...when it works! We had one issue where a CM wouldn't give us one for BTMR because we got there as soon as it opened, so by the time the first group was finished, the next group had to wait in a much longer line. But, other than that, and sometimes taking a while, child swap is a nice option with little ones!

6. It's great that they eat free from your plate - and it's so easy to feed them at buffets, if you snag a reservation! But, they might not like the characters - we went to Garden Grill for breakfast and she was a bit scared of the characters, but certainly not crying or anything. I think the characters are really good about respecting and understanding each kid's boundaries and they kept their distance once they realized she was scared.

7. Find free-range playgrounds to let them run around! The indoor playground at Dumbo, the small playground by Splash Mountain, etc.

8. My daughter's favorite ride, by far, was Turtle Talk with Crush, lol. She was way too young to understand any of the jokes, but she loved hearing everyone laugh and would laugh right along with us! You never know what they will love!

9. I said I wouldn't take her again until she was 5 or older...and yet, we're taking her again in November! But I think we have a much better handle on how to plan a visit with her, her likes/dislikes, and how she will react to that kind of environment. So, I'm hopeful it will be a more enjoyable trip! I don't mean to point out so many negatives from our trip, but I do wish I had considered these sorts of issues and adjusted my expectations accordingly!

I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[happymommy]

I had such the opposite trip when my daughter was 2. Sorry yours didn't turn out as wonderful as it could have!

We took a double stroller (kids were 2 and 4), took it easy, let them nap in the stroller daily (didn't go back to force naps in the room; that wouldn't have worked), didn't stay out late, enjoyed the little things.

My daughter was also not fond of the characters for the most part, so we avoided them!

We enjoyed our time so much that I started also taking the kids without my husband when they were 4 and 6! Now she and I are going next month again!

 

[MouseMama11]

We took my oldest when she was 2 (her first trip) and we're taking my second next month and she is 2!! When we took my oldest, she did fantastic. Here are some tips from personal experience:

1. Respect the nap time. With how Disney is set up, it's so easy to go back to your resort for nap/quiet time. We blocked off a couple hours everyday after lunch to go back to the hotel and take a break from the hustle of the parks. The LO napped, we got to relax or one of us would go to the pool to chill or read... We planned our Fast Passes and ADRs around that "quiet time" too. It reduced the meltdowns and over stimulation and made a better time for everyone!

2. Be prepared to do the same rides over and over. We did It's A Small World what seemed like a billion times, we did Aladdin's Magic Carpets a bunch of times too.

3. Characters could be hit or miss. We weren't sure how she would react to characters, especially since they look so much smaller on the TV screen. And she was a very shy and timid toddler. She was actually totally fine, especially with Mickey and friends (the princesses are "real people" so that kind of made her nervous since it was like walking up to a stranger). We ended up getting her an autograph book as an "ice breaker". It gave her something to give the character and a "reason" to walk up to them!!

4. Don't try to cram too much into each day. We ended up skipping the night time activities (parade, fireworks, etc) just because she was so exhausted. We respected her cues for being tired and "done" for the day. We usually ended the day with a quick trip to the pool to wind down before bed.

5. Make ADRs for buffets and character dining! They eat free so we made reservations for mostly buffets since it was so easy to grab what they wanted! And it was an easy way to meet the characters. If she wasn't interested, no biggy, they would wave and go on to the next table.

6. Bring things for the LO to do while waiting. We had a small bag inside our backpack with coloring and figurines we bought from the Dollar Store. It made waiting in lines for rides and waiting for food easier.

You guys are going to have a blast!!! I loved taking my oldest at 2 just because it starts to be magical for them! I can't wait to take my second next month

 

[disneymom0104]

I have taken 3 2 y/o's and each were different. 1 was a young 2, and 2 were older 2's. None were afraid of characters, in fact, all loved them. I had 1 that hated pretty much every ride- except IASW, Pooh and the ride in the Mexico pavilion. That was tough. But I've had others that were fine with Pirates, HM, etc. My advice is start slow/easy on rides, even if it isn't the "order" you feel you should do. We were at DL last year with my near 2 year old and decided to take him on Alice first. The firework at the end scared him, he cried on EVERYTHING after that, including IASW and Casey Jr. train- everything was harder after that mistake. When we took the 2 year old before him we started with IASW and he did fine on everything. It is really a great age!

 

[AshleeH]

My kids have always been great in the parks at all ages - we just make sure we have a stroller and take a midday break and plan at least one meal per day in a restaurant to relax and have air conditioning.

 

[Hettie]

Hi! Going with our 2 year, 4 month old in late August. Will update then! (Fingers Crossed)

I can't wait to hear about it!

Don't be surprised if your child 1) doesn't want to get off a ride and 2) wants to go on the same ride over and over and......
We tried to have one planned event a day, and then played everything by ear, since little ones have their own logic.

That's a great way to go about it, we only went on Spaceship Earth last time, didn't even go to MK, and mostly just strolled around AK. He was in the 3 nap a day, constantly nursing stage then. Not a big deal for us since we've been on all the attractions dozens of times by now, we just like to soak up the atmosphere, ride whatever strikes our fancy, and enjoy food and drinks!

That's the one thing that you'll want to consider: making sure that there are breaks in the day where your toddler can be a bit free range. The circus area over by Dumbo in the Magic Kingdom is a good spot for that, and the Square in Italy was a great place for it as well. At that age, they want to use that mobility they just work so hard to learn, so sitting in the stroller or being held the entire time will start to frustrate them.

Great advice about the free-range play areas. I love those spots, can't wait to watch my toddler play there!

1. I didn't think about how much my daughter would be in the stroller...and she hated that! I wish I had gotten her used to spending more time in the stroller leading up to the trip. We ended up holding her A LOT - so much, in fact, that I ended up hurting my back on the trip

Those are important considerations, I'll make sure to keep up our stroller walks and keep wearing him in my carrier. He's walking, so haven't been wearing him as much, but he still likes it, so I'll just stay in the habit.

We enjoyed our time so much that I started also taking the kids without my husband when they were 4 and 6! Now she and I are going next month again!

I would love to take him sometime when my husband is too busy with work...but he might not appreciate that much, he would be too jealous I think!

We took my oldest when she was 2 (her first trip) and we're taking my second next month and she is 2!! When we took my oldest, she did fantastic. Here are some tips from personal experience:

1. Respect the nap time. With how Disney is set up, it's so easy to go back to your resort for nap/quiet time. We blocked off a couple hours everyday after lunch to go back to the hotel and take a break from the hustle of the parks. The LO napped, we got to relax or one of us would go to the pool to chill or read... We planned our Fast Passes and ADRs around that "quiet time" too. It reduced the meltdowns and over stimulation and made a better time for everyone!

2. Be prepared to do the same rides over and over. We did It's A Small World what seemed like a billion times, we did Aladdin's Magic Carpets a bunch of times too.

3. Characters could be hit or miss. We weren't sure how she would react to characters, especially since they look so much smaller on the TV screen. And she was a very shy and timid toddler. She was actually totally fine, especially with Mickey and friends (the princesses are "real people" so that kind of made her nervous since it was like walking up to a stranger). We ended up getting her an autograph book as an "ice breaker". It gave her something to give the character and a "reason" to walk up to them!!

4. Don't try to cram too much into each day. We ended up skipping the night time activities (parade, fireworks, etc) just because she was so exhausted. We respected her cues for being tired and "done" for the day. We usually ended the day with a quick trip to the pool to wind down before bed.

5. Make ADRs for buffets and character dining! They eat free so we made reservations for mostly buffets since it was so easy to grab what they wanted! And it was an easy way to meet the characters. If she wasn't interested, no biggy, they would wave and go on to the next table.

6. Bring things for the LO to do while waiting. We had a small bag inside our backpack with coloring and figurines we bought from the Dollar Store. It made waiting in lines for rides and waiting for food easier.

You guys are going to have a blast!!! I loved taking my oldest at 2 just because it starts to be magical for them! I can't wait to take my second next month

Those are great tips! I'm definitely going for a monorail resort the next two trips for ease of nap time. My son has always been pretty rigid with his nap schedule, I let him set it himself and we DO NOT skip naps...ever. If he sticks with the current nap time, it will be a 1:30 pm nap, which should work well with lunchtime. We may try to get in another trip before he turns 3 for the free admission and meals.

My advice is start slow/easy on rides, even if it isn't the "order" you feel you should do. We were at DL last year with my near 2 year old and decided to take him on Alice first. The firework at the end scared him, he cried on EVERYTHING after that, including IASW and Casey Jr. train- everything was harder after that mistake. When we took the 2 year old before him we started with IASW and he did fine on everything. It is really a great age!

We'll start with something light, maybe Peter Pan because I want to ride that standby to check out the new queue.

My kids have always been great in the parks at all ages - we just make sure we have a stroller and take a midday break and plan at least one meal per day in a restaurant to relax and have air conditioning.

I look forward to more table service meals next time. On our last trip, DS wasn't sitting in a high chair yet, so we ate all CS, except for one meal at Sanaa during which we took turns holding him and walking around. It was the end of lunch and the place was empty, so it wasn't too bad, but not exactly relaxing.

Thanks everyone for all the great advice! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it-- and I have over a year to wait!

 

[MinMou]

If you don't think you can get back to your room for a nap, and back to the park in time for something you want to do, this blog post lists places where it is fairly easy to nap in the parks: http://blog.touringplans.com/2013/07/03/the-art-of-the-walt-disney-world-nap/

 

[jamez2014]

some great tips and advice for when we take out 2yo next year, i have certainly made some notes.

 

[alicat8]

We took my daughter at almost exactly that age in August a few years ago. She had a great trip. Character meets and meals were her favorites. I wished we had booked more while we were there. We did about 3/4 days for just about every day with a few break days built in (about every 3-4 days? It was a long trip) We started a little later on the days we were planning the nighttime shows (we actually only did Wishes) and on the other days we'd go early and leave around 3-4. We didn't do many midday breaks, because the transportation just felt tiring (we rented a car. Sometimes took it, sometimes used buses).

Small World, Peter Pan, the carrousel and the shows were her favorite attractions. We did them multiple times. She was still too young to be scared in HM and Pirates, so we did those no problem (now she's scared...) She had fun at the Seas in Epcot, but the rest of the park (besides Mexico and *groan* Figment) were a bust. Just a lot of hot walking. We tried to meet some princesses in WS, but it really just felt forced and miserable in the afternoon heat. HS was a great park for her at that age-Disney Jr stuff, shows, TSM and H and V lunch were all great. She also loved everything at AK (boneyard playground, character meets, safari, animal trails)

She did not nap in the room at all. The few days we tried ended up being more stressful than if she had just stayed awake, because I obsessively watched the clock. We'd get back, I'd think she was exhausted and she'd bounce around the room like a maniac. She would nap in the stroller if we were walking around the parks. So when she'd fall asleep, we'd just go into a qs place or gift shops so she could be in the ac and nap.

 

[Tucker24]

My husband and I have always been sort of park commandos on our Disney trips, and it didn't occur to us to be any other way when we brought our son with us when he was 22 months old. Maybe it's genetics, and he's got Disney park commando in his veins (LOL) but we had a great trip!

We made sure to rent a stroller that would go all the way flat in case he fell asleep in it while we were walking around, and that worked out pretty well for us. Sometimes he'd fight us about getting into the stroller, but it's loud walking around the parks and nobody noticed him crying under the closed sunshade, and he'd quickly fall asleep because he was so tired.

He loved the shows and the parades, and wasn't afraid of the characters. I have the most adorable picture of him kissing Minnie's nose! Disney Junior live was a hit for him – I still smile at the memory of him trying to grab the tissue paper gold dabloons as they floated to the ground and dancing to the music. The first time he saw fireworks was at Disney, and thankfully they weren't too loud or scary for him and he really loved them!

His absolute most favorite ride was Small World. He still talked about going on that ride all the way up until we took him again this past fall when he was almost 4 years old.

The one big change for us from previous trips was dining. We used to always be the folks who did signature restaurants just about every night. We found that on that trip doing a table service every night wasn't enjoyable. The most relaxing meals we had on that trip or the ones when we would bring takeout counter service back to our villa and eat at the table there. Our little guy enjoyed to be free range time and the ability to get up and down and explore the room on his own.

That's the one thing that you'll want to consider: making sure that there are breaks in the day where your toddler can be a bit free range. The circus area over by Dumbo in the Magic Kingdom is a good spot for that, and the Square in Italy was a great place for it as well. At that age, they want to use that mobility they just work so hard to learn, so sitting in the stroller or being held the entire time will start to frustrate them.

I think that the most important piece of advice I could give would be to just try and relax and remember that you're there to have fun, and so are they. And their version of fun might be just to slow down and watch a parade that never interested you before or touch every single bar on a handrail while they stare at ducks. That's one of the benefits of being a family who enjoys going back to Disney so often, you don't feel the pressure to try and do it all

This is us exactly. My Husband had the pleasure of riding small world five times in a row. My son was so proud of himself that he memorized everything and got to point out everything to me. My advise is to go with the flow and find out what the kids like. Mid day breaks worked for us where we brought food back to the room and chilled out in the AC with a little old school mickey on the TV
My son did not want to get off spaceship earth and to make things a little more interesting pressed spanish language button in the beginning so it made for an interesting time