First Visit with 2yr old - Ground Rules

[ktlm]

One more:

8. Have an exit plan. Expect that small child may refuse to go back to the airport to leave WDW. December is the perfect time for this. Tell child that Santa is coming soon, and Santa will not know how to find child unless she goes home. This will avoid much kicking and screaming. Expect that once you get home, Cinderella will call child's toy phone repeatedly requesting that Child return to WDW to see her. Start thinking about your next trip as small child will repeatedly ask for weeks when you are going back to WDW.

You will have a wonderful time!!

 

[cgorn]

cgorn- When you say 2- how close to 3? There is a huge difference between just turning 2 and getting close to 3. We were there a few weeks ago with DD who will be 3 in February.

. . .

5) Sometime in the next year- find a character anywhere and see how your DD reacts (ball park mascot; Chic fil A cow; easter bunny etc). My DD loves them.

DD will have just turned 2 a couple weeks before the trip. She is getting a full Disney education. I don't know how much she comprehends, but she does love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and My Friends Tigger and Pooh. I also put on DVDs of classic Mickey cartoons as well as other movies. To be fair, she also reacts positively to Spongebob and, well, Family Guy (though my wife is putting and end to that soon now that the baby is starting to repeat sounds).

We brought her to World of Disney in New York over the summer. There, she met Pluto, Goofy, Donald, and Minnie. She was fascinated. She even sat on Minnie's lap. We'll probably go back at least once before next December (we live in Philly, so it's not that bad). We also have access to other people-dressed-as-things at various storytimes and sporting events. So far, so good.

With the Peter Pan line situation... Is that just an oddity on that line, or did you find that elsewhere?

Thanks!!

Chad

 

[3girls4me05]

For my child a toy foldup play cell phone was the pefect in line toy.

Use child swap..as many times as you and your spouse agree to

Plan on potty training after the trip but prepare for them to do so two wks before you leave (yep that is what mine did too).

Always have an extra change of clothes, bathing suit (for those fun sprinkler areas) and plenty of wipes and diapers. First time we went with a little one we thought we would be heading back to the hotel and then we didn't and we were caught low on diapers

Bring a binky or pacifier in the your bag even if they are now only used in the crib or bed at nighttime. You just may need that emergency back up one time (or two or three)

Relax and enjoy!

 

[ktlm]

Chad, it sounds like you are raising that baby right!!! I think the Peter Pan cubby is probably an oddity as it was such a perfect little spot, but we weren't really looking for spots most other places. I think several of the lines may have some corners big enough where you could stop and find enough room to sit and let others pass if you had to. We thought we were going to have to do it again in Toy Story Mania (the 30 minute posted wait time was actually closer to 45) and thought there was enough space to do it, but luckily she perked up when she realized how close she was to getting on the ride.

 

[brandylouwho]

Not universal rules, just how it worked for our family this past trip:

* If it ain't a buffet or a Quick Service, don't bother trying to eat there (toddlers don't wait for food).
* Bed time moved up to 6:00 pm!?! But that meant she woke up around 4:00 am DAILY for the entire 12 day trip!
* Change the dipey every chance you get, or else she'll need it at the worst possible time or it'll leak on you.
* the bus ride would not have been survivable without daddy's iPhone (playing cartoons on it).

* Cute babies get a lot of attention (ours likes to smile at people and pull them in with her tractor beam eyes).
* The "world" looks different from the height of a toddler or stroller height. Take a moment to enjoy that point of view with her (or him).

 

[SlushTurtle]

When we went with an almost 1 year old and a 3 year old, here were the things that helped us the most:

1- the kids are the boss (within reason, of course). We got up when they wanted to, we went to bed when they were done. I think we used morning extra magic hours once and evening hours once in the week we were there. We were in low season so it wasn't really a big deal for us.

2- don't underestimate the power of a small $5 toy. It can totally turn the whole family's day around.

3- nap, nap, nap. Our kids were exhausted by everything. We usually made it to the parks by 10, did our thing, and were back in the room napping at 3 or so. We would get up and shower, have a quick dinner, and turn in for the night. Is this what dh and I would have done? No way. But we've been to Disney, and now it's time for the kids to enjoy it. Our kids are big sleepers, in case you haven't guessed by now. It's really in everyone's best interests to make sure they are well rested.

4- don't expect to have many nice, sit down meals. Our now four year old was just complaining about eating in that big pyramid (Mexico in Epcot) today. "It took so long Mommy!"

5- pack well. When we head to a park, we have: a change of clothes for both kids, lunch and snacks, diapers, wipes, water for everyone, sunscreen, a first aid kit, a couple of small toys, walmart or ziplock bags (you just never know when those are going to be handy), a couple of garbage bags to use as rain covers for the strollers just in case, hats for everyone... hmmm... I'm sure there is more, but that is what comes to mind. We had saddlebags for our strollers and then carried a camera case that went with us when we parked the strollers.

6- If you are doing more than one park, go to everything else before you go to Magic Kingdom. You can't do MK and then head to Epcot. Imagine how disappointing that would be. This was maybe the best advice we received before we went!

 

[tink2]

I've taken two 2 year olds with very different personalities.. Here is what worked for us:
1. backpack- filled with a change of clothes, small snack (cheerios), sippy cups, favorite blankey, coloring book and crayons
2. character meals- both kids were resistant to meeting characters- the character meals were a must. dd at that age warmed up after two whole character meals- went from hiding her face from them when they came within 10 ft to literally chasing them down and sitting in their laps. Ds warmed up much faster and loved them by the end of the first meal. At character meals- you have more time with the characters and they are very patient with kids that age- the will 'test' the waters and not come any closer when they see a melt down coming.
3. stroller naps- worked for us on both trips- never once went back to the hotel. dd was very easy going and slept wonderfully. ds- not so easy going- but was very prone to melt downs and the idea of leaving the park while older sister stayed put him in a frenzy. He slept in stroller too. We always had one adult (we traveled with grandparents and family on these trips) take him off to a quiet, shady area and get him to sleep. Also, both would crash in the stroller many nights and we'd just stroll them around during the nighttime activities- fireworks, etc.
4. bring cotton for their ears- both my kids hated the loud fireworks at that age- but loved them once we thought to put cotton in their ears
5. avoid Snow White's Scary Adv. in fantasyland at MK- terrified my dd at age 4 (we didn't ride it when she was 2)- took about 10 Small World rides before she'd ride anything else. The witch is very prevelant in this ride. DD was beside herself. She remembered it and was hesitant to ride it on our last trip at age 8- she did though and laughed (I told her is she could handle TOT, she could handle that one!)
6. Realize that everything will NOT go as planned. Eating habits of your toddler may be off, sleeping habits may be off, etc. Take plenty of medicine- we've been several times and someone in the family gets sick. You may not need it, but as sure as you don't take it, you will wish you had. Last trip, a stomach virus went trough our family- not fun, but we had suppositories and upset stomach medicine and we survived and made the best of it.
7. Remember to slow down every once and a while and enjoy it- make wonderful memories. WDW is so magical at 2 years old- everything is so exciting to them.
PS- also bring a hair ribbon or something to tie on your stroller to make it easy to spot. Strollers are often moved by cast members while you're in a ride and it looks like a sea of strollers when you come out.