DD 2 which park?

[SwanVT2]

Have booked six nights at the swan for primarily a relaxing getaway. My DH and I have some days left on park passes but can't decide if it is worth a day in the park with DD 2 or if she will be just as happy playing in the kiddie pool and getting one character breakfast in. If we go to the parks for a day would you recommend the new fantasyland or animal kingdom? TIA!

 

[PartOfYourWDWorld]

I would absolutely take her into the parks. My kids both went for the first time at 1 and had lots of fun. I would say MK for sure if you have to pick only one.

 

[happymommy]

At 2 we took our DD to all the parks (her older brother was 4). At that age, they just enjoy anything really - so if Mom and Dad are having fun, usually at Disney so is a child that age! My kids actually enjoyed Epcot most of all at that age - so much to see and explore. She loved it all really!

We figured it was for all of us, so we took our time and did what we thought was fun - just took it slow and it was great!

I would go with what you feel like doing - if I had extra days on a ticket I'd enjoy them, especially with walking around the Boardwalk to Epcot from the Swan!

 

[ericstac]

We started going to Disney when our 3rd son was 2, then 3, and now returning for his birthday. He remembers Disney even though we skipped a year. They remember, and its awesome at that age to come back and listen to them tell you about things you didn't even realize they noticed or would remember.

plus, AK has DinoLand which is a big junglegym with a big sandbox that your daughter will love!

 

[mm1971]

Have booked six nights at the swan for primarily a relaxing getaway. My DH and I have some days left on park passes but can't decide if it is worth a day in the park with DD 2 or if she will be just as happy playing in the kiddie pool and getting one character breakfast in. If we go to the parks for a day would you recommend the new fantasyland or animal kingdom? TIA!

I would definitely take her to MK(and NFL)! The other parks can be hit or miss with a little one, but seeing the castle and all of the attractions she can do at MK are a lot of fun.

While AK has the animals and safari, it's a lot of walking and only has a few attractions for little ones. FotLK is a must when you do goto AK though.

Of course at age 2, the pool and resort would be sufficient since she really won't understand about the parks until she has been there. Just be careful, once she's hooked it will never end. DD has been asking about our next trip since we got back a few weeks ago.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Two is a super fun age for the parks! If I was picking, it would be MK, but there is fun for toddlers at every park. I agree that if mom and dad are having fun, so will she! Since you already have passes, try a day and if it goes well, go as many days as you have tickets for. My guys loved walking/riding around WS and seeing all the performers almost as much as doing all the rides at MK!

 

[EagleScout]

We took our son at just under 2 - at dolphin- he definitely liked mk and ak - but at both, we were there for only apx 2 hrs/day of attractions -and even then, we were hitting into lunch/nap. At ak, did safari, pangani and fotlk - then left. At mk, did mickey stage show, iasw, pooh, carousel, tomorrowland people mover, then done. The advantage of mk over ak at that age (at least for us) is that if we then did lunch at park, he would almost immediately fall asleep in stroller, and we could do monorail to ttc, then epcot monorail, then walk thru epcot, then out back gate, then walk thru boardwalk to hotel, all while keeping him sleeping in stroller while we could at least see some of other sites (and sample epcot and boardwalk food). Regarding char meals, our guy loved the one at swan - not on dining plan, and only two chars, so much less crowded and popular, which was nice for us-and him. We also did cape may breakfast at beach club, but at that age, so much commotion and so many "rock stars", so to speak, was a bit overwhelming.

 

[starsweeper]

Our older kids first trip was at 2.5yo. They could ride most things and loved it. I would definitely visit MK (probably need 2 days to do everything). My kids liked AK's safari, animal trails, dino area and Lion King show, but we were out after lunch and visited Epcot for the evening. They liked Nemo and Spaceship Earth and loved the Land ride.

 

[SwanVT2]

We took our son at just under 2 - at dolphin- he definitely liked mk and ak - but at both, we were there for only apx 2 hrs/day of attractions -and even then, we were hitting into lunch/nap. At ak, did safari, pangani and fotlk - then left. At mk, did mickey stage show, iasw, pooh, carousel, tomorrowland people mover, then done. The advantage of mk over ak at that age (at least for us) is that if we then did lunch at park, he would almost immediately fall asleep in stroller, and we could do monorail to ttc, then epcot monorail, then walk thru epcot, then out back gate, then walk thru boardwalk to hotel, all while keeping him sleeping in stroller while we could at least see some of other sites (and sample epcot and boardwalk food). Regarding char meals, our guy loved the one at swan - not on dining plan, and only two chars, so much less crowded and popular, which was nice for us-and him. We also did cape may breakfast at beach club, but at that age, so much commotion and so many "rock stars", so to speak, was a bit overwhelming.

Did you use the crib at the dolphin? How was it? Thanks for the helpful advice. I'm really glad to hear about the cape may and swan breakfasts bc I was torn between the two. Sounds like the swan is the way to go.

 

[wendybeth75]

I vote Parks.....I think MK is the better choice. With her age you would have time to get a mid day nap in and go back for the evening, whereas AK closes early.