Disney with a 2yr old??

[kabbie]

We took my niece when she was 9 months old and she took everything in stride. We had no problem taking her on Pirates, Haunted, all of the Fantasyland rides.

This year at almost 3 it is a completely different story. Most guidebooks will tell you to start them out slow. Dumbo then Jungle Cruise...that sort of thing. All kids are different of course. My niece went on Pirates first thing which freaked her out. She cried and clinged to her mommy. She was shot for rides the rest of the time. She did like Kilimanjaro and Small World. Can't wait to take her when she's at least 5 or 6. She loved all of the characters! Ran straight to Mickey, Goofy, etc. and would hug them tight. In hindsight, definitely would have spent more with characters. CRT Breakfast was a big hit as well! We knew in advance that she doesn't like fireworks from 4th of July so we would leave the parks before night show.

I would never tell anyone not to take their kids to WDW. Best place on earth and I think everyone needs to go multiple times.

 

[BostonRob]

I think people get it wrong when they say "realize you'll have to go slower and you won't get to do everything". I think you have to plan on doing NOTHING and take whatever you do get to do as a bonus. To say you have to go SLOWER is to imply that this can be treted like a normal trip, with modifications. This might work for some, but for us, we treated it differently than any other Disney trip. And we didn't try to get our money's worth.

We took our 27 month old in April for a short 4 night trip. We had a blast, but we didn't treat it like a disney trip. We only went to the parks two days. We got there early (why not, she was up at 6:30) and took long rests in the middle of the day. We managed to hit the Magic Kingdom, MGM, and short night at Epcot in that time.

We stayed at the AKL, which she loved. In fact, her favorite part of the trip was the pool. As far as rides go, she liked the carnival style rides (Cinderalla's carousel, Dumbo) the best, and she didn't like the "sit down in the dark theater" rides AT ALL. Except Playhouse Disney - that was a huge hit.

Every child and every family are different. But my advice is to try not to have any expectations. Spend some time in the parks, but just go wherever you end up going, ride whatever you end up riding and take a lot of rests.

 

[WaltD4Me]

My 2 year old nephew LOVED Disney World, he is still talking about it a year later! The one thing I would highly recommend is bringing or renting a good stroller. Yes, you can rent them at the parks, but even though getting your own on and off buses can be a pain, it is worth it to have a nice comfortable one. We rented a deluxe stroller from our car service and my SIL said it was the best thing she did on the trip. My nephew fell asleep in in perfectly happy a few times.

I would also recommend getting her used to the idea of WDW ahead of time.
Watch the planning video, get out the Disney movies, tell her things like she is going to meet Mickey or Ariel or whoever. Talk about seeing the castle, meeting the Princesses, riding Dumbo, ect...we did this with my nephew and the 1st time he met Mickey was simply magical and I think part of that was because we prepared him for the giant mouse! He ran right up to him and gave him a huge hug.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I took both of my girls when they were two. There was absolutely nothing that we couldn't do. With child swap, we rode every ride we wanted and with time out at the hotel room for naps, they made it through even the longest of days in a great mood.

Plus that, what more could you ask, but to see a little child's face when they see it for the first time! That alone is priceless!

 

[Got Quattro?]

Took my daughter at 20 months and it was a blast. She was a little affraid of the charecters at that age, but not too bad. She could still ride most rides. We just swapped for the bigger rides.

It was cool becuase when she sees pictures or videos, she still remembers it.

I would not do it if it's just 2 parents, but if you are going with a group where people can trade of who stays with the yournger kids while others go on rides...it works out great.

 

[txkatherine]

When our first daughter was 2, we took her for a day to Magic Kingdom and we all had a magical time! She is the easy going, always happy child. She slept in her stroller during the parade which is I guess is something like Murphy's Law. She awoke after the parade and made it all the way through the fireworks, then dinner at WL. What made our trip so wonderful is that we went in early November and there was not a line anywhere- ever!

In February, we are taking that daughter, now 4, and our 18 month old daughter. Our second daughter is not so easy going, just a little more determined Seeing my 4 year old with her favorite princesses will be worth the extra patience needed at times with the 18 month old.

So go and have fun! If nothing else, you will be spending some real time with your daughter without daily life getting in your way. Your daughter will never be 2 again!

 

[mrzrich]

You said you would like to go next fall, which can be a wonderful time to go crowd wise if you choose your dates right. Certain weeks in September, Oct, November, the parks are practically empty, other weeks are insane!

Avoiding big crowds can be very helpful when navigating the parks with a toddler. It means more rides with less wait, which translates to a less frantic pace and more downtime.

Also time in line is time out of the stroller. My two year old wants to be held when we are in line. He's getting pretty heavy. If a wait is more than 20 minutes, we skip that ride. (I sound like the worst mommy in the world because I don't want to hold my son for 45 minutes )

When the parks are crowded, its not only the waits for rides that are long, waits for meals, snacks, rest rooms, changing tables etc. Often passage ways such as the area in front of IASW and Peter Pan are jam packed with people trying to get through. My DH 43 often melts down on these days, let alone my two year old

My advice is use these board to help you pick your dates. Ask when schools will be out, conventions, sporting events etc.

We went this year in the middle of October, and it was pretty crowded for the fall, a lot of the local schools were off, and I didn't realize, but we still had a great time and it was way better than JULY!

 

[The Sweetness]

My oldest was to WDW many times, starting when she was 2. I will also bring the little mermaid when she's 2. It seemed like the perfect time to start. I prepped her with videos and Chuck E Cheese. By the time she was 2, she loved Chuck, and was ready for the real *big cheese*. Since this worked with my 14y old, Ill do the same with the lil one, starting on her b/day