Any tips for trip with 21 month old? (Toddler)

[dsal2002]

My wife and I are foster parents. Our current placement is a 11 month old little girl. There is a possibility that we could adopt her. If we do we will be taking her with us in May 2016 for our big family trip. Little back ground. My in-laws are DVC members. My wife and I have gone by ourselves twice, 2007 for our honey moon and then our first DVC trip and first since 07 in Sept 2013. Then in Sept 2014 my in-laws set up a big family trip, them, us, my brother in law and my sister in law who lives in Orlando and her husband and kids. The trip for May 2016 is all the same people, plus my brother in laws girlfriend and her daughter and possibly our foster daughter. We will most likely stay at the Beach Club. But my wife and I are a little lost on what do if we do have our foster daughter? Any tips? We want to do the character meets and probably a character dinning. Just not sure what else?

 

[little miss minnie]

You know your foster daughter best. You should use that to help you plan. For myself, when we took my daughter last October when she was 9 months, I found what was most helpful was to make lists and plan plan plan. I made sure I had everything she would need food, diaper, sleep, entertainment wise. This helped me feel more prepared. As for the actual touring of the parks. it depends on your style. Are you guys more go with the flow, or do you like having a set schedule? I like to fall a little inbetween. I schedule our fastpasses and dining and I make a general touring plan, but I also leave time for mid day breaks if we need them, and I also do it with the understanding that we HAVE to be flexible when going with a child this young. Disney ahs tons of stuff for younger toddlers to do like the meet and greets and character dining, but you can also take them on any ride that doesnt have a height restriction! This September when we go, my daughter will be 20 months, so around the same age as your foster daughter. I tried to plan things that I DEFINITELY want her to experience in the morning, when shes in the best mood. Some things I made fastpass selections for were Magic Kingdom- Winnie the Pooh, Its a Small World, Little Mermaid Under the Sea, Peter Pan, and Character Dining at Crystal Palace. EPCOT, I did the mickey and friends meet and greet and nemo. Hollywood Studios, I did fast passes for Disney Junior Live. There are tons of other options and rides too, these are just a few of what I did.

 

[Tzbwilsonfam]

following. I know it sounds silly but we are planning on making a quick trip to Disney World in April. Our son will have just turned 2. I really want him to have his first haircut at Magic Kingdom. I'm worried there won't be much for him to do, but I want to take him so we have that first experience. My hubby thinks we should go alone.

 

[dsal2002]

Thanks Little Miss Minnie. My sister in law and her husband have been taking our niece and nephew since they were born, they live in Orlando. So I know they will be a wealth of knowledge also. But they are 7 and 4 now so there likes are different from our munchkin. My wife and her dad have mentioned doing a character dinning. I did read some people recommend getting the vacation planning dad from Disney. Said it helps the little ones see the non cartoon character, can help with them not being scared. We are hoping we get to take her. If we do get to, by that time we may have already or be in the process of adopting her. And with my wife's family, they earn there ears young haha.

 

[ml sumner]

My son who is 4 has already been 3 times and next month will be his fourth visit. His first time was 16 months, second time was 2 year 4 months, and third time was 3 year 4 months. He has done FANTASTIC all three times and each trip brings something a little different. There is SO much at Magic Kingdom that does not require a height limit. We made sure from a young age that our son was familiar with the Disney characters, which is easy to accomplish if you have the Disney Junior chanel. The shows on there are adorable and many are educating at the same time. At 16 months my son was not afraid of any of the characters. Now will he remember these visits, of course not, but I have a scrapbook of each year we have taken him with beautiful pictures that will last a life time. He loves it when I pull these albums out and we sit and look through them. Last year was the "magical 40 inch mark" so he got to ride some new rides and this year I'm sure there will be even more new expereinces and memories made. Disney is for all ages you are never too young or too old!!

 

[dsal2002]

That's awesome ml Sumner. We are hoping we can take her. She LOVES the Disney junior channel. Loves Mickey Mouse club and Doc McStuffins and of course frozen. Which she has been watching since we got her, my wife loves it too.

 

[AshleeH]

We took it a little slower, planned appropriate ADRs (all character meals - although she ended up hating the characters), spent a lot of time on Pooh and Small World and other things she enjoyed. It was a fun trip. My husband and I would split time with the oldest and go on the thrill rides and our younger son (who is not a thrill ride person) would hang out with whoever had the baby in Fantasyland, which is what he would have been wanting to do even if little sister hadn't been on the trip.

 

[dsal2002]

Thank you AshleeH. We have talked about rides. Pooh, dumbo, the carousel and small world are ones we figure well try

 

[AshleeH]

Pretty much anything that doesn't have a height requirement is okay. Although steer clear of the ones that say pregnant moms shouldn't go (but they tend to be one and the same with the height requirements). I also would possibly avoid Toy Story Midway Mania, just because it tends to swing you around so fast and they won't let the baby stay in your lap - they have to sit right beside you and share the lap bar. Just didn't feel safe at all.

 

[andiraye]

First of all, good luck with the whole process!

I think with a very small child it is unlikely that you will be spending rope drop to closing at the parks. I think it is more likely that you will spend the mornings there, then lunch, then nap and pool time. So even if you don't think there are tons of activities, if you think about spending 3 hours at the parks each morning and then going with the flow there is still a lot to do.

In MK especially there is a ton to do - dumbo, the dumbo line, the splash station, astro orbiter, Aladdin, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, country bear jamboree, the carousel, the tea cups (you don't have to spin your head off!), small world, all of the little music shows throughout the day... I bet you could spend 2-3 mornings in MK no problem.

Another thing you can do is buy a 3 day park pass and add days when you are there if you feel like you need more. My guess is that your daughter will be happy to ride dumbo 900 times and that it will be you who needs a break from the things that make her happy, rather than the other way around. I also think that hanging out by the pool and the playground at your resort are a great way to spend your time. So one way to approach this trip is as a wonderful, relaxing vacation with some Disney included, rather than as a week long Disney mission.

Lots of people on these boards go for a week or more and do the parks nonstop but I've never done the parks more than 3 or 4 days per trip in my life. And we are going back in 11 days and are planning 2.5 pools days and 3 park days. And I'm looking forward to relaxing by the pool, watching my kids swim and playing with them in the water as much as I am the parks.

 

[dsal2002]

Thanks Andiraye. We are planning for MK day to do rope drop, a few hours there then back to resort for nap and lunch, then back to MK for the fireworks. Little one loves fireworks. And that is our favorite firework show. We will probably be staying at Beach Club Villa. My in laws are DVC members so we will be by Epcot. . So we may go in the international gateway to watch there show. We get a 4 day park hopper. My father in law is retired Air Force, so he gets our tickets on base. We will be there from May 27th, 2016 to June 3rd. Friday to Friday. We will be doing Star Wars weekend while we are there. More for me then anyone else lol. Our plan is Sat/Sun/Tues/Wed parks, possibly Universal Studios(My brother in law works there and is getting us free passes) Mon or Thurs. One of the off days we will meet up with my Aunt and cousins at Downtown Disney for dinner. Our times at AK are usually done by 2-3pm. So pool and relax time after that. But I think little one will love AK safari ride. We took her to the zoo this summer and she went crazy. She loved it. With our niece and nephew being there little one may be energized to play with the big kids lol. They will be 8 and 5. But probably play park days by ear

 

[dsal2002]

Few changes to our plans. We found out my brother in law wont be able to go with us. He got orders for Korea, he's active duty Air Force. So it looks like we will be staying at OKW in a 3 bedroom grand villa. Sucks he cant go but we will get to see him sometime before he reports there in April.

 

[dsal2002]

So another change in our plans. My father in law will be getting us a 1 bedroom suite and them and my wifes sister will be in a 2 bedroom. Its either gonna be AK or BC. Depends on what is available when he books. And on the foster daughter side. Just found out the court has ordered Human Services to file termination of parent rights. So looking like she will go from FD to DD.

 

[WDW_Crazy]

My wife and I are foster parents. Our current placement is a 11 month old little girl. There is a possibility that we could adopt her. If we do we will be taking her with us in May 2016 for our big family trip. Little back ground. My in-laws are DVC members. My wife and I have gone by ourselves twice, 2007 for our honey moon and then our first DVC trip and first since 07 in Sept 2013. Then in Sept 2014 my in-laws set up a big family trip, them, us, my brother in law and my sister in law who lives in Orlando and her husband and kids. The trip for May 2016 is all the same people, plus my brother in laws girlfriend and her daughter and possibly our foster daughter. We will most likely stay at the Beach Club. But my wife and I are a little lost on what do if we do have our foster daughter? Any tips? We want to do the character meets and probably a character dinning. Just not sure what else?

Go back to your hotel in the heat of the day for a nice long nap. Biggest little kid tip I can think of.