Disney with toddlers -the good bad and ugly

[Tristen79]

So all in all it was an AWESOME trip, but I did ALOT of researching ahead of time of all the Tips and Tricks.

1. It was HOT, HOT, HOT so we made sure to dress in temperature appropriate clothes most of the day, drank a ton of juice and water.
2. Again it was HOT, so we definitely split the days up into usual character b'fast in the mornings took in a park for a couple hours and then went back to the resort for some pool and then nap/relax time and didnt head back to parks til closer to 4 or so
3. Rides were great but as one poster stated we really only were able to do about 4-5 a day (carpets, dumbo (line is ridiculous and slow), carousel,) we found by doing the simple passing by and if it wasnt crowded we tried it and have loved this method
4. We also made sure to do alot of indoors either shopping, looking around, or the shows that give indoor ques to cool off and again chill out time
5. Garden Grocer was great for stocking up on the snacks,water and juice probably easily saved us a hundred or more
6 Biggest thing to keep in mind was to just relax and let her have HER trip so we took it easy, if she wanted to go see characters we did, if she wanted to eat we did, if she wanted to ride nothing forced, no itenerary (which is really key), in that way we didnt have any disappointments

 

[Keri]

eh, I don't know. Sure, it's kind of a pain with a toddler, but she's kind of a pain at home, too! Honestly, I thought she (at 19 months) was the easiest of the bunch as far as going with the flow -- my 6 year old is a wimp about some rides & has to be convinced to go on them. He's also at the age where he doesn't want to hang out in the princess line with the girls! My 5 year old is whiney if she has to walk too much!

Maybe my expectations just aren't that high, but I was seriously worried about how she was going to behave on the trip, and she FAR surpassed my expectations. She ate fairly well, napped in her stroller at some point every day (I knew it was pointless to go back), slept fairly well once she went to sleep at night, slept a little later than normal in the mornings, and was REALLY great on the rides. If she got nervous, I held her, otherwise, she sat next to me like a big girl. She sat with us during Turtle Talk (after trying to sit with the big kids & deciding she didn't want to). She LOVED Playhouse Disney. She loved all the 'stuffed head" characters, but was shy with the princesses & fairies, which shocked me, but we dealt with it -- I held her, she was fine.

I don't know -- I agree that you can't expect your kid to become some perfectly behaved angel as soon as you set foot on Disney property. But I also think it's a blast so long as you keep your expectations reasonable and make sure you're doing kid-centered things most of the time.

 

[acwsmom]

I loved your advice on taking toddlers to Disney and especially appreciated #1 on the list. Our first trip to WDW in 2008, DS was 2 and was a WONDERFUL child there. He took 2 hour naps in his stroller every day and was a happy and pretty well-behaved child during the rest of the day The only problem we'd have with him was during the wait for parades or fireworks but usually giving him a light-up toy would entertain him until the show started.

This past October, though, I wondered what happened to my sweet little boy. He became a MONSTER on our four-day trip this past October. He was suddenly throwing temper tantrums throughout the day (the kind where you just can't calm him down and everyone is staring at you and trying to figure out why you can't get your child under control ). The worst problem was that he never wanted to ride IN his stroller - he only wanted to PUSH his stroller. Would have worked out fine if he had actually paid attention to WHERE he was pushing his stroller. After he started running into people, we'd take the stroller away and the temper tantrum would start all over again. Our second day there, we walked out of DHS with very red faces and convinced we could never go back to WDW.

After a nap that afternoon (we ALL needed one by then!!), we decided to try going back to DHS one last time, but this time without the stroller. We thought we'd just give it a try and just planned on taking lots of sit-down breaks so that his little legs didn't wear out too quickly. Oddly enough, it worked. We braved the rest of the week without the stroller and it worked beautifully.

Plus, we learned that most of the temper tantrums started when he was either tired or hungry so we just took our cues when we started seeing his behavior go downhill. We gave him lots of snacks and made sure to go back to the room for a short nap if he needed it. When he started acting up while waiting in lines, we headed for the nearest playground area and let him roam free for a while. We still had a couple minor temper tantrums, but at least he had stopped screaming "I want to go home!" throughout the day!

 

[MattinATL]

The sleeping thing is one I wish hotels esp. Disney would try and figure out. While I know you can get 2 rooms or a bigger room. some just can't do it. I wish there was some sort of curtain/like at POR sink areas that you could use and divide the room. In saying this, I am considering doing something like that. Buy a couple of suction type hooks and a sheet??? I don't know. That is one thing I am afriad of at disney. Our girl needs her sleep.

If you figure out how to do this please post it!! We are going on our first trip in May, staying in a 2 queen room, and i'm trying to figure out how to do the same thing. I'm considering creating 3 posts to go around 3-corners of the bed, assuming the bed's fourth corner is in the corner of the room already. String some wire to each post (at the top) and hook on some cheap drapes. Kids would love it anyway - a fort!

Maybe i'm crazy, or just an engineer who loves to tinker, but there has to be a simple, temporary way to do this that won't bother the resort.

I guess more rationale people just get used to 'family-time' in the room, or stay in bigger accommodations!

 

[monorailsilver]

I totally agree on the nap thing!

My kids behaved as they would at home, well I think better then they do at home since there was so much excitement in the air.

But the nap thing I think is/was key for them. Our last trip in 2008, my kids were 7, nearly 5 & 2 1/2. We took a mid day break every day & my 7 yo who hadn't napped in a good 4 years took a nap-thankfully or she would of been a bear that week! As soon as I drew the shades (room gets super dark at the Poly) she was out as was my 2 yo. But my 5 yo only took one nap so he just had to lay there & rest which is all he needed. He is the kid that can go like the energizer bunny & not nap.

Oh & bring 2 sippy cups from home for each kid. Why? Well we had an incident & I was taking the stroller off the monorail & thought one of my kids was holding their cup & well it rolled & rolled right down thru the cracks. We were able to finally get it back.

 

[lexmas]

We took DS at 11, 18, and 21 months. The first two were disneyland, and a piece of cake. The boy was a saint (ironic, because he is TROUBLE at home!)

The last (21 months) was at disneyworld and I was 5 weeks pregnant with DD, and just starting to get my never-ending morning sickness!

All in all it went well. However:

1. DS did not eat. At all. Maybe a bite or two all 9 days. Luckly, he was still nursing, so he came home chubbier than when we left from all the milk! But still, that was tiring. We had a friend with us the first half of the trip, and that threw him for a loop. Only wanted Mommy, all the time.

2. I left every single dinner that wasn't a character meal or a buffet early. Sometimes I got to shove my food in my mouth first, sometimes not. He would not sit, he would not be quiet, and we just had to leave before it was embarassing.

2. DS didn't use a stroller at home. He was always a sling baby, and would scream if he even saw the stroller. So we decided not to bring one. Big mistake. I can sling a toddler around disneyland, but WDW is just too big. So we bought one on day 3 or 4. Figured it was worth the $30, just for the idea that my body wouldn't be so sore, even if he wouldn't ride in it. He LOVED it. Happy as a clam. So bring a stroller, even if you don't think they'll use it...you'll save money buying one! We chalked it up to peer pressure, seeing all those other kids in strollers! (Lesson learned though, if your kid is not used to a stroller, they have to be strapped in, or they'll fall on their head and you'll make an embarassing trip to first aid and have lots of pictures of a kid with a giant bruise on their head.)

3. Downtime is necessary. We went during free dining, and we found that we were just overscheduled trying to get back to the resort to nap and back to wherever we were having dinner. We skipped dinner once and it was the best day! I wish we had spent more time at the resort.

Still, we had tons of fun. I just think we needed to take it slow, always eat at buffets or counter service, and not be so scheduled!

 

[Melissa&Shawn]

we are staying at Wilderness Lodge. Do they have cribs/rails? Does it cost extra and does anyone have pictures? thanks

I believe WL has the same pack and plays , no cribs. We rented through a baby's best friend and the luggage person helped DH set it up.

 

[Blurrysmom]

I second Baby's Best Friend. Although if the luggage guys help you set it up, they're doing so out of the goodness of their hearts; BBF will tell you the bellmen won't do it, and at BWV anyway they were very clear that they are not affiliated and can't./won't help with assembly, and good luck. But DH put it together unassisted in about 20 minutes, and it came with all the bedding including a bumper, which was key for our son.

Also second Garden Grocer. We got snacks, milk, breakfast food, and a mom's best friend - a big bottle of chardonnay. Let the vacation begin!

 

[aimlyles]

We are leaving next Sat and it'll be interesting to see how my 23 month old will behave. Not getting in the stroller will be a big one for us. I never thought I'd have to get one, never needed it for DS who's 8, but I bought one of those leash harness's for my youngest. I know some people don't approve but I figure it's safer than having him run off on us and/or us having to carry him all day because he won't sit in the stroller. Wish us luck

 

[dmoore718]

I know it well!! We took l our Daughters when they were 3 and 2. We did have a great time, even though it was cold most days. We just realized that we would just do the things they wanted to do and so we spent many hours taking pics with princesses and playing in Toontown. My 3 y.o. was actually worse than the 2 y.o. She had some tantrums, and there were a few times, I carried her onto a ride, kicking and screaming, since she was afraid of everything...yes, you are right about Pooh Ride and how about Snow White!!! Scary stuff. In AK, she had a tantrum as we were waiting to go into the Nemo show and an older woman walking by gave me a dirty look and covered her ears saying, "Oh My EARS!" give me a break lady!! It's Disney World!!! My kids did nap in the stroller everday and this saved us and also gave us about 2 hrs to walk around and enjoy the Parks. They were actually more likely to nap if we stayed at the park and pushed them in the stroller, then if we tried to go back to the hotel. They also wanted to walk, but that only lasted the first day, they soon realized how exhausting it is and happily rode in the stroller. We are going next year and bringing our new baby for her fist trip at 18 mo. old. Hopefully, all will go smoothly but again....we expect to do lots of Kiddie fun. Good to know about the Hoop De Doo review, might have to look into that.

 

[starsweeper]

I have to agree with what you have posted. Taking toddlers requires a lot of planning and being realistic about what you can do each day. We took our DC last Feb for their first trip. They were both 2.5 years old. Here's what worked well for us:

1. Return to the room for naps (even if they nap very little, they need downtime from the stimulation of the parks)
2. Plan to eat/snack every couple hours--we found DD and DS ate much more while there
3. Don't push the stroller issue, it's not worth it. We tried to make our DC ride their single strollers, but they really wanted to walk so they could explore and touch things. We gave in and let them walk most times they wanted to, and everyone was happier. BTW, we took two 10 lb, tri-fold strollers that were easy to fold in 2 seconds and carry.
4. We planned a minimum of 2-3 days just for MK because there is so much to do for little ones, and skipped Hollywood Studios and most of Epcot--we were making the trip about them, we've been there and done most of it before
5. Take things to occupy them while in line for rides (avoid Snow White and Peter Pan--they frighten little ones). BTW, our kids had no trouble with the Haunted Mansion, I think because they don't understand the concept of a ghosts yet and we pointed and laughed at things during the ride to break the creepy atmosphere.
6. Bring disposable eating mats, utensils, and sippys because they are often not available. At buffets, your under 3 DC can eat for free if they eat food from your plate that you place on a mat. This saved us a ton since we had two under 3 for character meals.

Be prepared for what you can't control:
1. Weather - we had highs in the 40s starting the 4th day of our trip. My DC are very cold intolerant, so we ended up leaving early on our Buy 4/Get 3 Free deal.
2. They will throw tantrums even if they've eaten/drunk something lately, have been changed, and are having a good time. I think its over-stimulation of so much to do and see.
3. One of our character meals got the bill wrong and it took 25 mins to get it adjusted. We know our kids last 45 min at any restaurant before it gets ugly, so it was not pretty. I had to wrangle two very upset and bored toddlers outside for 20 min while DH got the bill fixed.

 

[champagnegirl26]

I have to agree with what you have posted. Taking toddlers requires a lot of planning and being realistic about what you can do each day. We took our DC last Feb for their first trip. They were both 2.5 years old. Here's what worked well for us:

1. Return to the room for naps (even if they nap very little, they need downtime from the stimulation of the parks)
2. Plan to eat/snack every couple hours--we found DD and DS ate much more while there
3. Don't push the stroller issue, it's not worth it. We tried to make our DC ride their single strollers, but they really wanted to walk so they could explore and touch things. We gave in and let them walk most times they wanted to, and everyone was happier. BTW, we took two 10 lb, tri-fold strollers that were easy to fold in 2 seconds and carry.
4. We planned a minimum of 2-3 days just for MK because there is so much to do for little ones, and skipped Hollywood Studios and most of Epcot--we were making the trip about them, we've been there and done most of it before
5. Take things to occupy them while in line for rides (avoid Snow White and Peter Pan--they frighten little ones). BTW, our kids had no trouble with the Haunted Mansion, I think because they don't understand the concept of a ghosts yet and we pointed and laughed at things during the ride to break the creepy atmosphere.
6. Bring disposable eating mats, utensils, and sippys because they are often not available. At buffets, your under 3 DC can eat for free if they eat food from your plate that you place on a mat. This saved us a ton since we had two under 3 for character meals.

Be prepared for what you can't control:
1. Weather - we had highs in the 40s starting the 4th day of our trip. My DC are very cold intolerant, so we ended up leaving early on our Buy 4/Get 3 Free deal.
2. They will throw tantrums even if they've eaten/drunk something lately, have been changed, and are having a good time. I think its over-stimulation of so much to do and see.
3. One of our character meals got the bill wrong and it took 25 mins to get it adjusted. We know our kids last 45 min at any restaurant before it gets ugly, so it was not pretty. I had to wrangle two very upset and bored toddlers outside for 20 min while DH got the bill fixed.

Hi you spoke of buffets...so does this mean in places such as crystal palace that I wont be able to use a plate without paying for our 2 year old?

 

[champagnegirl26]

ps thanks starsweeper for your account....some great advice!!!

 

[la79al]

We took DD in December when she was 19 months. It was my mom and my sister and I. We were all amazed that we got no tears at all until day 4. I would say we got about 6 rides done in MK and even less at the other parks. DD wanted to look at EVERYTHING (she would spend half the day watching the 'ducks') and did a few parades twice. We started out the week with a dinner at Chef Mickeys where she literally climbed out of the highchair to wrap herself around my neck as soon as a character came close and then wrapped tighter when I tried to put her back in when the character was gone. By the end of the week she was running up to characters (not the face characters, she never showed interest in them) giving them hugs. On our first full day, we went back to the room for naps. Mom and sis went for a walk while I laid on the bed rubbing DDs back. They came back and DD was jumping on the bed and running around the room. We took her to the pool, thinking it would tire her out. Nope. She ended up falling asleep in the stroller a few hours after we returned to MK. I think she fell asleep during 75% of lunches and dinners, which was okay because she wasn't eating anything anyhow, but it was kind of not cool because I had to hold her and try to eat at the same time. She didn't really seem to enjoy any of the rides. Dumbo is the only one where she actually smiled. The rest she didn't act like she was being tortured, but not even a smile. And the leash. The leash is funny to us now. We put that thing in the diaper bag every day (took up half the diaper bag, since it's one of those monkey leashes). Finally decided to try it out one night when we were resort hopping. DD loves it. Except that she loves it to walk herself. She would want me to put it on her and then she would want me to hand her the tail and off she would go. If I tried to take the tail back, she would drop to the ground and I would have to carry her, defeating the purpose of the leash. The only benefit to the leash was that at least when she was walking herself, she was staying out of trouble. Needless to say, the leash went back into the suitcase after that. We are taking DD again the week before she turns 2. And as reasonable as I thought I was in December, I am trying to be even more reasonable this trip. I know we're not going to get very much done. And I know that DD would rather watch the parade every night than hit every ride in MK. And I know that her absolute favorite thing in all of DW was the baby pool at Pop. And the blocks at Pop were probably a close second. I know that the older kids will have fun watching their little sister for awhile and then they will want to go more at their pace and the idea of 'we all stick together on family vacations' is not going to be very practical. Most importantly, I know that just like our previous trips, we are not going to be able to do it all. The most I can do it make what we do get done as pleasant as possible.

 

[jkstewart1800]

Blurrysmom- Again, on the money with the Pooh ride. I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way.

It stems directly from a dream scene from the winnie the pooh 1970's tv special (that you can by on DVD)

 

[disneyfan97]

I really think that your experience at WDW with a toddler will depend so much on the child's temperment and the planning/parents expectations. Luckily, the one thing you can control is your own expectations. We have taken DS to WDW 6 times in 3 years and he has had good days and bad days along the way, but for the most part it's very enjoyable. We go into it knowing that his schedule and needs rule the day, and we may not do/see everything - but we know we'll be back.

He sleeps really well in the stroller, which gives us time to ride swap on the larger/faster rides. That has been a really nice thing on every trip. He has also been known to take an evening nap on a really late night which allows us to stay out a little later, and he still gets some good sleep. I guess we are lucky that he's a pretty flexible kid. He sleeps well in hotel rooms, knows how to stand in line, and has always done well in restaurants. We still eat at Le Cellier and Chefs de France - but we make sure he has plenty to do at the table (colors, hot wheels, as he gets older this will transition to handheld games).

His life at home is all about structure - I'm a full time working mom, so his day is dictated by his daycare class. He goes to bed around the same time every night and eats around the same times every day. But when we go to Disney World it all goes out the window, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how well he has adjusted each time.

This last trip, as he is getting older and more opinionated, one of the keys to happiness was to let him decide where we go and what we ride. Our only real plan involved dining reservations and riding TSM first at DHS. Other than that, it was up to him if he was awake. Yes, that meant we stood at the light-up toy cart for 30 minutes one night while he played, but he was happy.

I mean, he's still 3, and he still acts like a toddler, but all in all a great time!

I say give your kids the benefit of the doubt...they might surprise you.

 

[brightspark]

Hi you spoke of buffets...so does this mean in places such as crystal palace that I wont be able to use a plate without paying for our 2 year old?

We just got back and did Chef Mickey and Cape May with DS 18 months, and at both he had his own plate and bowl and we didn't pay for him... don't worry about it! I'm sure that at these type things they eat free if they are under 3!

 

[champagnegirl26]

We just got back and did Chef Mickey and Cape May with DS 18 months, and at both he had his own plate and bowl and we didn't pay for him... don't worry about it! I'm sure that at these type things they eat free if they are under 3!

Thank you I thought that would be the case. Gosh even though this will be our fourth trip its our first as a family and there is so much more to think about with a child in tow!!! Thanks for your help

 

[brightspark]

Well we just got back from our 2 week trip with DS who was 19 months the day we got back, and we had a WONDERFUL time! It was totally different to other trips before he was born, but this one was just as exciting and special as the others. I also found it less tiring due to the early nights!

Our biggest issues were jetlag and eating. Getting DS to eat well at home can be a problem and with jetlag he didn't really eat anything of any substance for the first week until he was over the jetlag... and once he'd got used to orange coloured cheese and stuff too. The second week he ate loads of eggy cheese on toast, which he loves and ate it brilliantly if we popped the pot by him in the stroller so he could eat it without any pressure. I'd figured before we went, that as he has gone months at a time with not a good diet -2 weeks weren't going to be a big deal!

We also did a garden grocer shop and got him his normal weetabix for breakfast so I knew he was eating well for one meal at least - and getting vitamins and iron. He also had plenty of milk.

Jetlag (5 hour time difference) meant that he was up really early in the morning (4 or 5 am some days) for the first week, which had the knock on effect of him falling asleep on the bus on the way to the parks... or being ready to sleep at 10:30am. The bonus to this was he slept in the stroller really well, so we were able to browse shops, eat in peace, do some rides... whilst he slept. I had been planning to back to the resort for his sleep - but as we couldn't go out most evenings, we got plenty of rest at that time of day. Thankfully our 1bed at DVC meant that we could rest in our room with the TV or whatever during the evening.

I have to say that I cannot recommend Tour Guide Mike HIGHLY ENOUGH. His advice was spot on and we hardly ever waited more than 5 mins max for a ride... this was brilliant... often the only wait was as we walked through to the ride (eg nemo and friends clamcars thing). We even rode winnie the pooh 2x without waiting... Obviously we went at a quiet time of year, but really it did make a massive difference - the last couple of days when we just wanted to do odd bits, we didn't use his advice and the difference was unbelievable!

I was so glad that we bought a lightweight, but reclining stroller to take...

DS did have his moments of not wanting to get in the stroller, and of getting upset about stuff, but really they were totally outweighed by the joy of the rest of the trip.

He hated the characters for the first couple of days... and I spent a long time in AK with him, at a really quiet time, just playing near them, and by the 3rd or 4th day he'd decided they were great. It just required some patience... the characters were great, when I told them he was shy, and I'd carry him up to them, keeping far enough away for him to stay comfortable, and then they often played peekaboo with him, or I would pretend to tickle them, and gradually DS joined in, until it was a struggle to keep him from running right up to them everytime he saw them.

As we had 14 days we really took things slowly as well... often just doing DS's favourite rides over and over again. He loved it and so did we.

We saw plenty of kids on the harness things - and they seemed to be working well. We didn't use one with DS in the end, rather just spent time chasing him around... and he loved to push the stroller so that helped too!

His favourite rides and shows were: Dumbo, cinderellas caroselle, small world, toy story midway mania, winnie the pooh, playhouse disney, Nemo and friends clam cars, the piggybank challenge in Future World at Epcot - he liked carrying the piggy, triceratops spin at AK, and Festival of the Lion King. He didn't wear the 3d glasses for the toy story thing, but it didn't seem to stop his enjoyment at all... He didn't like Peter Pan (we didn't try snow white).

He loved the parades, and loved dancing in the street at the morning MK parade

 

[pixarmom]

I really think that your experience at WDW with a toddler will depend so much on the child's temperment and the planning/parents expectations. Luckily, the one thing you can control is your own expectations. We have taken DS to WDW 6 times in 3 years and he has had good days and bad days along the way, but for the most part it's very enjoyable. We go into it knowing that his schedule and needs rule the day, and we may not do/see everything - but we know we'll be back.

He sleeps really well in the stroller, which gives us time to ride swap on the larger/faster rides. That has been a really nice thing on every trip. He has also been known to take an evening nap on a really late night which allows us to stay out a little later, and he still gets some good sleep. I guess we are lucky that he's a pretty flexible kid. He sleeps well in hotel rooms, knows how to stand in line, and has always done well in restaurants. We still eat at Le Cellier and Chefs de France - but we make sure he has plenty to do at the table (colors, hot wheels, as he gets older this will transition to handheld games).

His life at home is all about structure - I'm a full time working mom, so his day is dictated by his daycare class. He goes to bed around the same time every night and eats around the same times every day. But when we go to Disney World it all goes out the window, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how well he has adjusted each time.

This last trip, as he is getting older and more opinionated, one of the keys to happiness was to let him decide where we go and what we ride. Our only real plan involved dining reservations and riding TSM first at DHS. Other than that, it was up to him if he was awake. Yes, that meant we stood at the light-up toy cart for 30 minutes one night while he played, but he was happy.

I mean, he's still 3, and he still acts like a toddler, but all in all a great time!

I say give your kids the benefit of the doubt...they might surprise you.

I was just checking back on this thread, and wanted to throw in my additional two cents - well said, Disneyfan97! It's so dependent on individual children/families, and realistic parent expectations. We plan a lot for our 3 kids, and then prepare to be flexible. I've found that all the WDW information I've gathered from different sources over the years really helps when it's time to be flexible!

A note on the mid-day break. I may have mentioned this earlier, but we experimented with the mid-day break/nap at the resort and the stroller nap, and for all 3 of our kids, the stroller nap produced excellent results! It's a long story, but the mid-day break at the hotel -when we tried it long ago - was a disaster for us. But for so many families, the hotel nap/break is absolutely essential. So I can't recommend one or the other for anyone else - I think it starts with each parent's best guess about their own children, and then some trial and error!