2 1/2 year old to WDW.....help

[pumpkin5156]

If you have ever taken your (or a ) 2-3 year old to WDW, I am ready for your advice/tips/thoughts. he's our only child and I'm wondering how it goes.

Do you find it helpful to go back to the hotel (POFQ for us) and take a break, then go back to the parks and stay late? Or is it better to charge it all day and turn in around 8 or 9PM? Our boy goes to bed at 7pm every night without fail, and naps very regularly (though at the time of travel he'll be down to only one nap a day...) He sleeps fine in his stroller.

I don't know if he'll be 40 inches at 2 1/2.....so what rides couldn't they go on?? Did anything freak them out? He's very apt to be outside and see new things, so I'm not really afraid of overstimulation. He just doesn't like a lot of people in his face....

First time mom here, so I'm certainly not above any comments or advice anyone has. I need it!

Please help me out so I can be prepared! Thanks all!

 

[crossfamily]

I took my ds9; ds3; & dd 18 months last year alone.. I took breaks during the day after lunch. Even if they didn't sleep they still swam and relaxed.. I quit by 8 or 9 each night just so i didn't over due it. I took lots of snacks into the parks with me as well as juice boxes for the kids.. It worked out great. Just go at a slow pace and enjoy yourself. I am going again this year with my kids and I can't wait because my dd is now 2 1/2 as well and she is so into everything.. I kinda let my kids pick where they go or what they want to do and I have found it to be much easier that way. We took turns all around.. Have a great trip!

 

[sss]

Hi,
WE took our twin girls at 14 months, 3 years and 4 years and our youngest on those last two trips was 14 months and again at about 2 years and two months....all i can say is you never know til you get there. Our twins napped every day in their stroller on their first two trips, we made early dinner reservations (around 5 or 5:30). Our twins had a blast at 14 months, our youngest was mostly interested in the birds and not much of anything else at the same age....but for all 3 we ended up not going back and packing it in early (they napped in the stroller, made for some awesome pics)....it worked great. Also, don't be afraid to use the various services in orlando that shop for you and deliver to your room. There is no reason to schlep diapers and whatever other baby related things you need. It's so worth it. In terms of rides, we stuck to the tamer ones because i'm a nervous girl (i admit it!)...any boat ride is usually a hit (hello small world!), characters will totally depend on your child but don't push it too much (the possible temper tantrum is so not worth it), shows didn't work well for us because my girls have a noise thing but some kids love em and the love love love still dumbo and flying carpets and peter pan...I guess my best advice is go with the flow of your kiddo...keep the camera ready and just be prepared to go slow and not to cover what you might without a child...oh and if your kiddo is two and you have a great stroller you loveBRING IT. I think that's about it...have fun!
sss

 

[Tikicampers]

Disney lists the height requirements of the rides on their website. We took DS when he was 18mo. The main thing is to go with the flow. You can have a plan, but be prepared to throw it out the window if neccessary. When it was just us and DS, we did spend one day totally at MK. He fell asleep and I carried him on POTC and HM, he slept through both. The next day, he got crabby midday, so we left AK after lunch. It just depends on how your child is feeling that day.
On our last trip, we did go back to hotel at lunchtime on both days, but we have two kids now, and it was just to hard to go all day with both.
I would advise you to ride something like Small World first. On DS's first trip we got on Snow White first (why I don't know). It scared him so much that we had to spend some time convincing him to try another ride.

 

[Ellester]

Always good to plan ahead! My trip report includes much info on taking a 2y10m old to Disney! All our kids have been at least once before they hit 3. We have never been "go back to the room" people. But, I've never been a big schedule stickler either. Your son is 1 now? It will be very hard to tell now how his nap/sleep schedule will be in a year. They change so much between one and two! My oldest two were done with all naps by 2.5 (if they did nap, they were up past 11pm). And my now 3yo naps only occasionally and when he does he is still raring to go until 10pm or so. I guess the main point of my reply would be, yes, we've taken kids to Disney at 2y0m, 2y6m(oldest dd), 1y9m, 2y4m(younger dd), and 2y10m(ds). It can be done and it is alot of fun!

 

[thepeach80]

I just looked and there are only a handful of kids rides that have a height limit, Barnstormer is 34" so I'm not sure my peanut 2.5yo will make it. We've never been and are so excited, but in normal exciting things, my kids do better if they skip the nap (AJ doesn't nap anymore anyways) and then just go to bed early, for us that's 7pm, for you it might be even earlier, but bedtime might be later then too. My parents are coming so I plan on having all the kids in bed early, leaving them w/ my parents and me and DH are hitting MK for extra magic hours, woohoo!

 

[Nanu57v]

At 18 months, the trip back to the hotel was essential. DD just got too overstimulated without the break at the boring hotel room. They can ride practically everything, except the thrill rides.

 

[scrapnmom]

My DS was 22 months when we went. For us, the nap time was essential. We all took a nap. I would highly recommend it, especially if you go when it's hot (sorry I didn't notice when you're going). Every day we got going early and came back to the hotel (POR) after lunch. If you tried to skip naptime then he would fall asleep in the stroller and that is not quality sleep. When you go with a toddler, I think the key is to follow his lead. We spent a long time in the little playground in toontown because he was having so much fun. I read all the guidebooks about the scariness factor of the rides and so skipped all those that weren't age appropriate. We didn't go on a ton of rides because we went at his pace but we had a really wonderful time. He also loved the characters so we spent a lot of time finding and meeting them. We did two character meals and that was the most fun we had! We are going back in Nov and DS will be 4 and DD will be 2 (I was pg with her on our last trip). This time we have 3 character meals planned.

 

[ajcolorado]

We just came back from a trip with a 3 year old and he naps well in his stroller so we actually only took one mid-day break. We took advantage of the play areas to let him run off some steam. He loved the shows.

Walt Disney World Resort features "theme parks" - not just "thrill parks". Walt's intention from the beginning was that the whole family would enjoy the experience. As the oldest park, the Magic Kingdom most reflects that goal but there will be good options at each of the parks. You could easily fill two days at Magic Kingdom. Disney-MGM Studios is mostly shows anyway.

The whole family will be able to do these attractions:

Magic Kingdom:
• Its A Small World
• The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,
• Peter Pan's Flight,
• Cinderella's Golden Carrousel,
• Snow White's Scary Adventure,
• Enchanted Tiki Room (show),
• Jungle Cruise,
• Magic Carpets of Aladdin,
• Pirates of the Caribbean,
• Country Bear Jamboree,
• Tom Sawyer's Island,
• All of "Mickey's Toontown Fair" with the possible exception of Goofy's Barnstormer,
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority,
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin.
• Parades, fireworks and other live entertainment.

Animal Kingdom:
• Kilimanjaro Safari
• Rafiki's Planet Watch,
• The Boneyard Play area
• 2 Animal Viewing Trails
• Triceratop Spin
• "Festival of the Lion King" (great show)
• "Finding Nemo - the Musical". (great show)
• Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends" ( OK show - geared towards little ones)
• Street performances
• Character Meet-and-Greet opportunities.
• "Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade". (A favorite of my family’s)


MGM Studios - how well can you keep the little one occupied while trying to enjoy a show? Disney-MGM Studios has some great shows:
• "Lights, Motors, Action!",
• "Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular",
• "Beauty and the Beast Live".
• "Playhouse Disney Live on Stage".
• Voyagle of the Little Mermaid.
• "Muppet 3-D" is not scary - but is a little loud.
• "Fantasmic" will also be fine.

Epcot:
I think Epcot is WONDERFUL when traveling with a little one.

Future World Area:
• Spaceship Earth,
• The Universe of Energy (Dinosaurs & 45 blessed minutes of air conditioning)
• Journey into Your Imagination with Figment
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends” pavilion
• Jammitors are a “Stomp” like percussion group
• The boat ride at the Mexico pavilion is similar to “It’s A Small World”

Keeping a little one occupied may make it hard to enjoy the American Adventure or the Circle Vision movies in China & Canada. If I was going to choose one, I’d go with the China movie. The American Adventure is a good spot for a nap.

The Epcot World Showcase is mostly live entertainment anyway.

 

[MouseLover]

I don't remember the height requirements. She rode pretty much all the non-thrill rides, and I know at age 4 she rode Test Track.


We rented a stroller and did not leave the park for breaks most days. We ate a leisurely sit-down lunch and she slept in her stroller for about an hour. She ate lunch before or after, and we always had juice boxes and crackers for a snack for her. She also slept through the Presidents attraction.

 

[pumpkin5156]

Did your little guys do well with the shows? My guy is pretty attentive and VERY observant, so I think they will hold his attention. If not, there is always the bribe of food reserved for special occasions....

 

[Tator Tot's Mom]

or whatever they are calling it this year-
Last year two days after Labor Day we went to the Magic Kingdom with our then just one year old daughter and 3 1/2 year old son. During that one early magic hour we went to each and every attraction in fantasyland- and we had charecters begging to play catch with our kids, and play tag. It was fabulous- by the time the park opened to everyone we had done all of the rides important to the kids, had time for my daughter's 1st haircut and got ready to eat a snack with no waiting in lines. We managed to see almost every attraction and then some by closing time. Our son took us on BTMRR 6 times- 3 times we didn't even have to get off inbetween! It was the perfect day at the magic kingdom because of that magical begining time for preschoolers!

 

[meowzer]

We took out DS (2 1/2) and DD 7 to WDW Nov. 2006.

This is what we did and some people think we are crazy but it worked.

We did not use or bring a stroller, which meant DS had to walk. Don't forget every ride you are on you are sitting so that is equal to resting your legs but your kids are totally entertained and so are you. We ate a good breakfast and lunch and then fed DS an early dinner. Our dinner reservations were between 5 and 6. DS would take his nap while we ate which made our dinner pleasant and we could collect our thoughts and map out our evening plans. He would be refreshed and continue on until around 10:00 pm and then would crash. We would carry him back to the room.

My goal on a daily basis is to wear my son out. I know he is tired when he tells me to "change his batteries".

 

[Nanu57v]

We took out DS (2 1/2) and DD 7 to WDW Nov. 2006.

This is what we did and some people think we are crazy but it worked.

We did not use or bring a stroller, which meant DS had to walk. Don't forget every ride you are on you are sitting so that is equal to resting your legs but your kids are totally entertained and so are you. We ate a good breakfast and lunch and then fed DS an early dinner. Our dinner reservations were between 5 and 6. DS would take his nap while we ate which made our dinner pleasant and we could collect our thoughts and map out our evening plans. He would be refreshed and continue on until around 10:00 pm and then would crash. We would carry him back to the room.

My goal on a daily basis is to wear my son out. I know he is tired when he tells me to "change his batteries".

I do think you are crazy! just kidding. We had thought about just bringing the back carrier sometimes, (we have an ERGO, a soft frameless) but our stroller was so light that we just brought it and parked it if we didn't use it. But I'm curious...where did DS nap during dinner?

 

[tink_about_it]

Have you considere www.tourguidemike.com? He has sample plans for young children (and others)...

We always take nap breaks when we have one that age (which we do) My youngest is 2 1/2.

 

[pumpkin5156]

For me and my son, yes, that would be so crazy!! I cannot survive w/o my son's stroller! And we're getting a $60 aluminum one that folds in a jiff for this trip. I don't think we're going to "plan" on going back to the room, unless he nees it. He goes to bed at 7pm sharp every night, so to push his bedtime back later (so we can enjoy the night time), I'm thinking of a 3 or 4 o clock trip back to the room. We'll see. He sleeps really well in his stroller, so maybe we can catch a show ( or some shade) while he sleeps.

Did anything scare your 2 yo or frak him out? Did the shows keep his interest? Any other tips are well taken here!!! Thanks guys

 

[meowzer]

The CM's at the resteraunts were so nice. Normally we were in a booth. So he slept next to me. If we were in a place with only chairs we would maka a bed out of two chairs and I always had his blanket in my backpack along with a jacket I used for a pillow. We had a really light weight stroller, but when I packed our car for the drive it did not fit. Once we got there we realized it would have been more trouble to have a stroller in the park. If his legs got tired during the parades my husband or I would put him on our shoulders.

As far as scary, I was really surprised he was not afraid of any of the rides but he was afraid of the characters. In fact I have pictures of my husband and my daughter with most of the characters and my son was hanging on to my leg for dear life while the pictures were taken. The only characters he liked were Pooh, JoJo and Goliath.

 

[asgt]

My best piece of advice is to relax and soak in all your toddlers magical experiences. We took our 2.5 yo in January and I planned like a maniac and prepared myself for meltdowns, tantrums you name it. Well long story short my delightful son was practically prefect in every way. Yes the shows freaked him out (that was a surprise for us) and we napped everyday (which ate up precious time during shortened january hours) but he also showed us why Disney is so magical. He squealed with delight at meeting the characters, loved "flying" his elephant, ate special waffles, saw his first parade and waved to all his new "friends", giggled endlessly swimming in the fun pools...I had tears in my eyes all week long and I am not that sappy!
It was the time of my life and he still tells everyone he meets about it. We watch the disney planning video daily and he recounts the fun he had. You and your child will have the time of your life. Enjoy it!

 

[QueenGoblin]

We took DD when she was 2.5 and had a (mostly) great time. We didn't do naps (she was happy to nap in the stroller) but we made sure to have some down time days. Grandma and Grandpa were with us, so we would split up and keep DD at the resort for half days some days (she would have a late start at the parks or come back early...not everyday, but 2 or 3 of the days we were there).

We had one major meltdown which I have posted about before so some reading this might remember. We just missed the boat from FW to MK. No problem says Grandma, we'll take the other boat to CR and ride the monorail in. On the surface, this seemed like a good plan, but it proved to be our slow march towards doom. First of all, it took us way longer to do the CR switcheroo than if we just waited for the next MK boat at FW. But it was the return trip that really did us in. DD did not understand why we were not going "home." See, in her mind, going home meant getting back on the "train" (monorail). By now she was tired and well, she exploded. Screamed the whole ride back to FW on the boat, and then on the whole bus ride from the marina to our cabin loop. Our fellow travelers were not pleased with us and DH was ready to spend the rest of the vacation hiding in the cabin. Moral of the story? Be consistant whenever you can be. If we had gone home the way we came, I don't think DD would have had a meltdown, but she was convinced she wasn't going to get to go to bed and she was SO TIRED!
But it was a great trip and she really enjoyed it. She LOOOVED the fish at Living Seas, that was the only surprise for us. She spent a couple of hours there.

 

[WarrensMom]

We just got back from our second trip to Disney. Our first trip with our daughter was when she was 2 1/2. A couple of very important points to keep in mind:

1) When you make reservations for meals, assume that you are seating all adults. I made the mistake of thinking that a high chair did not require a "chair" and therefore made my reservations for 2 (with a highchair). They consider highchairs as a full adult spot. I almost ran into trouble at our Princess Breakfast.

2) Use the Passporter age appropriate guide when planning which rides to go on. The only ride that my daughter enjoyed beyond the age suggestion was the Kilimanjaro Safaris. (My husband talked me into letting her try it.) The age suggestion was 4 but it turned out to be her favorite attraction at Animal Kingdom.

3) Have a plan of attact before getting to the park. Do not wander around the park aimlessly and plan to take naps or rest breaks. Make as many lunch and or dinner reservations as you think you may need. (You can always cancel.) Do anything to avoid the waits . . .

We had a fantastic trip with no problems.