Doing Disney through my daughters eyes....

[Sunset_Princess]

I am ex cast member and a yearly Disney visitor.... before I had my daughter. So I have done Disney as a teenager and adult plenty! In June we are taking my daughter who will be 21 months at the time of going (eeeeeeeeeeeee!! ). I am clearly more excited than she is right now!

I want to make this trip AMAZING for her. So many people annoy me by saying shes too young or, "its such a shame she wont remember it". So what if she doesnt, I dont remember much of my trip from when I was 16!! I will remember it though. We will have photos and videos to show her. She will be experiencing in that moment whether she remembers it in 20 years or not!

Anyway.... going off point here.....

So like I was saying, I have done Disney through teenage eyes, adult eyes, cast member eyes and newly wed eyes, but I have not done it through my babies eyes and I want to make it amazing for her! Have have each day very loosely planned as I know one day she could be in the mood for park and the next day she could just not be so there really isnt anything that I have down that MUST BE DONE on this exact day. Just want to take it easy, relax (which we NEVER do on a disney holiday) and just enjoy ourselves.

Can anyone suggest anything good that my daughter would enjoy that I just havent thought of?

We will definitely take her to meet characters. She will either be really excited to see them or totally freaked out! Could go either way!

We have H&V book purely for the Disney Junior characters

Is it worth doing autographs at that age?

Is she too young for Kidcot around world showcase?

She is a massive water baby and has been going to weekly swimming lessons since 13 weeks old - is there going to be plenty for her to do at TL and BB? She is happy underwater, loves water slides and is confident in the water.

Love any feedback anyone can give for a first time Disney Mummy

 

[aaarcher86]

A first haircut at Harmony Barbershop could be fun.

I'd probably skip KidCot. Autographs might be a good icebreaker for characters, but my kids weren't super into it at that age.

 

[Pesky]

Consider doing a pillowcase with autographs (use the embroidery hoop to keep it taut). That might be a more fun and tangible autograph keepsake that will mean more to her as she gets older. I heard TL has a great kid area.

 

[keepswimming76]

Yes, be prepared for her to be scared of the characters. My daughter didn't warm up until her third trip at age 3, and it was halfway through the trip! Personally, I wouldn't mess with autographs until she is older.

Disney Jr. show is a must at that age. She'll probably also love Casey Jr's Soak Station. Check out the play area under Splash Mountain also. And if you are riding the train do not ride upfront. The whistle is LOUD and my daughter freaked!

 

[ajwolfe]

We took our youngest at 18 months and he had a blast. We did autographs because he had a bigger brother that enjoyed it, but I wouldn't mess with them for just her. Autographs can be a pain IMO so I would save it for a future trip.
Our kids were never scared of the characters, but I would be prepared for it anyways.
I would plan time to just let her run in some of the play areas that way she can burn off some energy.
Honestly at that age there isn't much to plan for IMO, I would just visit the parks as you normally would and let her enjoy the ride!!

 

[Sunset_Princess]

Consider doing a pillowcase with autographs (use the embroidery hoop to keep it taut). That might be a more fun and tangible autograph keepsake that will mean more to her as she gets older. I heard TL has a great kid area.

This is a fantastic idea! I could then get the autographs embroidered when we get home then. That would be a fantastic keepsake.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

DD was 23 months old on her first trip. She LOVE her autograph book, and had a great time walking up to the characters for signatures. It probably helped that her older cousin was there doing it with her.

Really the most fun thing for DD at that age was just seeing the characters she was familiar with. There was a lot of "Look mamma, Ariel! Snow white!", etc.

 

[bbak30]

I would suggest just taking her lead and doing what she wants to do. My kids never got into the autograph thing and aren't even really that big into characters. Everyone is different though.

My kids like to enjoy the simple thins like catching the dance party in Tomorrowland, having a snack during the parade, browsing the gift shops and choosing a souvenier.

 

[monorailsilver]

It was a hard switch going with a kid for the first time.

I had plans to do the baby swap with my dh so we could ride space mountain. Well that never happened because I realized I rode it every trip except my first trip in 1975 when I was 3.5 and I knew I'd be back again to ride it (next trip I was preggo so no ride, the trip after that I took my oldest while my dh hung back with the younger 2).

We went with the flow for the most part. We woke up early morning did the early entry park, came back to the room at lunch time for nap time/break from the summer sun and then returned for the evening including illuminations/wishes. Never had a melt down with any of my kids doing that. Their ages for their first trips were 15 mo, 22 mo, 2.5.

At that age they are taking everything in. We went in every ride we could, even pirates and haunted mansion. Yes my kids freaked a bit-no screams or crying but they made it thru and have since gone on all again a few times!

My kids love/loved the water. My ds he last time we went wanted to wear his new $100+ Nikes to Disney. I told him no and if he did he could not get soaked. So flip flops/keens and not a dry spot on my 3 kids at the MK one day. And everytime they saw water spraying we walked in that direction.

I think mine all got a bit nervous with the fireworks. I covered their ears and then we looked for colors in them and I had no issues. But every kid is different.

Characters-all 3 had a different first time meet. My oldest was afraid of the face characters. I have a picture of her on Susie or pearlas lap, snuggled and Cinderella was next to them but she wanted no part of Cindy! My son loved them all but only if we were holding him which included his legs clasped around our body...aka you are not putting me down! My youngest well she went with the flow and had no issues with any character.

Is H&V booked early on? I guess I would say see how she does with the characters the first day or two and if she freaks cancel it.

My oldest at 15 mo we didn't do autographs. I did a book for their 2nd trip but that book(s) I have since threw away since they sat in the closet buried. I did a photo mat and hats for one trip and have since progressed to just hats,

My oldest didn't do the kidcot but I think because I didn't know about it, after that they did them, scribbled along...

I didn't do a water park with my kids until I was confident that they could all swim the length of the pool, jump, dive, etc... Plus the face I didn't want to be stuck in the kiddie area while my dh was on a slide...not fun for either of us and for us both to stand in the kiddie area and not take advantage of the bigger slides would also be not so fun. The Poly pool was just fine for my kids.

 

[Crystal824]

We just got back yesterday with my DD, who is 20 months. She loved meeting characters. I know every child is different, but that was probably her favorite activity. She also enjoyed Dumbo and Dumbo like rides. She loved Small World, the Finding Nemo attraction, the Lion King show, the Disney Jr. show, and seeing the animals at Animal Kingdom. She was somewhat afraid of fireworks. She didn't cry, but she held on to me tightly and wouldn't look at them.

 

[jennygirlmt]

My favorite keepsake with autographs is taking the matting of a picture frame. I like when Mickey signs in the center at the bottom (usually make it vertical, depends what photo I have in mind), everyone else all around and then frame a photo of her/all of you in front of the castle. It could be an awesome way to remember her first trip!

Otherwise I wouldn't bother with autographs.

She'll love it, not even the stuff you "plan." Just the random excitement, colors and bustle.

 

[DizzyDis]

I am so excited for you! I took DD at 20 mos and now am taking her again at 4 years. Totally agree to leave time for play areas and splash pads (you will be back, let her enjoy the play spots, she can do rides later!) The days I stressed most about were those with lots of FP+ where we were running around and I was worried about missing them. If you miss it, so what, go another time. I made a Disney album online after and that is her favorite thing to look at. I am glad we have tons of pics of her with characters, even though she wasn't a big fan and only wanted to meet them in our arms, she still loves looking at the pics. She loved Dinoland at AK, especially meeting Pluto and Goofy (only Pluto and Marie she ran up to, best pics ever!!).

Generally, chill and go at her pace, take it all in. My kids love animals, so we spent a ton of time wandering at AK and AKL (where we were staying). She also loved the carousel, liked Dumbo and other similar ones, but I would say the bus trip was a favorite too, so don't overplan and overstress (something I still do!!!) and know you can always do more next time. And I am so happy we got PP, since otherwise there would be no pics with me!!!

 

[DizzyDis]

Oh, and she loved the Disney Jr, but it is a while to sit still, so I am not sure how my 18mo DS will do this time, depends on the kid...

 

[mecharper]

A friend and I took a girls trip to Disney when our little girls were 12 and 13 months. They had a fantastic time and so did we. I knew she wouldn't remember but that didn't bother us a bit! We took lots of pictures and she still loves to look at them We just stuck to their schedule and tried to just do what worked each day. We did attempt to get them to nap at least once a day (sometimes in the stroller) and tried to schedule our suppers very early so we weren't out late. Have so much fun!

 

[Sunset_Princess]

Reading everyone reply is making me even more excited!!

Definitely going to go at her pace! Me and my DH have seen Disney so so many times, this one is for her and I cannot wait just to watch her!

Great idea about the splash pads! She will love them! I can just hear her scream with excitement!!

 

[jtopp]

Nothing is comparable to seeing their reaction to meeting Mickey....or the parade....or the fireworks....or etc.... Just their reaction makes the whole trip worthwhile. They may not remember much of it, but you won't forget any of it! Enjoy!!!