First time Disney for us as a family!

[tcalvanese]

I'm new at this so please forgive me if I don't use the proper lingo! We are taking our children for the first time to Disneyworld. My son is just turning four and my daughter is almost 1 1/2. Does anyone have any suggestions on what attractions are good for them or even any good tips on traveling? This will be their first airplane ride, too! I can't wait to see my four year old's face when he see's Mickey!!!

 

[Minnie824]

We went this past nov with our 2 DDs the exact ages of your kids. They had a great time! the 1.5 yr old still watches our home video of the parade and LOVES it! We brought a side by side double stroller...surprisingly the little one wanted to walk everywhere! We drove, so can't give you any flying tips. Our 4yo went on everything she could...splash mtn, test track, big thunder...now is saying she has to go on space mtn next time (hopefully will be tall enough). Our little one went on everything we all could...had no problems with snow white, loved mickey's philharmagic...a little leary on stuff in the air (dumbo) at first. Also, didn't like the part in the haunted mansion where the heads pop up...but she didn't cry...just kept saying "no ghost" for awhile after that. haha. we only did philharmagic for the 3d shows, went on everything in fantasyland...they both really liked the Tomorrowland transit authority and buzz lightyear as well. And, both loved the night parade (didn't do daytime ones, it was naptime). We were at the parks first thing, took nap in afternoon, then they made it easily til 8:30-9...getting closer to 9:30 they started getting grumpy and ready for bed. Oh, and of course both loved seeing the characters...not afraid at all. Have a great trip! Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[DisneyArk]

I hope you're having fun planning your trip. On our first trip my sons were 3 and 1 1/2. It was completely magical!!

My biggest tip may seem obvious, enjoy everything as you go along and be willing to stop and smell the roses. Young children notice so many details and we had to go at a slow pace to accommodate them. There were some rides that we rode over and over and other things that we never got to do. But we all had a wonderful time and we didn't have any meltdowns.

I would bring a few snacks into the parks. When our boys were that age they got hungry pretty often. We could give them snacks while we waited in line for attractions. A few times we ran out of snacks and sometimes it was difficult to find a vendor that had food that our toddler liked to eat and the lines were long. For instance one day we got out of line for Peter Pan and then waited 20 minutes and then spent $3.00 on a cookie that my DS1 only ate 2 bites of it.

The boys were both able to ride most rides at the Magic Kingdom. I just held the 1 year old in my lap. We skipped the roller coasters, the Haunted Mansion and Snow White. They also loved Animal Kingdom!

Airplane - At that age my sons had never chewed gum. So on the airplane I gave them fruit snacks to chew on while the plane took off. Another tip is to wait until the plane is actually moving before you start handing them out. I think my sons went through several packages before the plane started to move.

Another thing was that my sons were not extremely familiar with the "base" Disney characters of Goofy, Mickey, Minnie and Donald, etc. Plus I wanted to prepare them for meeting the characters so I bought a few Disney movies that show children interacting with the characters. They sell them on Amazon.com - here are a few Sing Along Songs Disneyland Fun, Sing Along Songs Beach Party at Walt Disney World and Sing Along Songs Campout at Walt Disney World.

I think the videos helped and my sons were NOT afraid of the characters. My sons loved the character meals - we ate at The Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's.

I'm sure you'll get a lot more help from others who have been to WDW more recently with a toddler. My sons are 5 and 7 now and we're going back to WDW in May!

 

[tcalvanese]

Thanks for all that wonderful info! I will make sure to pack plenty of snacks (normally do these anyhow, more so for my husband!) We will be going on Saturday for 12 days so I am VERY excited. Thanks again!

 

[DisneyArk]

12 days!! Wow, that's awesome! Are you going anywhere else besides WDW? The beach? Are you staying on WDW property?

Are you going to the water parks? My sons loved Typhoon Lagoon. The kiddie area is pretty cool. It also has sandy areas. On our last trip my sons were 3 and 5 and they LOVED TL. They have a family raft ride that we were all able to ride together.

My friend just returned from a 4 day trip to WDW and they went to TL on 2 days because her 18 month old loved it so much.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[AimKo]

We just got back from our first trip with DD 4 and DS 1 1/2. Things that worked for us:
1. take full advantage of the FastPass
2. we liked the little playgrounds (pooh's and the one in toon town) for letting our littlest one blow off energy since he spent most of the day in a back pack.
3. bring an extra set of clothes in a ziploc in your bag. Some of the play spots have water elements and I couldn't pull my son out of them!
4. make dinner decisions in advance (ADRs where possible) or at least a plan of attack for the counter services. This was probably our biggest rough patch-- trying to decide what to do for dinner. Look at the menus online (some of the kieds meals were a bit unusual for my kids tastes-- ex franks and beans, grilled chix salad)
4. think about going back to your resort for a mid-day nap/swim. We left each day around 2 when it started to get hot and crowded. The kids loved the pool and we came back latter refreshed enough to stay for parade and fireworks.

Have fun

Aimee

 

[HappyLawyer]

wow congrats, you'll have a blast

 

[tcalvanese]

We are actually going for six days in Orlando and six days in Lauderdale to just get some R&R! Much needed, I might add. I know we will be visiting Blizzard Beach with some of our friends and their kid's as well. I have gone to typhoon lagoon when I was younger and I LOVED it. I figured we would try Blizzard Beach this time. We have actually decided to rent out a big house in Orlando instead of staying onsite this time. Not sure how that will work out but the price was very reasonable and I do love the comforts of home. Plus, it has a screened in pool for the kid's. I know they will use that a lot. I can't wait to see my four yr. old's face. He is going to be so excited. If all goes well, we might go during xmas time.

 

[Tam1067]

My kids were 15 months, 4, and 6 when we first went. The youngest loved Chef Mickey's and Crystal Tree (Pooh is there) and enjoyed all the characters we found. She liked the Playhouse Disney show at MGM and the Pooh ride in MK. Peter Pan was also good for her. She liked parades, too, as I think someone else mentioned.

Just don't even try to do it all. We found that the kids were so wiped out by dinnertime that none of us had the energy to do any of the evening shows like Fantasmic, which just gives you more reason to return next time when they're a bit older (and that's what we're looking forward to this year).

You'll have fun, and so will the kids.