BEST TODDLER TIPS/STRATEGIES

[Noel2982]

Hello!
We are taking our 20 month old for his first visit in September! What are everyone's favorite tips and strategies for taking someone so young. Best things to fast pass for that age? Have you stayed in the parks late for night shows? etc.....

 

[monorailsilver]

My kids were early risers so we were out the door by 7-7:15 and did the early entry park of the day. We left at lunch time and we all napped!

I also shipped down breakfast foods so we ate in our room-cereal, pop tarts, bagels, oatmeal, etc...it not only saved time but money as well. Dh and I would take turns showering whirl the kids ate/got dressed.

My kids all stayed out late too, but then again we all had a 3-4 hour nap mid day!

We also don't do a park on arrival or departure day and after my last trip 3 yrs ago, 2 park days and an off day are a must, I have done 3 park days and then an off/pool day but I like the 2 days better. Last trip was 10 days, my next one will be 11 because I need a day off from the water park too!

Don't expect him to love the characters, he may or may not. My oldest was 15 mo and would not go best the face characters (Cinderella, etc..) but had no problem cuddling up to tigger. My son was 22 mo and liked all the characters but would have the death grip legs surrounding our stomach for fear we were going to put him down alone with them. My youngest was 2 1/2 and loved them all

Rides, some were scarier then others but I knew pretty much what was going to happen so I would say/laugh...look at that leg (the hairy leg in pirates) or look at their nose it's crooked...stupid things to make them laugh or to not be afraid. Or I would say it's going to get really dark, etc...

Fireworks I would have my kids cover their ears after the fear of the noise but after we looked for colors.

Go with the flow. The first trip we went on with a child, I had planned to rider swap with my dh so we could ride space mountain, splash, etc...but then I got there and said who cares about those rides, I rode them before and I will be back to ride them again.

Zip lock bags and a small cooler: my younger 2 were not big esters so I would order them a kids meal and they would eat maybe half so I would zip lock bag it and put it in our cooler and then our room fridge. We have leftovers at home so giving left overs on vacation wasn't a big deal.

fast passes that your kid will like and can go on. For me I would do soarin but my kids can go on that.

And my kids (me and dh too) were so tired that as soon as our head hit the pillow we would be asleep! There were a few times that we'd get back to the room at night and the tv would go on and I'd look at my kids who were fast asleep.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Go with the flow. It will probably change daily so just see what's working for you that day. There will be meltdowns - theirs and yours. One thing I learned the hard way was to ensure she had snacks (and that I remembered to give them to her) and not to push meal times too late.

Have fun and take lots of pics!

 

[MelissaBee]

That's how old DD was on her first trip! Go with the flow is the golden rule!
Be ready to notice the little things and spend time with those--DD loved the spitting tiki statues in Adventureland and all the water fountains.
Have plenty of snacks and drinks on the ready. Hangry toddlers = stressed parents. Milk was occasionally hard to come by, especially whole milk. We found it at coffee shops (this was before the Starbucks invasion).
DD napped on me in my front carry ergo, so we could go on some rides. Otherwise, bring something to black out the stroller and muffle the noise, like a towel, for napping on the go. Best case, you get back to the room for a nap, but stroller and ergo sleeping also let us stay later at night.
DD was afraid of characters. We did not see this coming. She nearly dove out of a high chair at our first character meal.
She also hated fireworks (and continued to hate them until she was 5). After a few massive meltdowns, we learned to exit quickly before the nighttime shows. I do know tons of toddlers who love fireworks, so we were caught off gaurd by her reaction.
She loved all the dark rides at that age, especially POC and HM. What did she know yet to be afraid of ghost or the dark? All that changed by our next trip, so make those memories now, haha!
Use rider swap to your advantage. You only need a FP for one adult. See other threads for more details on that.
They may be gone now, but Mission Space and Splash had little playgrounds to wait in at the exits. Most rides have engaging exit areas or nearby oddities that will entertain waiting toddlers, like the big water ball in Tomorrowland. Soarin is the worst waiting area (and the longest)!
We brought toys and stuff thinking we'd need it to entertain in lines. Nope. Other than her lovey, we could have left it all at home. There was tons to stimulate her in most of the queues and while riding around.

Have fun!!

 

[MouseMama11]

Definitely go with the flow like everyone else said!! Follow your LO's cues for getting tired/hungry/etc.

Last year we took my daughter for her 1st trip when she was 15 months old.
-We would do parks/FPs in the morning, eat lunch, then go back to the room for naps.
-Swim in the pool either in the afternoon after nap (if baby just needed some down time) or after dinner before bed. It relaxed her and she had fun without the extra stimulation.
-FPs: Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, Buzz Lightyear... basically any ride without a height requirement. Our LO ended up falling asleep for half the rides so I would just choose the rides you are interested in too lol!
-If you have a baby carrier for front and/or back, definitely bring it!! We have a Tula and would push her in the stroller through the parks and put her in the Tula when we were in lines for rides. It also made it easier to go on the rides hands free while she was sleeping too.
-Make your ADRs at buffets! Especially if you have a picky eater. Baby will be free so you can get whatever they want and still enjoy your meal as well.
-Buy snacks ahead of time and check them in your luggage to carry with you to the parks. We bought a bunch of baby food pouches, small boxes of cereal, puffs, etc.

Have a blast!!

 

[Meeko5]

- make sure you have a good stroller that reclines and has a large sun shade - my youngest NEVER napped in a stroller until Disney. He crashed for an hour or more each afternoon so we didn't have to go back to the room for nap in afternoons. Worked out great since the oldest DS and 1 parent got to continue riding while he napped.

- pack lots of portable snacks and familiar foods.

- Be flexible

- Take advantage of lesser used walkways and secluded spots to let them explore - HS especially is tough with littles since there isn't a lot of rides they can do. My 18 month old had a blast running up and down empty ramps and walkways, pushing his stroller in circles, jumping on and off curbs, looking for lizards on curbs, etc. Get away from the crowds and let them go wild when needed.

- If at all possible, try to make rope drop. You can accomplish so much in the first hour or two before the crowds get really heavy.

- my 18 month old loved the dark rides, I was shocked. Play area at Dumbo was also a big hit. There's a little play area near the exit to Splash that he enjoyed as well.

 

[roydavid7771]

Love the tips! We're planning a big family trip next year which will include a 5 year old boy and two 9 month old girls. We'll have plenty of family with us, but any and all help is appreciated!

 

[Kittyoko]

MK's Winnie the Pooh was great for my son when he was 2. He didn't mind waiting in that line at all because they have interactive stations while you're waiting. Drums, a touch screen, and I forget what else but it was not a boring wait. We stayed for the fireworks because we love them. He always fell asleep right before they started. He doesn't wake easily to noise and is a good stroller sleeper. Character dining is expensive, but we think it's worth it. Beats waiting in lines in the heat/humidity, and you can get great pics. A few years ago before we had kids, we dined at Epcot's Garden Grill and had a booth. It was very private because the booth wraps around you. It was just us in the pictures with the characters, and they came by many times.

 

[Mmw37]

Our first family trip was with a 26 m/o. He loved it, and so did we! We always knew it wouldn't be our only trip, so we were happy to go with the flow and at toddler speed. We did 3 days (2 MK and one HS), and completely skipped all of the height requirement rides. He turned out to absolutely love characters, and the Barnstormer roller coaster was a huge hit - I think we rode 5 times in a row one day. He cried in the dark rides, even Pooh, but liked playing in the queue. We thought we'd take a nap and maybe head back for fireworks at least once, but it never happened. Instead, we went from RD until around 3, then back to the room to relax and nap. DH and I would have an adult beverage, and then we all went out to TS dinners because that's our style. He fell asleep at Citrico's, but that just meant DH and I got to linger and enjoy our meal! We'll be back in Jan for our older boy's third trip, and our younger one will be 21 mo. He seemed to enjoy it last year, so hopefully he does again!

 

[beckysko]

we did what many others did - park for the morning, head back after lunch for swim/nap, then back out for dinner/evening. My kids aren't bothered by the night stuff or fireworks, but we did bring glowsticks and bracelets from the dollar store at home to let them have for the darker rides and at night time.

We order from Garden Grocer all the breakfast items and snacks, and would pack up the stroller bag each night before going to bed so that in the morning it was just get up, dress, head out the door - kids can eat breakfast while watching tv as the grownups are showering and applying sunscreen

We found buffets to be kind of a pain with the small kids, because you are always back and forth, sometimes waiting for a character and missing out on getting food, etc. For us, we preferred table service like Garden Grill where the characters AND food come right to your table

For fastpasses we skipped the 'adult rides' like mountains and coasters, and used our FPs for things like Peter Pan and Tomorrowland Speedway. You can always do Rider Switch for grownups rides (we did this for Soarin').

We tried to take it easy, not see everything and just follow the lead of our children - if they wanted to stop and watch water fountains for 20 minutes, we just did. It was so much more magical than rushing around and missing everything that is so interesting to look at! Remember: there will always be another trip!

 

[Greenbmw17]

My 2 yr old LOVED the carousel, Winnie the Pooh ride, Dumbo, It's a Small World etc. Basically, all the rides with short wait times which was perfect for his patience level. He had stopped napping at home but would nap for 3hrs every day in the stroller so you might want to fast pass some of the big rides for you during nap time if you don't plan to return to the resort. My 2yr old LOVED the characters so we did a ton of meet and greets.