Disney with almost 2 year old.

[anneb9397]

We are considering going to Disney World next year with some friends. Our daughter will be almost 2 years old. Their daughters will be almost 3 and 6. A lot of people told me they wouldn't go with a two year old. On our own we wouldn't take her there at that age but I think we will have a get time with friends. Our daughters get along get. They are all at day care together and love each other. Those of you who have brought a child that age before what do you think? Was it worth it? Is there enough rides they can do? What was the biggest hassle? By the way we are planning on staying about 4 days and then another 4 at the beach. Thanks for you input!

 

[o2bacelt]

We took our then 22 month old DD to Disney World this past March. She had a blast! She still talks about it and is very excited to be going back in October for MNSSHP. She's even told me that I need to make her a Belle dress for the party.

There is plenty to do for a 2 year old (or almost two) she loved the live shows like Beauty and the Beast and Festival of the Lion King. She loved It's a Small World, and most of Fantasyland. Toontown was a huge hit!

We did a couple of character meals and she enjoyed those too.

I think her favorite park was a toss up between Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.

Hope that helps!

 

[dizfam4]

We took our daughter to WDW when she was 15 months. My son was 4 at the time. She loved it!!!! Her favorite rides were boat rides (Pirates, Small World, the boat back and forth to Wilderness Lodge, Jungle cruise...... also loved Peter Pan, Pooh, and 3-d show like Philharmagic, etc). She even liked flying on the plane and riding the Disney busses! Overall, she loved Disney and still talks about Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and the "pretty Princesses"! We are going back in August (she'll be 26 months) and she has been telling us she wants to ride Dumbo, Small World, and even "Splash Mt." (I don't have the heart to tell her doesn't meet the height requirement Her brother and daddy can ride that while we visit some "pretty princesses" . We decided to take her at a young age because we wanted my son to enjoy Disney for the 1st time at the perfect age (4-5 yrs old) and didn't want to make him wait to experience the magic. However, now that we have taken a 1 year old, I'd say she was the perfect age to go! The best part...they are free at that age!

 

[disneydude]

One of the best trips we ever took was when our oldest daughter was 18 months old!

 

[belle&beast]

Ds turned 2 on our trip in January and he is still talking about "Lella's Castle!" He absolutely loved the characters and character meals. He was thrilled to meet Buzz and Woody and Jojo and Goliath. I wish we were going soon so he could got meet the Little Einsteins! As far as rides go, we are not big thrill riders, so he could go on everything we wanted to do. He loved everything except HM and we shouldn't have even attempted it in hindsight. He just never showed any fear of anything, so we didn't think it would be a big deal- well it was and he was afraid of the first few minutes of any dark ride until he realized it was ok.

 

[mellormousee]

We took our son when he was 20 months. He loved it. If your daughter is potty trained you've got it made. The only thing I couldn't stand was dragging all the changing products with me. We went last year right after he turned 3 he was potty training then that was even worse with the pull-ups I had to take all his clothes off when he had an accident, it was actually easier when he had a diaper on. This year I'm hoping just a change of clothes. he's about 80% there 5 months to get 100%. I would spend more time at the water parks too, we went on out last day not realizing they had entire section dedicated to toddlers. He had the best time.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

DS was 2 1/2 first time we took him. It was something I wouldn't change for anything.

DD was 16 months the 1st time and for her 2nd birthday, the 2nd time. Now we'll be back for her 3rd birthday.

Yes, it's more difficult. They can't go as long as an older child and some allowances need to be made. Just pick out what's most important to see and don't get bent out of shape if you don't "see it all".

The best trips are with my kids when they were younger. At an early age, they see the Disney Magic differently. DS(8) still loves to go but his priorities are diiferent than DD's.

You won't regret it.

 

[bartleby1]

Your 2 year old can go on everything that doesn't have a height restriction. You will be able to go on more things than you have to skip. That is the great part about disney, you can do soooo much as a family. Since the family you are going with have 2 young children, they probably won't be doing the thrill rides anyway. Our first family trip was when our oldest DD was 18 months old and we had a great time. She talked about it for months! We have been back 3 more times since then and are leaving in 12 days for another trip (we now have DD 6, DS 4, and DD 20 mths). I never held back with my kids and they are now able to "go with the flow". If you start taking them places when they are young, they get used to it. We're even crazy enough to take the 2 day drive to disney from NJ with 3 little ones, lol! One rule to live by... NEVER let them get hungry, lol! Hunger ALWAYS leads to cranky kids, which leads to cranky adults (both the parents and those around you, lol!). Bring lots of snacks, feed them often and have lots of fun!

 

[jcsbama]

We had a blast taking our DD for her 2nd b'day in April. We wouldn't trade it for anything. Out of the blue last week, she told me she liked Prince Charming and started blushing. It was too cute. We have some great pictures and memories.

I'm gonna pass along the best advice I got at the disboards. Several months before your trip, start teaching your DD about Disney. We talked about the different characters daily. I bought a few storybooks and dvd's for her. We went to playhousedisney.com every few weeks and would play around on the site. I gave her some Princess and Finding Nemo play figurines that I bought at the Disney store. She loves to tell you who each princess is. Do your best to have her prepared. Our only mishap was with a character DD, nor I knew that tried playing peek-a-boo with her. She was already tired and he scared her....bad. My MIL that went with us was amazed at all the characters DD knew.

The worst part was changing her. She was still in the early stages of potty training. Even though the men's restrooms have changing stations, I just wasn't comfortable letting her be exposed in the men's restroom.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

My DD has been to Disney at 11 mos, 23 mos, and 35 mos. My DS has been at 5 mos, 16 mos, and is going back in Sept at 21 mos.

Both had a blast. DD was scared of the characters at 11 mos (she liked them as long as they didn't touch her). DS didn't care about anything all that much at 5 mos, obviously, but he was REALLY into the characters at 16 mos. We cannot wait to take him in September. It will be just him, DH, and I.

The only rides they didn't go on were the height restricted ones. They rode Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Buzz, Dumbo, Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Philharmagic, the Safari, went through the animal treks, Festival of the Lion King.....alot. For our May trip, my mom and I went through each park, listing everything everyone wanted to ride, then figuring out what the kids wouldn't be able to ride and who would skip it, or how we would baby swap. My DS11 loved that, since he got to ride a few things twice.....like RnR, he rode with my sister and my DH while my mom and I stayed with the babies, then he rode AGAIN with us while DH and sis did baby duty. To be honest, we didn't come up with very many that the kids could not ride.

My advice for taking little ones: Make sure they stay hydrated. Also, apply sunscreen in the morning, and make sure it is reapplied at least every 2 hours, 1 hour if they are sweating or swimming (even if it says it is waterproof). Take a break in the afternoon. The sun is highest at noon, but it actually seems hottest in FL from around 3-5 pm. We tried to leave the park no later than 1:30 and then went back around 4:30-5:30 or so. Our only exception was AK, because it closes early, we did a full day there and then just lounged that night and did not go to the parks the next morning. I also took a change of clothes, so when DS was sweaty, I could put him in fresh clothes. He is one of those kids who sleeps anywhere (he snoozed through Haunted Mansion, the safari, and Pirates!) hehehe Also-you might want to get a pack of ear plugs. My kids (even my 11 yr old) wore them on a few things. And if you are not sure of your little ones reaction to fireworks, have a quick escape route from Illuminations, Wishes, and Fantasmic planned out in advance. Both my DD and DS liked Spectromagic the best, BTW.

My little ones enjoyed things like the topiaries for the Flower and Garden Festival....things that my older kids are like "yeah, whatever..." about. My DD's big thing is "Mickey signs" She loves to watch out the bus window for the signs with the Mickey ears. The ones that are the same color, but have no ears are "fake Mickey signs"

 

[scanne]

My kids have been to WDW a combines total of 8 times - and my DS is 3 1/2 and my DD will be 2 next week.

DS's first trip was when he was one, second at 18 months, 3rd at 26 months, 4th at 3 and 5th and 3 years, 2 months.

DD's first trip was when she was 3 months, second trip when she was 12 months, third trip at 15 months.

We're going again in 2 weeks.

We plan accordingly, try to get in those midday naps, hit the pool, see the characters, do a few buffets (we find buffets are better with our kids rather than a table service meal because of the constant getting up and down).

My kids love ALL the rides they can go on!

MK rides:
Small World
Peter Pan
Philharmagic
Pooh
Dumbo
Aladdin's Carpets
Pirates
Haunted Mansion
Jungle Cruise
Tiki Room
They also love playing in Toon Town.

At Epcot they like:
Imagination
Living with the Land
El Rio Del Tiempo
The KidCot Fun Stops
Innoventions

MGM:
HISTK Playground
Playhouse Disney
Animation Tour
Great Movie Ride
Muppets 3D
Star Tours (DS will be able to ride it this year!)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid

AK:
ITTBAB (a bit scary though)
Triceratops Spin
Festival of the Lion King Show
Pocahontas Show
The parade


There is A LOT to do with little ones!

There are also the baby care centers at each park which are nice (except for the one in MGM - ).

Disney with little kids is AMAZING! My kids watch the DVD's of our trips and they love going. Even my DD who is almost 2 is excited about wearing her Cinderella dress when we have dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

I say go - have fun - enjoy the magic through the eyes of your little one! It is awesome!

 

[pooh4evr]

We took our DDs last year at 4 and 23 mos- they both loved it #2 just turned 3 and still talks about seeing the castle and the princesses. Take/ rent a good stroller, bring small snacks to the park with you, and always have your camera ready! We did everyhting the girls were tall enough for Alli rode goofy barnstormer, aladdin, dumbo, TTA, IASW, Peter Pan, Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Potc, - really anything she was tall enough for lots of stuff to do - we did all 4 parks, DtD and Sea World also!! We also did Pooh character Bkfst and Princess Story book Lunch at Norway in Epcot. We went in May so the weather was great and crowds were fairly low (at least from what I remembered as a kid) It was well worth it- after all she'll be free! (We also flew Southwest which she ha her own seat on- no carseat as we had shuttles to hotel the shuttles to all parks, and rented a stroller form A baby's Best Friend)

 

[KimberlyC]

We took our 2 year old for his 2nd b-day the first week of June. I had my concerns so I booked a short trip and we only went to the MK. He loved it. He loved the plane ride there, loved the hotel, loved MK...everything. The look on his face when he peered through the window of Crystal Palace and saw Tigger was worth the price of admission. Just when I thought it couldn't get better, Tigger was there when his cake arrived for a happy b-day bounce. The character meals we went to were really the highlight of the trip and they are something kids of all ages (including 30 somethings) will enjoy.

Now, I'm a thrill ride person and so is my DNiece (12) who went with us so occasionally we split up for a ride. For example, she and I had FP's for BTMR while DH (not a thrill ride person) took DS to Aladdin and Tiki Room (which DH said he enjoyed a lot). But most of the rides (all of Fantasyland) we did together as there are no height restrictions. DS loved IASW (ok I always want to shoot myself by the end of it) but I loved watching his reaction.

Honestly, there won't be that big of a difference between your friend's 3 year old and your 2 year old. If the 3 year old is 40 inches (that would be one really tall almost 3 yr old) she can ride Soarin and a few others that your 2 year old can't but most of the "thrill" rides require 48" so even the 6 yr old may not be tall enough. I want to say Barnstormer and Kali River Rapids require 36" so perhaps the 3 yr old could do those when your 2 yr old couldn't but for the most part the number of rides your friend's youngest can do that your 2 yr old can't do is minimal. The vast majority of rides at MK, the whole family can do and there is plenty at the other parks to do for little ones.

We had such a great time a few weeks ago that we are going back in September. I have already planned our itinerary and there are plenty of attractions that my DS will enjoy at all the other parks.

The biggest hassle is the afternoon nap/break but it is absolutely necessary and frankly I prefer to leave when the crowds are worst and the sun is hottest anyway. Besides your friend's 3 yr old will need an afternoon break too. We were at a monorail resort and we always have a car so it wasn't a problem but I would think the time it takes to bus back to the resort would be the biggest hassle.

The only problem we had with DS were nice table service meals without characters to keep him occupied. Fortunately, he was too excited at the park to act up.

You didn't say when you were going, but here are my best tips:
1)Take a good lightweight umbrella stroller made of a fabric that drys pretty quick (preferably with a basket underneath) and personalize it so its less likely to go missing. I added an Eddie Bauer pouch thing that clips on for extra storage - worked great. I bought iron on letters and a lion patch at Michaels Craft store and put my DS's name on his. I'm not worried about a stranger knowing his name (see # 9) but I was slightly concerned about the stroller being taken either intentionally or inadvertently.
2)Take a small cooler (we use DH's daycare lunch box cooler) and pack it with ice, bottled water and goldfish type snacks. You don't want to stand in line every time somebody wants water and you don't want your water to be hot.
3)Take plenty of disposable $ store ponchos because the sky opens up without warning during certain times of the year. And on that note the smartest thing I did was to put everything (change of clothes, sunscreen, glow sticks - a fun thing to have, etc) in ziploc bags. We were at dinner and sure enough it poured. I didn't have the stroller covered (will do that next time even when its totally sunny out) but everything left in the stroller was fine because it was in ziplocs. I felt so bad for so many who were ringing water out of all their stuff
4) The spray type of sunscreen - We used coppertone in the blue aerosol spray bottle - so much easier than cream lotion types. For the face - water baby stick.
5) Mosquito wipes for night. We didn't have any problems.
6) Baby wipes - can't live without them.
7) Fannypack - ugliest and tackiest thing I've ever worn but so much easier than a purse.
8) If you can, get DD her own seat on the plane (if you fly) and take her car seat - a PITA to lug around (I carried mine using a PacBack- backpack type of thing) but he was comfortable and slept there and back. Thus, worth the hassle. Have plenty of drinks, snacks and a blanket/pillow with you (airplane blankets/pillows = nasty). Again the small cooler comes in handy. Gate check the stroller.
9) DS loves his monkey harness (sold at Walmart and bear style at Target) and I love knowing that he can't run off and since its cute it doesn't look like a "leash". I got compliments instead of dirty looks.
10) Comfortable shoes (not new) and moleskin just in case. I also had bandaids and neosporin in my fanny pack and my niece did need it.
11) Water socks. DS won't wear water shoes, too bulky but Target sells water socks (at the beginning of the season). The concrete by the pools gets really hot and DS had outgrown his water socks so I had to leave his regular socks on. I had to go to several stores but I found him a pair of water socks that fit for our September trip.
12) A nice digital camera because you will want to capture all of the wonderful memories you will make with your DD and she will want to see them all when she is older.

I agree with the PP about teaching your DD about Disney. My DS has known Pooh since he was in the womb (I'm a bit obsessed and even painted pooh and tigger murals on the walls of his nursery so he can't get away from Pooh if he wanted to) and he also had a stitch doll but he didn't really know Mickey, Minnie, etc. so we bought him some cartoon DVD's and the 3 Mousekeers movie and he really liked them. So when he saw them, he knew them and was excited. One month after our trip and he points out every Mickey Mouse shirt he sees. We can no longer skip by the Disney Store at the mall, lets put it that way.

Have a wonderful time planning her first trip!

 

[anneb9397]

Thanks for all of your input. This makes me sure she will enjoy it. Now my only problem is convincing my husband. He swears it isn't worth it since she won't remember it (he's not a disney fan ) He swears she'll have just as much fun at the local zoo! At least I have a whole year to try and convince him! Wish me luck!

 

[Disneyrsh]

We've been going with our 6 & 7 year old daughters since they were fetuses .

Just put the kid's needs first, build your vacation around them, and you'll be fine and so will she.

Our vacations change every year as they get older and can do different things. It's a blast!

Also, don't feel the need to do everything the other family does. Some days, just meet up for meals or shows. Takes the pressure off.

 

[lclark0621]

My DS who is almost 3 has been to WDW 3 times already. He loves it. We love it with him! I see no point in "waiting until they remember it". My DS remembers tons of his trips! And even if he didn't, he had SUCH a great time while we were there, that is all that matters to me.

 

[disneynewbee]

I took my dd in 04- she turned 2 while on the trip. She had a blast and amazingly she remembers alot of the trip. She asks to look at the pictures still wkly and says "I want to go to Disney World" almost daily. I would not wait till they are old enough to remember everything, she remembers plenty. If she didn't remember anything it still would have been worth every penny. I figured I would share some pics maybe they can help convince your dh.

These are crystal palace she loved this place

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patty cake with tigger

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sharing a cold drink with daddy

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fun at the resort

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haircut on Main St.

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I almost forgot this one- also crystal palace- highly recommended

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I have a ton more but these are some of my favorites. She loved spending time in Mickey and Minnie's houses, the parades, the shows. She really liked the tiki room and dumbo. There is just so much for little ones. Go and have fun.

 

[FSUGrad97]

We've been going with our 6 & 7 year old daughters since they were fetuses .

Just put the kid's needs first, build your vacation around them, and you'll be fine and so will she.

Our vacations change every year as they get older and can do different things. It's a blast!

Also, don't feel the need to do everything the other family does. Some days, just meet up for meals or shows. Takes the pressure off.

ITA! We took our DD when she just turned 2, and we had a blast! She still talks about eating lunch with Piglet and Pooh.

Since we live near Disney, we make several day trips, and the bad thing is that anytime we go near the interstate (or an overpass), she thinks we are going to Disney.

 

[Disneyrsh]

Thanks for all of your input. This makes me sure she will enjoy it. Now my only problem is convincing my husband. He swears it isn't worth it since she won't remember it (he's not a disney fan ) He swears she'll have just as much fun at the local zoo! At least I have a whole year to try and convince him! Wish me luck!

Oh, man, I used to run into this argument all the time from friends when we were younger.

I would always counter with, "well, do you think nothing is happening in their brains, then?"

Just because as adults we may not remember things we did as young kids doesn't mean they don't have a positive (or negative) effect on us as grownups.

My kids are bold, curious, and love color and music and anything creative.

I strongly believe this is in part due to their experiences in Disney as infants and toddlers.

It certainly didn't hurt!!!

They reacted to Disney like nothing else-not the zoo, not the aquarium, nothing.

The looks on their faces when they were babies and toddlers was stupendous and is forever part of the magic of Disney for us.

 

[cruiserkaren]

I have to agree with the others. GO! Our first trip was last September when our dd was 11 days shy of two years old. It was just dh, me and dd. We had never been to Disney and were not Disney fans. Fast forward to today....we're planning our 3rd trip in 12 months!

WDW is the absolute best place for young kids. I couldn't tell you the amount of times I heard "why, she won't remember", it drove me nuts! Do we not do tons of things everyday that they won't remember?

There are so many things to experience together. We acutally just went to the zoo a few days ago and trust me my dd did NOT get that magical look in her eyes and squeal when we walked in the zoo! It is no where near the same. Good luck talking him into it! I don't think any of you'd regret it in the least.