Disney with a 16month old

[kilee]

In October we are planning a trip with my parents and sister (and her family). Well my neice will be 16 months at the time. We didn't go to Disney when my ds was little. So, I am wondering what types of things were overwhelming for a little one. I know each kid is different but just a general consensus. Also, what about character interaction? We were thinking of trying to get a PS for Chef Mickeys for our first night, but I am wondering if that may be "too much" for my neice. I think my sister is living in a fantasy world that her dd will just adapt to everything. I am pretty much planning out this trip (sis and parents haven't been to WDW in 20+ years either).

We won't be staying on site-- so going back to the hotel for naps will mean being done for the day. Also, how did you manage rides like the POC and HM? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ShaneV]

We took our 18 month old son and had a blast. He didnt care for the characters up close, but liked them from a distance. Other than that he has never been afraid of anything, so he loved POC and Hauntd Mansion. The best tip I can give is take it slow and easy and stop and do things that are important to the young one too.

 

[Mickey]

We went to Disney last year with our 13 month old and we had a great time. We took our stroller with us from home, so she could nap during the day if she was tired. If you don't take one, they have them to rent there at I think $8 per day. It adds up for 7 days, so we took our own. We did go back a couple of times for mid day naps. We were staying on the property. We took her on all the rides and shows that were appropriate for her. If there was something we could go on, we did the child swap. All of the big rides offer this, just ask the cast member when you enter the line. Some of the rides you have to stand together, others one waits in line and the other at the end, at which point you do the swap so you don't have to wait in line again. She loved the Character's. We got her an Autograph book for them to sign, and she took her pictures with all of them. I think a Character Meal is a great way to get them use to the characters, as they have a chance to see all the other kids interacting with them so there not as scared.

Have a great time.

 

[mrsR123]

My youngest was 17 months for our first trip two years ago. We did POC, JC, and HM without incident-- my then 7 year old rode the whole HM with her eyes closed, though. The only real hitch we had was theater shows-- after about the second day, DS would start screaming his head off if we sat down in a theater because he knew it would get dark! We had to walk out of HISTA and kill time at the fountains waiting for the rest of D family. Someone has to be willing to bail if the wee one needs out.

The absolute best advice: take a nap, take a nap, take a nap. Our expectation has always been to go back to the room mid-day and the rule is that no one goes anywhere until everyone sleeps!

As for character meals, by the end of the week, I couldn't keep him off Mickey and Minnie at Chef Mickey's-- very cute pictures!

 

[cinmell]

We took our daughter for her first visit when she was 22 months old. She went on and loved most of the rides except the Mountains, Tower of Terror, Rock N Rollercoaster, etc. In MK she loved Peter Pan, Small World, Dumbo, Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, Carousel, Toon Town, Pirates, even Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear, Transit Authority and she loved the parades!

In Epcot she liked Mexico, walking around Innoventions, water fountains, Imagination, Living Seas and the Wonders of Life.

Studios she loved the Playhouse Disney Show, Ariel, Muppets and Honey I Shrunk the Kids area.

AK she went on the Dinosaur ride that's on the idea of Dumbo, she enjoyed looking at the animals and loved the boneyard.

She did well at the Character meals. We went to 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey's, CRT, Princess Storybook and Ice Cream Social. Surprisingly she loved the characters and had no fear at all of them. Before our vacation, she watched the Disney Sing A Long vidoes: Beach Party at WDW, Campout at WDW, Disneyland Fun, Happy Haunting and Flik's Musical Adventure and Let's go to the Circus. They all had the characters in them which I think helped prepare her for what they look like and the Beach Party and Camp Out videos were filmed around WDW so she got an idea of what it would be like.

My advice for dining would be to have stickers (lots of them) and crayons and coloring book. These things kept her occupied at the table while waiting for the characters. We stayed at the GF that visit which was great because we were able to take breaks and take her to the room for naps, cool down or rest time in the middle of the day. We brought disposable sippy cups with us and made sure we always had them when we went out. We went back in May (she was 2 1/2) and she still loved the characters and all the rides (not crazy about Haunted Mansion this time so my husband left with her) and we stayed at the CR which is perfect for breaks. We were able to walk to the MK and were only one stop away from the CR coming back from the MK. Good luck and enjoy your vacation!