Experiences at Disney with 19 month old?

[Mousemommy1]

We are fresh off of our trip to Disney with our now 4 month old baby boy. It was great! We had a lot of questions despite being veteran Disney-goers because we didn't take our older girls until they were 3 and 5 (they now have 7 trips under their belts).

I think our next trip will likely be in August of next year and our little man will be 19 months old. I am thinking that will be a challenging age. (he will want to walk, tantrums, etc...)

What are your experiences? I think the good thing is that he will be eating regular food, can express himself somewhat in regards to his needs, etc...

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

We took our daughter at 18 months and she did great- except it took her several days to warm up to the characters! When she first met Donald she grabbed his face and screamed

 

[thehappyhours]

We went with a 19 month old and she did great. We only had 1 day in the parks before our cruise, but we alternated riding in the stroller and walking. She was fine with the characters, except Goofy on the cruise. We just made sure we had plenty of snacks for her during the day

 

[Mousemommy1]

Hahaha, our little guy FREAKED when Stitch came near him!!! I guess he will be like our 8 year old who is still afraid of characters...

 

[hipporina]

We took our youngest at 7 months and then again at 19 months. 7 months was definitely easier, but 19 months was great fun. We learned really fast the key to enjoying WDW with a toddler is to let them be a toddler. I was in tears halfway through our first day because our little guy was miserable. We had had a late night so we was overtired and he didn't like anything I thought he would like. Then, we went to the HISTK playground and he was in heaven. For the rest of the trip, we focused on letting him experience WDW in his way. He was far happier running around and playing with his ball while waiting for his older siblings to ride SM than riding anything in Fantasyland. He enjoyed the characters and loved the carousel, but his favorite parts were the play areas. It was a great trip and I would definitely do it again.

Here are links to where I blogged about our trip if you want to read more.
http://choosinglaughterandlove.com/2013/12/28/disney-world-december-2013-top-10-memories-part-1/
http://choosinglaughterandlove.com/2014/01/01/disney-world-december-2013-top-10-memories-part-2/

 

[ericstac]

our first trip to WDW was in August and our littlest was 2 years old.. First thing, it is HOT!!! and crowded.. lol

the stroller is nice but I recommend investing in a misting fan to help the little guy, and everyone else out.

Take it easy.. dont expect to be the disney pro and following a plan to the T, this trip will be guided by your 2yr old and its best for your sanity if you allow it. Nothing worse than an upset 2 yr old. makes for a miserable time.

When people I know ask me about taking young ones I recommend not taking them if possible, especially if the trip includes older kids because I feel like it kills the trip for the other kids.

 

[RachaelA]

We went with our oldest when she was 18 months (2nd trip) it definitely did take her multiple days to warm up to the characters. People thought we were hurting her because of how she screamed when she just saw mickey across the room on our first day.

But it was still a really fun trip! She was a bit crankier then when we took her at 12 months so we did more naps in the room then stroller naps.

 

[Mousemommy1]

our first trip to WDW was in August and our littlest was 2 years old.. First thing, it is HOT!!! and crowded.. lol

the stroller is nice but I recommend investing in a misting fan to help the little guy, and everyone else out.

Take it easy.. dont expect to be the disney pro and following a plan to the T, this trip will be guided by your 2yr old and its best for your sanity if you allow it. Nothing worse than an upset 2 yr old. makes for a miserable time.

When people I know ask me about taking young ones I recommend not taking them if possible, especially if the trip includes older kids because I feel like it kills the trip for the other kids.

We've been in August before...yup, hot! But end of August crowds are actually great!

We had a misting fan for little guy on our trip 2 weeks ago but never used it, lol.

We go every year, so we don't worry about seeing everything. Our older kids have had their last two trips slowed down...I was pregnant on last years trip and little man only 3 months this past trip. Older kids still had an awesome time and none of us would ever consider leaving part of the family behind on our family vacations. A person is a person, no matter how small...

 

[pigletgirl]

I think a good rule is to tell your girls how the next trip will look. There will be times when they'll want to continue playing in the parks and so maybe you and your DH can flip back and forth on who takes the little guy back to the room to nap. The naps will be essential. We took DD last year at 15 months and she LOVED the splash areas. Some of our best memories have been just the times DD was happy.

 

[Ava]

Definitely make sure he gets a nap, either in the stroller or go back to the room mid-day. August is VERY hot, so the whole family may welcome the break. When we went last year our girls were 5 years old and 16 months old. On the days we went back to the room for the baby to nap, one of us took the 5yo swimming while the other sat in the room. If we told her we were going back to the hotel to swim, she never argued about leaving the park. I think for most kids the hotel pool is just as much fun as the rides.

Also there's usually something that will keep a toddler occupied near all of the big rides - a nearby ride that they can do, a play area, etc - so they don't have to just sit and wait while their older siblings ride those rides.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I think a good rule is to tell your girls how the next trip will look. There will be times when they'll want to continue playing in the parks and so maybe you and your DH can flip back and forth on who takes the little guy back to the room to nap. The naps will be essential. We took DD last year at 15 months and she LOVED the splash areas. Some of our best memories have been just the times DD was happy.

That's exactly what we did this time. They don't mind luckily. We've always taken midday breaks anyway, because DH and I need naps, lol

 

[Crispity]

We took our DD at 14 months, 22 months, and 2.5 years. By far the most challenging trip was the one where she was 2.5. We had tantrums, crankiness, defiance - all your general "terrible twos" behavior. The trips at 14 and 22 months were both fantastic, though, with 22 months being the best. At that age, she loved all the sights, liked to point out the rides that she wanted to go on (dumbo was the favorite!) and loved meeting the characters. She would also nap in her stroller while DH and I shopped or found a quiet place to sit. I think 19 months would be a great time to go - you will all love it!

 

[worm761]

The first time I took DS to Disney he was 5 and we did the park commando on all of our trips. He is now 19. DD is 5. Her first trip she was 22 months. I had a good stroller and she took naps in the stroller. But at that age, she wanted to walk most of the time. To make sure she didn't bolt on me, I had a Safety 1st harness: http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-48...31455270&sr=1-1&keywords=safety+first+harness I like this one better than the cute animal ones because it looks like it would be cooler than having a stuffed animal on her back.

We just slowed down to her pace when she wanted to walk. And she enjoyed playing in the play areas near the big rides. She was never afraid of the characters though. She loved meeting them.