First timers just back with our 2 y/o....

[cruiserkaren]

....we had the absolute BEST time. DD2 LOVED everything about WDW! Quick rundown:

We flew down on Monday 9/5 on SW. We had no problems pre-boarding. We didn't take her carseat this time and it was so nice not having to mess with it. She had plenty of room to play and lay down while watching her DVD player. I'm still in shock over how well she did considering we had to wake her up a 5 am.

We used ME and we picked up our luggage before leaving the airport. We had wanted to do this anyway and then we didn't receive our luggage tags or ME booklet so figured it'd be easier. Our bags were literally the 3rd ones on the belt. Grabbed them, went downstairs, found the ME check in line, walked over to the line for buses (we were the only ones in line for our resorts). I didn't even have time to get DD a sucker out of our bags before we were loaded on the bus. Five minutes later we off to WDW!!

We had 1 stop before reaching the Contemporary. The drive didn't take long at all. Walked in to check in and our room was ready. While checking in I did remind her that I put in 2 room requests. They were both granted and 10 minutes later we walking to our room. We had a great room! Ground floor, north wing, junior suite. We could look out our patio and see the playground. DD loved watching the ducks, birds and bunnies that were around.

We went to Chef Mickey's for dinner. DD loved the characters, wasn't scared a bit. The food is definitely nothing to write home about, but then again you don't go for the food.

Next day...off to the Castle!! The lines were non-existent. We rode Pooh so many times I lost count. DD loved Pooh, Peter Pan, teacups, and of course Dumbo. I also lost count of how many times we rode Dumbo. Oh, and Buzz Lightyear, almost forgot him! Rode it about a thousand times I think. We were originally gonna try POTC and HM but after getting there decided against it. It just wasn't worth it for us. No need getting her scared, we'll have plenty of more trips to try them. She seemed bored on IASW. The second time we rode it she played with my fanny pack for over half the ride. (That sounds so funny, talking about MY fanny pack, never thought I'd see the day! ) Went back to the room had a nap and swam for a while and went back to MK.

Wednesday....had a casual morning, no hurries. Decided to go to DTD to shop. Hopped on the bus and we were off. I had planned on DD playing in some fountains while there. Those plans did materialize. All the fountains we found were closed. DD wasn't thrilled to be shopping. We made some purchases and headed back to CR. DD played at the playground, in the sand, rode the escalators, played in the arcade and we ended up back at Chef Mickey's for dinner again. DD just loved it so much and it was so convenient b/c it was right there.

Thursday...back to MK. The park was considerably more busy today. Still the lines not awful in the morning. Walked on the rides she wanted to do and DH and I got to baby swap for Space Mtn. NO lines here at all. I never stopped walking until I was sitting in the car for blast off. As the day wore on the lines picked up big time. It was a 40 minute wait for PP so we decided to head back for some R&R. DD refused a nap today but did lay around and watched some of Toy Story 2 for a while. We played around the resort and I started packing up. We then headed back to MK. The lines were much better by this time. Stayed a few hours and went back for bed.

Departure day....we never received our ME letter telling us what time the bus would pick us up so I called front desk. They put me over to Bell Services who told me I needed to talk to Front Desk. After a few minutes of round and round bell services told me I could call ME from there. I go to make the call with my reservation number in hand. Low and behold, they don't have us down for a reservation and in order to make a reservation I needed to have our flight info with me. So I hung up walked all the back to the room, got the paperwork and had to go back and call for a 2nd time. It worked out just fine but I was completely annoyed by it. I was trying to pack, DD hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and I sweating to death and it wasn't even 9:30! The bus ride back was LONG, we made 3 or 4 stops after ours. It took an hour and 15 minutes to get to the airport. Checked-in and was on our way home.

Notes.....we rented a toddler bed from ABBF. It was there when we checked in but bell services WAS NOT HAPPY about delivering it. I felt uncomfortable when the CM was complaining about bringing it to our room. He did though and it worked fine. You can most definitely hear the fireworks at night when staying at the Contemporary. They are LOUD. I was thankful that I had packed (yes packed!) a box fan to drowned out noises. DD is a light sleeper and would have been terrified if she had to hear those every night. She's scared of fireworks to begin with. The humidity was BRUTAL!!! I mean I expected it to be hot but, wow, you really can't prepare for it. Our next trip will definitely be in December or January. We just don't want to have to deal with that again. We just completely followed DD's lead and went with the flow.

Overall it was an absolute blast! Talking of going next year again. I hate to give up the Caribbean but until DD gets older this may very well be our vacation destination for the next few years. I hope this helps and isn't filled with too much detail that isn't needed. I know I desperately searched for info regarding 2 year olds when I was planning. Any questions I will try to answer!

 

[jennymouse]

Thanks for reporting your experiences with your 2yo. We're taking my 2yo DGD over Thanksgiving for her first trip and I've been checking here often for tips, etc. Glad to hear yours wasn't scared of the characters. I hope ours isn't either. So far, all we've found that she's afraid of is the vaccum.lol She did well during the 4th of July fireworks too but you never know what'll freak them. We can't wait to take her on her first WDW trip!

 

[mantysk8coach]

We are leaving 9 months from today for our DD's first trip, who will have just turned two.

Is your DD closer to two, or closer to turning three? My daughter will be just five days past turning two, and I would imagine there is a big difference between a just turned two year old, and an almost three year old.

How did she do with the characters? We took our DD to Chuck E Cheese today, and she wasn't too thrilled with walking up to the lifesize Chuck that sits on the stage.

Nevermind...just went back and read closer the part about the characters!!! Glad to hear she wasn't scared!

 

[bjakmom]

Thanks for the reassurance about travelling with a 2yo! DGrD just turned 2 and will be coming along in 3 weeks and it's been a few (!) years since I've taken a 2 yo to WDW ! DD also decided not to take her car seat onto the plane, but I always insist on getting a separate seat for her - so DD was thinking just what you said, that she'll have plenty of room to move around and play in her seat.
I just returned from a 'trial run' trip to sesame place and DGrD was not at all thrilled with most of the characters - I have lots of pictures of the top of her little head, as she put her head down and looked at the ground whenever they came near her ! - DD says she keeps repeating "the count is big and scary !!" She did, however, LOVE the parade and was all smiles when waving to the characters from afar. I think I may need to cancel the character meal I had planned for the first night - will probably wait until later in the week.

 

[GEM]

Glad you had a great time! Your experience was a lot like ours. We took our little guy for the first time at 12 months . . .

and again at 20 months . . .

and again at 26 months . . .

and we're taking him again in December at 31 months!

On all of the trips so far he has LOVED all the characters (given them hugs and kisses, called them by name), been thrilled by all the night shows (especially Illuminations), and enjoyed every single ride. He hasn't been the least bit afraid of anything. Of course, that's just his personality. He's not shy or timid at all! I know lots of 2 year olds who are the exact opposite.

 

[cruiserkaren]

We are leaving 9 months from today for our DD's first trip, who will have just turned two.

Is your DD closer to two, or closer to turning three? My daughter will be just five days past turning two, and I would imagine there is a big difference between a just turned two year old, and an almost three year old.

Actually, she's 6 days shy of 2! She'll turn 2 on Friday. I always wonder that too when I read posts. DD has a cousin who is a month away from turning 3 and there is a huge difference between them!

DD hasn't been scared of any characters. She loves Chuck E. Cheese, tries to get up on the stage to give him hugs. I had read a lot about how big they are and was a bit apprehensive about her first meeting them. There weren't nearly as big as I expected. Of course I know they look bigger to her but I was a bit surprised at their size.

 

[cruiserkaren]

I think I may need to cancel the character meal I had planned for the first night - will probably wait until later in the week.

Maybe you could take her there (not sitting down to eat yet) and judge her reaction. She might see the other kids being excited and greeting the characters and want too also. Or possibly just see them from afar. I know at Chef Mickey's you would be able to do this. It's a very open area. Just an idea. I was prepared for DD to be scared and was ready to leave if it happened. We were fortunate, she wanted them to pick her up! Either way I hope you have a fantastic time!

 

[lmaxwe3]

I was thankful that I had packed (yes packed!) a box fan to drowned out noises. DD is a light sleeper and would have been terrified if she had to hear those every night.

This is an awesome idea... my DH and DS love to sleep with their fans on each night. I bet they will be better rested, more like home. Especially since we are staying at POP, from what I have read the noise there can get a bit elevated sometimes.

 

[GEM]

Instead of a great big box fan, maybe you could try one of the small white noise machines. We have one that we travel with, and we love it! It's about the size of a small clock radio. You could test it out before the trip to see how the kids respond to it. We got ours at Target for about $20.