Disney vet with a 2 year old... Success! (what worked)

[KarenAylwood]

We went early May but I just haven't gotten around to posting... Trip was May 3-7.

DH and I are early 30's, our DS will be 3 in June. I'm what one might call a "Disney vet"- over 30 trips, mostly with my mom and one with DH for our 1 year anniversary (DS was a not-so-cheap souvenir from that trip. TMI but parents are used to TMI I suppose). DH went once when he was 9 before our trip together. My parents went as well- Grandma has been a ton like I said, Grandpa is grouchy and hasn't been since I was 9 almost 25 years ago.

I've brainwashed DS as much as possible with Disney stuff (although Paw Patrol and Elmo have crept in at times). The whole thing didn't go as I'd originally though but with some research here and on Pinterest, it worked out really well!!

Prep work: The original "hey we're going to Disney" was a total letdown. Total. Letdown. Why was I so stupid to think he'd get it? Yeah, brochures of Mickey didn't really set anything up for us. I waited until a month before the trip and then started focusing on meeting the characters and flying in a plane. He loves Sesame Street characters at Busch Gardens so he was amenable to that. Then we showed him the Disney Planning DVD they'll send you in the mail for free. That got him going. He kept repeating "I'm going to live there!" (oh yes little buddy, I wish) and shouted out the names of all the characters as they appeared. I bought some cheap Disney golden books on amazon to get him into the classics because he's a bit of a wimp (like me) and most Disney movies other than Cars are too scary for him. So he recognized Dumbo and such at the park.

The night before: We gave him a stuffed Mickey I got off amazon and told him Mickey was going to sleep with him and be his travel buddy. He loved it. Carried that thing around until he saw a Simba that Grandma bought him at AK on our last full day.

The airport / flight: I got him a rolling backpack that he rolled all on his own through the airport. I'd filled it with coloring books and story books. Since it was a backpack DH or I could easily take it for him and DH was prepared to carry him but never needed to. He was over 2 so we had to buy him a seat which was a positive in itself- a lap baby he is not. At 14 months we took him on a plane and I'm surprised we all got to our destination in one piece. Halfway through the flight things started to deteriorate and "Planes" made an appearance on the ipad. Man I love Planes.

Going through security was a low light. Tip: Whoever has the kid liquids should just carry the damn kid liquids and that's it. We all waited for someone to scan our stuff and since we did, they made me leave with DS while DH had to wait with the screener to go through every.single.thing. we brought with us even if it went through the scanner. It was horrible and we almost missed our flight even though we were there at security over 1.5 in advance. MCO was great on the way back though- they were super quick. Our home airport was horrible. Lesson learned.

Food/snacks: I brought a pbj sammich for DS and some granola bars for DH and I. The pbj was key in line for the Magic Express. Also bought a bag of dum dums at the dollar store. He never gets candy so giving him a lollipop on the plane during takeoff was enough to distract him.

Meeting Mickey: Do the meet at Town Square. DO IT. No other Mickey will compare. We were napless when we arrived and went straight to the park because he was so amped. First visit was our Fast Pass (get a FP!) for Mickey at Town Square. So key! He was over the moon and it was one of the highlights of the trip.

Rides in general: As a kidless visitor I'm the gung-ho, no-breaks, multiple parks in a day person so I was nervous about not doing my favorites. This trip was only Tuesday-Saturday and I'm used to going for 8 days or more. I realized very quickly that I was so enamored at my son and doing things I knew he'd like that I didn't care AT ALL about missing anything. I was surprised at myself. He's scared of the dark so a lot of things I never registered as scary were suddenly scary. Oops. He persevered though. Buzz Lightyear was a tidge traumatic but we lived. And got a great ride pic to show for it.

Adult ride swap: Not all that cool but whatever. The ones we tried it on were Tower of Terror and the Mine Train. The two that rode (gma and gpa first) came back with a fastpass for 3. However we all already had fastpasses anyway. Oh well.

Stroller rental: Kingdom Strollers was awesome and I now want a City Mini- man that thing was awesome!! So easy to swap in and out. I kept a small bag in the bottom to throw all of our stuff in for getting on and off of buses.

Trip length: 3 full days and two halves were perfect. I was afraid it'd be too short but it was great with DS. We saw all the parks (there's not much in DHS to do anyway) and covered a lot. Knowing it was short we were OK switching park days when we had bad weather for a planned AK day and just chalked some of the missed things up to the fact that the trip was short.

Characters: Did FP for Town Square Mickey and the characters at Epcot plus did a few randoms like Jake and Chip & Dale at DHS. We ate at Chef Mickey's which was perfect- 11am gave us the beginning of brunch so all of the food was fresh! So much better than our last trip to Chef Mickey's.

Naps: We got up for park opening and did lunch in the park, then back for a nap around 1:30 or 2. His usual naptime is 12 but we could squeak out a bit more time. Naps were pretty key. However we were at BLT (thanks Grandma) so we could easily go back to the resort when we wanted. If you can stay on the monorail, do it (duh, do I even need to say that?).

Food: He got his own kid meal sometimes but the last few days I made him a pbj at the hotel and then gave him some of my meal as a side (fruit, chips, whatever). We had groceries delivered by Garden Grocer- so great.

Souvenirs: We got by with very very few because every morning "Mickey" had stopped by the night before with a present for DS - a small plastic Disney figurine. He carried around the new one and his Mickey at the park each day and had fun showing the characters. I wrote to "Mickey" after the trip and he told me you all can find them at the Dollar Tree in the toys section. The only souvenir DS came home with was a stuffed Simba from AK. He hasn't let go of him since.

Autograph book: I bought one for cheap on amazon. Got a lot a head of time on amazon actually- Mickey, the books, some retractable sharpies for the autographs and the autograph book. Got the rest at the Dollar Tree- a Tigger night light, dum dums, pop up hampers. Also bought ponchos ahead of time at Target.

This was long and drawn out but I can't say enough how wonderful it was going with a toddler at this age!! Everyone says they "won't remember" but he hasn't stopped talking about it since and we have the most precious pictures. Oh and we got Memory Maker which was more than worth it- I have a dSLR and brought two other cameras plus my phone and I still am so happy to have the Memory maker ones!!! These memories will last a lifetime for me, DH and Gma/Gpa - it was a great decision and I'm glad we ignored the nay-sayers who said "oh well he'll never remember it."

 

[DizneyLizzy]

SO much fun to read! We just took our 2 year old a week after his 2nd birthday this past March and are going to try to squeeze in one more trip before he turns 3. Taking a 2 year old was a lot more fun that I thought it would be. And even though in the long term, he won't remember, we talk about the Disney trip a lot, and when we ask him what rides he did, he can still mention a few (we did Winnie the Pooh 7 times over 2 days, so he better remember that one!). He also requests to hear It's a Small World frequently in the car. So for the moment at least, he does remember! Oh, our kid pretty much existed on PB and J made in our OKW villa during our trip. It was so much better and cheaper to bring something he was guaranteed to eat rather than to play menu roulette. I know there will be a time when that really isn't okay anymore, but I'm hoping at that point his palette will be a little more inclusive

Loved reading your notes - got me excited to take my little guy again. We went for 2 days in March and are doing 3 on our next trip.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

We went early May but I just haven't gotten around to posting... Trip was May 3-7.

DH and I are early 30's, our DS will be 3 in June. I'm what one might call a "Disney vet"- over 30 trips, mostly with my mom and one with DH for our 1 year anniversary (DS was a not-so-cheap souvenir from that trip. TMI but parents are used to TMI I suppose). DH went once when he was 9 before our trip together. My parents went as well- Grandma has been a ton like I said, Grandpa is grouchy and hasn't been since I was 9 almost 25 years ago.

I've brainwashed DS as much as possible with Disney stuff (although Paw Patrol and Elmo have crept in at times). The whole thing didn't go as I'd originally though but with some research here and on Pinterest, it worked out really well!!

Prep work: The original "hey we're going to Disney" was a total letdown. Total. Letdown. Why was I so stupid to think he'd get it? Yeah, brochures of Mickey didn't really set anything up for us. I waited until a month before the trip and then started focusing on meeting the characters and flying in a plane. He loves Sesame Street characters at Busch Gardens so he was amenable to that. Then we showed him the Disney Planning DVD they'll send you in the mail for free. That got him going. He kept repeating "I'm going to live there!" (oh yes little buddy, I wish) and shouted out the names of all the characters as they appeared. I bought some cheap Disney golden books on amazon to get him into the classics because he's a bit of a wimp (like me) and most Disney movies other than Cars are too scary for him. So he recognized Dumbo and such at the park.

The night before: We gave him a stuffed Mickey I got off amazon and told him Mickey was going to sleep with him and be his travel buddy. He loved it. Carried that thing around until he saw a Simba that Grandma bought him at AK on our last full day.

The airport / flight: I got him a rolling backpack that he rolled all on his own through the airport. I'd filled it with coloring books and story books. Since it was a backpack DH or I could easily take it for him and DH was prepared to carry him but never needed to. He was over 2 so we had to buy him a seat which was a positive in itself- a lap baby he is not. At 14 months we took him on a plane and I'm surprised we all got to our destination in one piece. Halfway through the flight things started to deteriorate and "Planes" made an appearance on the ipad. Man I love Planes.

Going through security was a low light. Tip: Whoever has the kid liquids should just carry the damn kid liquids and that's it. We all waited for someone to scan our stuff and since we did, they made me leave with DS while DH had to wait with the screener to go through every.single.thing. we brought with us even if it went through the scanner. It was horrible and we almost missed our flight even though we were there at security over 1.5 in advance. MCO was great on the way back though- they were super quick. Our home airport was horrible. Lesson learned.

Food/snacks: I brought a pbj sammich for DS and some granola bars for DH and I. The pbj was key in line for the Magic Express. Also bought a bag of dum dums at the dollar store. He never gets candy so giving him a lollipop on the plane during takeoff was enough to distract him.

Meeting Mickey: Do the meet at Town Square. DO IT. No other Mickey will compare. We were napless when we arrived and went straight to the park because he was so amped. First visit was our Fast Pass (get a FP!) for Mickey at Town Square. So key! He was over the moon and it was one of the highlights of the trip.

Rides in general: As a kidless visitor I'm the gung-ho, no-breaks, multiple parks in a day person so I was nervous about not doing my favorites. This trip was only Tuesday-Saturday and I'm used to going for 8 days or more. I realized very quickly that I was so enamored at my son and doing things I knew he'd like that I didn't care AT ALL about missing anything. I was surprised at myself. He's scared of the dark so a lot of things I never registered as scary were suddenly scary. Oops. He persevered though. Buzz Lightyear was a tidge traumatic but we lived. And got a great ride pic to show for it.

Adult ride swap: Not all that cool but whatever. The ones we tried it on were Tower of Terror and the Mine Train. The two that rode (gma and gpa first) came back with a fastpass for 3. However we all already had fastpasses anyway. Oh well.

Stroller rental: Kingdom Strollers was awesome and I now want a City Mini- man that thing was awesome!! So easy to swap in and out. I kept a small bag in the bottom to throw all of our stuff in for getting on and off of buses.

Trip length: 3 full days and two halves were perfect. I was afraid it'd be too short but it was great with DS. We saw all the parks (there's not much in DHS to do anyway) and covered a lot. Knowing it was short we were OK switching park days when we had bad weather for a planned AK day and just chalked some of the missed things up to the fact that the trip was short.

Characters: Did FP for Town Square Mickey and the characters at Epcot plus did a few randoms like Jake and Chip & Dale at DHS. We ate at Chef Mickey's which was perfect- 11am gave us the beginning of brunch so all of the food was fresh! So much better than our last trip to Chef Mickey's.

Naps: We got up for park opening and did lunch in the park, then back for a nap around 1:30 or 2. His usual naptime is 12 but we could squeak out a bit more time. Naps were pretty key. However we were at BLT (thanks Grandma) so we could easily go back to the resort when we wanted. If you can stay on the monorail, do it (duh, do I even need to say that?).

Food: He got his own kid meal sometimes but the last few days I made him a pbj at the hotel and then gave him some of my meal as a side (fruit, chips, whatever). We had groceries delivered by Garden Grocer- so great.

Souvenirs: We got by with very very few because every morning "Mickey" had stopped by the night before with a present for DS - a small plastic Disney figurine. He carried around the new one and his Mickey at the park each day and had fun showing the characters. I wrote to "Mickey" after the trip and he told me you all can find them at the Dollar Tree in the toys section. The only souvenir DS came home with was a stuffed Simba from AK. He hasn't let go of him since.

Autograph book: I bought one for cheap on amazon. Got a lot a head of time on amazon actually- Mickey, the books, some retractable sharpies for the autographs and the autograph book. Got the rest at the Dollar Tree- a Tigger night light, dum dums, pop up hampers. Also bought ponchos ahead of time at Target.

This was long and drawn out but I can't say enough how wonderful it was going with a toddler at this age!! Everyone says they "won't remember" but he hasn't stopped talking about it since and we have the most precious pictures. Oh and we got Memory Maker which was more than worth it- I have a dSLR and brought two other cameras plus my phone and I still am so happy to have the Memory maker ones!!! These memories will last a lifetime for me, DH and Gma/Gpa - it was a great decision and I'm glad we ignored the nay-sayers who said "oh well he'll never remember it."

one thing use some of his favorite pics and make him a picture book. we have a grandson who to this day can tell you about the trip he took at 4 months of age. yes he remembers the pics in his book. if you can do one like shutterfly I would do it

 

[KarenAylwood]

one thing use some of his favorite pics and make him a picture book. we have a grandson who to this day can tell you about the trip he took at 4 months of age. yes he remembers the pics in his book. if you can do one like shutterfly I would do it

I make shutterfly books all the time! I have literally dozens- some that are 100 pages long. I was going to make one for this trip, but you know- I think after reading your post it might be really cool to make one just for him, that's smaller and with only a few pics on each page (like focus on characters and some other pics). He'd probably love it if it was "his" book! Thank you!!

 

[AnnieLytical]

This sounds just like me! We just returned from 2 days at MK and my son's (3 years old) first time! I too was worried about going with a child for the first time and not being able to do the normal routine and rides. I too, am up for park open and close the park.

But....it was ***amazing*** seeing Disney through his eyes. And Wishes. He hates fireworks, but was mesmerized by Wishes. I will never forget the look on his face. I'll never forget how I felt. I never forget the gusto he had running to meet Buzz (his first character interaction). My heart melted so many times. As Olaf says, "some people are worth melting for".

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I make shutterfly books all the time! I have literally dozens- some that are 100 pages long. I was going to make one for this trip, but you know- I think after reading your post it might be really cool to make one just for him, that's smaller and with only a few pics on each page (like focus on characters and some other pics). He'd probably love it if it was "his" book! Thank you!!

that is what my daughter did for her son and as you know as well as I do he doesn't remember the trip but he sure can tell you about the trip

 

[PlanningForTheFamily]

Thanks for the post! Enjoyed reading your take on everything!

 

[StuCrew]

it was a great decision and I'm glad we ignored the nay-sayers who said "oh well he'll never remember it."

Thank you for this. My daughter is about to turn 1 and we plan to take her for the first time when she's 2 1/2, almost 3. Great ideas for creating magical moments and building excitement. I can't wait to see her face experiencing it all for the first time.

 

[StuCrew]

I make shutterfly books all the time! I have literally dozens- some that are 100 pages long. I was going to make one for this trip, but you know- I think after reading your post it might be really cool to make one just for him, that's smaller and with only a few pics on each page (like focus on characters and some other pics). He'd probably love it if it was "his" book! Thank you!!

This is an awesome idea!