Disney with kids under 2

[DisneyBaby823]

Okay. We sporadically decided we're going to do Disney/Universal next year. The baby will be 20-months old.

We haven't been there since 2009 and we missed Universal completely. We want to do several days at Disney and Universal. And my husband insists he wants to take a day to drive out to a Florida beach!

It's a huge event for a baby! I'm a little worried about it.

Please tell me your experiences and advice for taking a baby under 2-years old on a trip like this.

 

[madzy]

We have four kids, 10, 9,6 and almost 2. My two youngest first trip was when they were both 6 months old. For us, we never had a problem with our little ones while at Disney. Of course our days were shorter, weren't out late always missed the fireworks, and didn't rope drop. We also had (still have) extra things to bring with us to the park, diapers, coaches, formula, snacks and a change of clothes just in case. Every child is different too. My kids never had a problem napping in their coach so we never left to go back to the resort for a nap. I actually enjoyed when my kids were younger, it forced us to slow down and enjoy the parks more instead of rushing from here to there like the older kids have us doing to make sure we get on rides before its crowded. My youngest been twice and my oldest since he was 3 and I never regretted taking them at a young age. I would do it!

 

[disneypolybride2008]

we took our dd at 21 months on her first trip. She was so happy and go with the flow. She really surprised us. She loved the excitement. I worried over every little detail before we left, but it was just a great time once we went. Precious times

 

[Lupeix]

It depends of which kind of baby you have, but most kids love Disney at any age. We took our 2 year old last year and he loved it! We found that 1/2 day was enough for him usually, never made the fireworks (SIGHHH). So you may want to plan a more relaxed pace for your vacation, don't try to pack too much in.

I think his favorite thing was lunch with Pooh at the crystal palace. Meal with characters is a good thing to do early on, to see how he reacts to them in a relaxed setting. At that age I will do Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom only, unless there's something on the other parks you want to do for yourself.

I ditto the napping in the stroller. Bring one from home he is used to napping in, one that fully reclines.I will avoid the middle of the summer, it gets too hot for little ones (we went on 4th of july, big mistake).
Most LO are early risers, so go early in the morning if that's the case for you and make rope drop. Get diapers/wipes/baby snacks and food delivered to your hotel ahead of time from diapers.com. And use the baby centers!

 

[DisneyBaby823]

Thanks so much guys!!
My baby is 9m now and he loves going out and "people watching" in his coach. But also, he IS an early riser, and he does grow weary after a few short hours. But I'm left wondering how he'll be in a year from now. I was particular about choosing mid-May for next year's trip for the sake of the weather too. I still hope to be able to do a water park while there. And I will have hopper passes in case we're able to split days around nap times. My son will nap in his coach but he really prefers darkness and quiet for sleep time.

Also, it's great to know that the baby will slow us down. I've been there 3 times and rushed around like crazy trying to get it all in! It's nice to know I'll be able to experience the park a bit differently this time!

Thank you so much for your replies!! Much appreciated.

 

[RachaelA]

We took DD1 at 11.5 months and 18 months. There is a lot at Universal that you can't do with a child that young so I would recommend looking into that first.

DD1 is super easy going and they were both awesome trips. We took it at her pace and made sure to go back to the room for a nap at least every other day rather than just a stroller nap mainly because that meant the room nap was longer. I know that doesn't work for everyone, but it was really helpful for us. (this was much easier to do on her first trip when we stayed at BLT. We stayed at AKV Kidani the second time and it was harder to get back to the room).

Parades, the castle show and people watching were some of her favorite things.

We're going back in October for DD2's first trip and she'll be a week shy of a year old.

 

[pd1138]

Hi! I took my first at 13 months old and my 2nd at 16 months old. We have some great pics and had a blast. We found going at rd to be the best as we were already up early with the little ones. We were back at the hotel by 6 or 7 pm though so no late outings for us. We had been there before without kids so we didn't feel the need to do everything at a commando pace. We also sent ourselves via UPS a box to our hotel before hand with diapers, wipes, disposable bibs and placemats, snacks, and other consumables. The box was waiting for us at checkin!

 

[kmb584]

DD went to WDW twice before she turned 2 (her third trip was two weeks after) and I never had an issue. She just went with the flow and took in all of the new sights and sounds. I brought her on every attraction that didn't have a height limit, we watched the parades, etc. Naptime was our only issue. I had my mind set on taking her back to our resort to nap but she wanted nothing to do with that plan. She just stood in the pack 'n playing yelling "Ma! Go!" for 2 hours. From that day forward napping in her stroller worked like a charm. Her first trip was at the beginning of June so I brought along a stroller fan and made sure she stayed hydrated (I brought Pedialyte single serves) and to free up room in our suitcase I shipped the necessities (diapers, wipes, sunscreen, DD's snacks, etc.) ahead of time.

As another poster mentioned there isn't much for an almost 2-year-old to do at Universal so you might want to do a bit of research before locking yourself in to that portion of the trip.

 

[kohlby]

We haven't been with a child that age, but have gone on trips with young kids at ages 2 months, 8 months, 11 months, and 2.5 years old. (Not all the same child nor all at the same time - though we always had at least 2 kids).

It should be pretty easy having just one child. Just be flexible and you'll be okay! We found that babies did not slow us down - but 3 year olds did quite a bit. The trip with a 2.5 year old didn't so much slow us down as have us have to change our touring style, as he has sensory issues and so he didn't want to do a lot of things. He still had a blast, but it was doing the things he wanted to do.

We did do US/IOA with babies and had a great time! We found more at IOA than US until our last trip - with the youngest being 4, then there was plenty at US too. When we had a 2.5 year old, we spent at day at IOA and he did have fun.

 

[tourguide81]

While I haven't been to Disney at that age - my 2 older kids have each done a trip to Europe around that age. Really, it's not a huge deal. Don't over pack, 1 small backpack for any special toys/books/coloring. Lots of favorite snacks. Don't over think it. Plan of the worst but expect the best. Take breaks and pray she is a stroller sleeper.

 

[mrsap]

Okay. We sporadically decided we're going to do Disney/Universal next year. The baby will be 20-months old. We haven't been there since 2009 and we missed Universal completely. We want to do several days at Disney and Universal. And my husband insists he wants to take a day to drive out to a Florida beach! It's a huge event for a baby! I'm a little worried about it. Please tell me your experiences and advice for taking a baby under 2-years old on a trip like this.

My DD was 2 on her first trip and my son was 18 months on his first trip. They both did great ! My DD was afraid of the characters at first but then warmed up to them. My son Loved the characters and the rides!!! He loved walking around everywhere! Make sure you bring a stroller so your child can nap, very important! Have snacks and drinks on hand too. Also, we take breaks around lunch time. Go back to the resort, nap, eat and relax. We have an early dinner somewhere quick and then go back. It works great for us. They will love it! Enjoy!

 

[monorailsilver]

Our kids were 15 mo, 22 mo & 2 1/2 on their first Disney trips.

Each kid was different. My oldest (15 mo) loved the characters but not the face characters, aka Cinderella. My son (22 mo) loved the characters, all of them but he wouldn't go near them unless dh or I were holding him & even then his legs were as tight as they could be wrapped around us. My 2 1/2 yo loved everything & went with the flow (her siblings were 7 & nearly 5 then).

I prefer the summer so we are up early, go to the park, leave after lunch, return, nap, shower & then go back to the park til closing. Yes each of my kids has been up til 11 in Disney & then woke up the next day for a park bright and early. But they napped even when napping was not in their system anymore (we napped too).

We also planned days off of just pool days.

I never did a water park with little ones. I knew I didn't want to pay for it & then watch them go down the kiddie slides while my dh went down a big slide & then we'd swap spots. Not fun for us!! Instead we just used the pool at the Poly & the kids were fine with that.

We did do TL last summer & my kids loved it. They all could swim so that was why I chose to go then.

 

[jeepwreck]

great info in here thanks

we are planning on going WDW with our new son next year in November he will 22 month old

i was a bit worried about if it was too young but then i remember seeing alot of younger kids there when we are there, i just have to pack a bit extra and just remember that the days will have alot of breaks and even naps in them

 

[olafgypsy]

I'm in the same boat. Will be taking my will-be-20 month old in December and was really nervous about it because he has a very serious, cautious personality. But after lots of great advice from these boards, I feel better. We are planning to take his own stroller and things that he sleeps with so he will have lots of familiar things around him (and can retreat to his stroller if he needs to). We will also do looonnng mid-day breaks back at the hotel. We will not be doing character meals and we will take his lead on meeting characters. I have a feeling we won't be doing many character meets, if any.

Pretty soon you will have a really good idea of how your baby handles new experiences and you'll be able to tailor a trip to match the personality you've got!

 

[stephm0188]

We went when my son was 18 months. My husband was in Orlando for a week long conference, I was able to snag a 5 day pass for $99, and the kid was free. Why not go?

It was the only trip I didn't plan, and I'm glad I didn't! We just picked a park and went. If a line was short, we got in line. It didn't matter if we didn't do something because he didn't know any better. He napped in his stroller and I walked around and just enjoyed being there while he slept We tried naps in the hotel but he refused to sleep. He wanted to go be with Mickey... and then he'd fall asleep in his stroller within minutes of me pushing the stroller through the gate. Ha.

I'm a planner, but I'm glad I did everything on the fly for that trip. Letting his schedule and mood dictate the pace worked well. No stress, no rushing for reservations, easy peasy.

 

[Monykalyn]

Our first family trip to WDW 10 years ago was with a 6 yo and 16 month old. It was best family ever. Be flexible about taking breaks if needed (the baby usually wouldn't sleep if out and about at home but napped like a champ at WDW in her stroller!) and nap time gave us an opportunity to see shows we otherwise (pre kids) would have skipped. The only, and I mean only, time the baby fussed at all was at our Cinderella dinner when Cindy went to big sis first (who was practically hyperventilating from excitement)-luckily Prince Charming was nearby and and came over as well and distracted the baby until Cindy came over LOL. Also Universal has the best kid swap set up (better than WDW-at least it was 10 years ago) so don't let that deter you from going there either

 

[Miumiu4me]

Going to Disney with a baby is easy. My daughter has been going since she was 3 months old. Going to Universal is doable, but not as easy as Disney. The "baby centers" consist of a dingy nursing room at First Aid. The parks don't sell hand sanitizer and almost all the rides have height limits. It tends to be dirtier than Disney too - i did not like changing my baby in their restrooms. You'll do a lot of baby swapping, so your kiddo might get bored. We cancelled our Universal passes after having the baby - we might get them again when she's 4 or 5. It's a great park for everyone but babies.

 

[erinmarie2224]

We went last summer when my DD was 23 months and stayed onsite.
We rented a car incase there was a meltdown in the park and we didn't want to get stuck waiting for a bus (and I think my DH didn't want to lug the stroller on and off a bus). This was great for all parks except MK since you have to go through the TTC.

We rented a GT mini stroller since I didn't want to lug our heavy strollers (BOB & UPPABABY) on the plane with the carseat and all our luggage. This also worked well for us since I picked a vendor that dropped it off at luggage services at your hotel and you get to leave it there when you leave! It also had a cooler attached that we filled with water and snacks for DD.

Only other advice - have a outline of plan but be flexible. We rode Ariel 3x in a row at my DDs request. She also loved the water sprinklers in the Dumbo area. We rode the "adult" rides through single line rider while she napped in her stroller.

Have fun!!