First trip to WDW with two year old....tips please

[carsonmaddiemom]

Hi, my name is Heather. I am new here. We are taking our two year old to WDW in September. We will be staying for three nights, four days. We are staying at the Coranado springs resort.

One night we are going to MNSSHP at MK. I have already ordered the tickets for that and I am super excited.

I am really going to try to get reservations for Cinderella's round table for breakfast or lunch.

We also want to eat at Chef Mickeys at some point.

I have been looking into doing the Spirit of Aloha Polynesian Luau for dinner one night. Has anyone done this and how was it?

How many dining reservations do I need to make? I don't want to go overboard and make one for every single meal but I do want us to get the most out of our dining experiences.

Thanks for any advice you may have!!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Hi, my name is Heather. I am new here. We are taking our two year old to WDW in September. We will be staying for three nights, four days. We are staying at the Coranado springs resort.

One night we are going to MNSSHP at MK. I have already ordered the tickets for that and I am super excited.

I am really going to try to get reservations for Cinderella's round table for breakfast or lunch.

We also want to eat at Chef Mickeys at some point.

I have been looking into doing the Spirit of Aloha Polynesian Luau for dinner one night. Has anyone done this and how was it?

How many dining reservations do I need to make? I don't want to go overboard and make one for every single meal but I do want us to get the most out of our dining experiences.

Thanks for any advice you may have!!

Welcome to the DISboards!
The best thing to do is to make your dining reservations as soon as you can which is 90 days from the day you check in.

I haven't been to the Spirit of Aloha dinner so I can't comment on that.
I can't speak for everyone, but 1 sit down a day is plenty for my family. The character meals are great, but they take a lot of time and it's nice to have plenty of time to do other things as well. Also, with little ones, I wouldn't make the reservations for too late in the day. Tired kids=cranky kids=stressful meals.
We prefer Chef Mickey breakfast to dinner but we thought dinner was O.K.
We only did Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch, but we had a great time.
Our other favorite character meal is Crystal Palace. An early dinner there (say around 4) would be good for you MNSSHP night. It's nice to fill up before the parties and get there ahead of the crowds.

 

[dzneelvr]

For the first trip, I'd advise going to MK and AK as they both have areas that are set up for toddlers. Rule #1: don't try to do too much. remember for a 2y/o the resort pool would be enough to enjoy for half a day When we first started going, I bought a Birnbaum's Guide to background myself on what was available for different age levels. That said, I'd avoid the luau altogether as it's not toddler friendly. Concentrate on some solid character interactions: Crystal Palace (Pooh) and Chef Mickeys are two of the best for the basic non-scary characters. Cinderella's Table is wonderful, but again, a 2 y/o isn't going to enjoy it like a 7 y/o! I'm a huge advocate of ADRs and not "catch as catch can", so make them if you think the parks will be crowded. Relax, take time to notice the details, and watch the wonder in your child's eyes. Our DS is now 21 and DD 19 and we're still discovering all that the World has to offerJune 19 Here we come