Ack! Last minute advice for trip with 2 year old needed!

[vllygrrl]

Yikes - DH has surprised me by purchasing a 3-night trip to Disney March 5-8. We are visiting his relatives in FL the week before, and he decided that we'll stay at Pop Century on the way home. He bought us 10 day hoppers with no expiration, because we were already planning a trip to Disney in December. This will be our first trip with our son, who turns 2 next week. I have absolutely no time to plan and no idea what to attempt to do with him for the 3 days we are there. On top of that, this will be our first stay in a value resort. Anyone want to give suggestions on what to do, where to eat, things a newly-2-year-old would enjoy seeing? ACCK! Please understand, I am normally a planner, but we are leaving this Thursday, and I will not have access to a computer after that point! Soooo stressed (but in a magical, happy way)!

 

[lovesdumbo]

I have 3 children who are now 6, 5 and 3. The youngest has been when she was 11 months, 21 months and 33 months. On all 3 trips probably her favorite thing were the character meals we did at CP with Pooh. We've done all 3 meals and I really love breakfast.

She also really loved the new Pooh playground-across from the Pooh ride which is also a huge hit. She loved the carosel too.

Another thing she really loved were the fountains in Epcot at night. On all 3 trips she did nap in her stroller.

The other hint I would give you would be to bring some Table Toppers. They are disposable one use plastic placemats that have adhesive stips so they stay in place. I really loved them. They are available at Target, BabiesRUs and I've even seen them at BJ's. Another thing would be to bring those presoaped dishwashing clothes for cleaning sippy cups.

You may want to check out the Pop FAQ thread. I got a great feel for Pop by reading that thread. I'm looking forward to my first stay there in May with just my DD who will turn 7 there.

And make use of the Baby Care center they are really great. The changing tables are HUGE.

How fun! Your DH must be a great guy!

 

[staci]

Well we are a lot like you.
Took our first trip with ds in October, he was 1 wk shy of his 2nd birthday.
We stayed at Pop.

Bring a swim diaper in your bag. There is a goofy water playground at POP that ds LOVED (think water sprinklers coming out of the ground). Every night when returning to the resort we had to walk right by it to get to our room. In the beginning we went back to the room, changed him, and went back down for 10-15 minutes. Got smart by the end, and just took it in the diaper bag, and threw it on quick in the bathrooms of the main building. He could play for 10 minutes, he was happy, it was night and so relaxing to just sit on the bench and watch him laugh.

Spend most (if not all) of your time in MK. Dont get me wrong, there were good things in other parks, but MK was the best. In retrospect, I wish we would have spent the majority of our time there, but we didnt have hoppers, so only spent 2 days of the 6.

Introduce your child to the concept of the characters first. Go to chuck e cheese, sporting events, or other locations with furry characters and test him out. Some kids are horrified. Mine LOVED them so the character meals were a hit for him.

I would schedule a character meal NOW if you can still get one. Chef Mickeys was awesome for interaction with the characters. Also liked crystal palace. DS did not like the characters at the castle, too 'real' for him (not furry )

Buy the disney sing a long called DISNEYLAND FUN. It shows some of MK at disneyland, and has characters and park songs. This really helped ds, and is still one of his favorites. Really any of the singalongs are good becuase they are short (30 minutes) and they introduce a lot of characters, which helps them enjoy the experience better.

DS loved the night parade at MK. We staked out seats about 1 hour early, but brought some glow necklaces with us from the dollar tree (much cheaper than the glow things for sale there) and he played and played in his stroller. Then his got his first (and only ) Mickey Ear ice cream bar, which is just priceless on video to watch him eat. So CUTE!!!! By the time that was done, the parade was going right in front of us, with all the lights and characters, with the castle shining in the distance. Pure magic.

Get to MK early in the day to spend time in Fantasyland. THis was the best area as far as everything geared towards the little ones, but it gets busy as the day goes on.

Does your ds nap well in a stroller? WE found that while a midday break was necessary, it worked better for us to let ds nap in his stroller while we took turns at rides, adn then return to the resort for a quick swim or a little down time in the room while he was awake. Be prepared to be flexible with his schedule. Follow his cues and you will be fine.

ANy other question just ask!!

We had a truly magical time!

 

[staci]

Take and toss cups were great. Took one into the parks each day and didnt worry about loosing it.

 

[mom22princesses]

Hi! Wow! I surprise trip ... sounds wonderful, but I can feel your stress with no time to plan! LOL ... a happy stress.

We took my younger DD the a couple of weeks before her 2nd birthday. Her favorite thing was the characters by far. She loved them at the character meals, in line to get a picture and her favorite were the parades!! She just giggled and smiled through the all the parades esp. Spectromagic. As for rides, she liked Dumbo & Small World the best. She actually really enjoyed the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom and the Lion King Show (but a bit loud for her). Her absolute favorite thing besides the characters were the fountains & sidewalk lights at Epcot. She could have danced on those lights forever (in the sidewalk near Innoventions West). Have a wonderful magical trip!

 

[1of6]

We were at POP Feb.1-7. DD was 2 and 3 weeks old. We got bed rails and put them across 1 side and the bottom of the bed. I slept with her as her other bed rail!

We asked through reservations and got a fridge for free to keep milk in the room. What a blessing. I'm not sure if they still give them for free for an under 3yo but worth asking.

I asked DD2 what her favorite thing was and she said, "I saw Mickey Mouse and Goofy!" The characters were by far her favorite things.

Many of the rides and shows were too loud for her. We covered her ears and she was fine. She also didn't like anything that got her wet unexpectantly. (Think- Little Mermaid in MGM.)

Have a great time!!!