First time with little ones...

[disneyygirrl]

I've been to WDW dozens of times. I have an AP and thoroughly enjoy adults only trips quite often. My nieces are old enough (in my opinion) to enjoy a trip, and we're booked for September 25-30. My brother and I are going. Sister in law will be 8 months pregnant, so she's planning on spending most of her time at the hotel/pool, etc. My nieces are 4 and 2. The 4 year old loves Snow White and Princesses and is a total thrill seeker, but she's just hitting the 38" mark. The 2 year old is fun loving and enjoys Mickey.

We have a few character meals booked, as well as BBB and tickets for MNSSHP. I'm usually a Rope Drop girl. The 4 year old is staying in my room - the 2 year old and my brother will probably be meeting us in the parks in the later morning hours. It's been made clear that I'm going to be the main organizer for this trip. The 4 year old Princess and I will be inseparable. Any helpful tips for me? Thanks in advance!

 

[tlmadden73]

2 and 4 are perfect ages!

1) Go in with the attitude that you are doing it for THEM .. not you. So do things you know they will like .. and maybe even multiple times! If you hate Small World but if they think it is the greatest thing ever. Do it as many times as they want .

2) Lower expectations. and don't overdo it. Take afternoon breaks and don't stay late or you may pay for it the next day.
Definitely do rope drop if you can get them up and rolling. You will get more done.

3) Be careful when it comes to characters. Some little kids are afraid of the big costumed characters (but are usually okay with human characters (like princesses).

4) Character meals. Best way to meat a lot of characters without having to wait in line.

5) Fast Pass anything you want to ride after your initial 3. If you can get a 4th Fast Pass for Aladdin's Flying Carpets .. take it .. waiting 0 minutes is better than waiting 10 minutes.

6) Don't do too many park days in a row. When I went when my son and nieces were that age .. we just did two park days and an off day (pool day). Any more than that and he probably would have been tired and cranky near the end of the trip. We chose to do many short trips rather than one long one.

I went with my son when he was 2 and then 3. We had a lot of fun, but there was some downtime and didn't get on near as many attractions as we would have if it was just my wife and I. Despite people saying he was too young. We all had fun and he still remembers things a year or two later.

 

[disneyygirrl]

Thank you so much! I'm definitely planning on some pool/nap/down time. I am nervous about the girls meeting Mickey and the gang and Pooh, etc. I figured we'll introduce them at a parade, where they are further away, and take it slow and if they aren't loving it, we'll skip meeting them up close! Thank you for the tips!

 

[tlmadden73]

Thank you so much! I'm definitely planning on some pool/nap/down time. I am nervous about the girls meeting Mickey and the gang and Pooh, etc. I figured we'll introduce them at a parade, where they are further away, and take it slow and if they aren't loving it, we'll skip meeting them up close! Thank you for the tips!

My son (when he was 2) had some issues with Mickey and company (at Tusker House) . .but as long as I stood BETWEEN him and the character he was okay. He loved the parade. It took him a while to warm up to Pooh and company at Crystal Palace. But seeing them come up to other tables made him comfortable. At both meals his favorite part was following the characters around in a dance.

Now forward ahead 1 year to when he was 3. He would have nothing to do with characters. While he enjoyed the Disney Junior show pupplets he found the M&G characters scary (I am guessing because of their gigantic heads). That made a frustrating character meal at Hollywood & Vine. He didn't even want them near our table at ALL.
He was okay with Princesses (like A&E in a parade or Belle at Enchanted Tales or Princess Fairytale hall). he definitely didn't like being "forced" to do things (like getting pictures taken) and needed his own time to take it all in for LOTS of things. Just stubbornness of a 3-year old I guess. Be warned

 

[disneyygirrl]

All things to keep in mind so I can keep everyone's expectations in check - thank you!

 

[buzznina]

We have been taking our 2 DDs since our 1st was 6 months old and every trip has been great. The biggest adjustment was learning to slow down to their pace and go into the trip not expecting to do everything you may want to do. Are you taking a stroller? It's a LOT of walking for a 4 year old and really comes in handy when they start slowing down or if you want to get somewhere at a quicker pace For our family we are NOT looking forward to our first trip "without" our stroller, it really is not any hassle, especially if it is just an umbrella type. You could even park it by a train station and pick it up later if you wanted too. Cannot give you any advice on a touring plan, since we do the complete opposite and rarely do RD and stay later, and do not take mid-day breaks. Just enjoy seeing the parks and everything through the eyes of your nieces and have a great trip.

 

[elaine amj]

This is great since I am also planning to bring my niece to WDW next year when she is 3 years 8 months old. I'm actually planning 2 weeks since my brother and family will be coming from the UK and we want lots of time to relax and not feel like we have to spend all day in the parks. My thoughts are to go from RD to mid afternoon and then back to our room to swim/chill. In the later evening after her bedtime, my older kids and I along with whichever adult still wants to do more can go back to the parks for more rides.

 

[kboo]

Our older DD has been going since she was 21months - she was a little scared of the "big" characters then, and is now fully in Princess mode at 5. I would definitely consider a stroller, even for the older one. Sometimes we did it just to save her feet or to get somewhere quickly (like a dinner reservation or a FP). I'm a big fan of the out early, midday nap/rest, back or park hop for dinner and possibly fireworks. We did as buzznina did with the umbrella stroller (before YDD was born) - for Epcot, we used to to get there, and on/off monorail, and then parked it by Spaceship earth while we did future world, then picked it up to get to the world showcase.

Another consdieration we dind't even realize until our two trips this year - consider some ear/hearing protection for both kids. the parks, especially MK, are LOUD. DD doesn't have any sensory processing issues and she still chose on her own to wear the hearing protection at times.

Oh, also Epcot is often overlooked for meeting characters. Mulan in China, Belle in France, Alice in UK, and of course, the Big 5. (also Joy and Sadness and Baymax)