Going to WDW as a parent now, not as a child

[sydprincess]

For the first time as a parent, DH and I will be taking my DD (who is 2) to WDW. My parents took me close to 10 times thourghout my childhood/early teens, and they always did an incredible job making sure I had the best time possible, never appeared to be too broke to buy me what I wanted, and things never seemed to run anything less than smooth. Now that I am the parent and the one who is in charge of handling the plans and making sure all goes well, I'm so concerned that it won't! I definitely want my DD to grow up loving Disney as I did and to have nothing less than fond memories of the experience. Any tips from those parents out there who know what I'm talking about?! I'm thrilled to be taking her, and want nothing less than for her to have a memorable time.

 

[cheerdaddy]

you will be fine! It's just like every other thing that you do "first" as a parent. It just takes a little research and planning. you've come to the right place for that...the people on this site are really great and can answer almost any question you may have...have fun; relax and let it happen and it(you) will be great...

 

[Mattsmom]

they always did an incredible job making sure I had the best time possible, never appeared to be too broke to buy me what I wanted, and things never seemed to run anything less than smooth.

That's because you were a child. Kids have a way of seeing the good in most things!

I'm a planner, I plan the whole trip out which park which day , dining, shows etc. One trip we did the Fantasmic dinner pkg. , Fantasmic was rained out. I was bummed that my plan failed. My kids, on the other hand, still talk about how much fun it was playing in the rain on the way back to the hotel.

Your in WDW, go with the flow and I'm sure your DD will have wonderful memories.

 

[HollyJoy]

I'm sure your trip will go just fine! This is my first time going as a parent too, and I find it exciting that I'll be seeing WDW in a whole new light! I'll probably see things that I haven't seen before, since it's been a long time since I've gone as a child! I'm trying to do as much research as I can; picking up tons of tips, but trying really hard not to OVERPLAN the trip. I want to be relaxed and enjoy the trip while we're there, and I won't be able to do that if I'm stressed out because we have so many time restraints. This board is such a lifesaver, for there is a wealth of information here. I'm sure your trip will be a load of fun!

 

[SuzieQMomof3]

All kids, whether they admit it or not, just want to spend time with their parents. That will be the highlight of your daughter's trip. Just think-no cooking, no laundry, no cleaning to do-everything is about fun. What could be better?

Now just you wait until you see her eyes when she gets picked for a parade. The Best!

 

[sodaseller]

I grew up in Tampa but only went twice as child, both times during the horrendous Christmas-NY week. Went once when we were first married and then reluctantly, though we had fun.

Then my daughter came along, and we go at least 5x a year (Florida Four pass plus MVMCP). I think I overcompensate because my parents never had the money. My daughter is 7 and has probably had 20 days trips to various parks and waterparks, DTD, etc., and two trips to resorts to stay, more to “visit” during Christmas (we giver a day at DTD and at resorts to seethe decorations at Christmas without going in the park). This summer we will cruise, again with Fla. Resident rates. Now I am addicted, but it’s hard to know how much is Disney, and how much is overcompensating for my own childhood.

 

[WishfulTinking]

Our first time as parents was a ball. We saw the parks in a totally different way. We also didn't see a lot. Our pace was much slower. We took lots of breaks and I have some great pictures of my little boy smelling flowers!

There is nothing better than seeing it all through the eyes of your babies.

ENJOY

 

[Serenity]

I agree with Wishfulthinking. Your pace will be much slower. The first time I took my kids I promised myself that I would not be one of those parents that we all see that drags and screams at their kids the whole trip. Part of being able to do that was accepting that I would not be able to do everything I wanted to do, but to focus on what my kids could reasonably do in a day. I found that I had as much fun if not more on those trips than I did on the ones with no kids when I did more rides. The best memories are seeing it through your kids eyes and watching their expressions.

 

[slo]

The first time we went to WDW as parents our DD was 2 also. I must admit, I was pretty nervous. We just made sure that we took things very slow so our DD would not get to stressed out. We went with the attitude that we would be returning many times in future years and therefore we passed on everything that we knew a 2yr would care less about - like the Hall of Presidents.

Everything went very smoothly and we had a wonderful time. This year we are going for the first time as a family of 4 with DD#2 who will be 13 months when we go. I am now getting nervous all over again because she has a totally different personality than DD#1. DD#1 as a baby was very passive and easy going. DD#2 is very unpatient and not so easy going and I have a feeling it will be difficult to keep her happy.

Have a good time on your trip
My biggest tip for 2yrs old is going to The Crystal Palace for the Winnie the Pooh and friends buffet. We did this w/ our 2yr old and she was in heaven. The buffet is really good too.

 

[dougsmom98]

Our last trip was our first as parents. Our oldest was 4 and the twins had just turned 2. We read the guidebooks and used these boards. We went the week between Christmas and New Years and even though it was busy, we were able to do everything that we had planned. We found the most important thing to our kids' happiness was not standing in lines. We used the Unofficial Guide book's touring plan as a reference and we rarely had to stand in lines longer than 30 minutes during that busy time. For the first 2 hours in the park, we pretty much walked onto things. Understand and use Fast Pass. We used it a lot and that was a lifesaver. The parades were outstanding and all of our kids loved them. If you get the chance, try to go. If you plan to go to MGM, try to get the show times prior to going to the park. That was our first park and we didn't know the show times. We did a terrible job touring this park. I feel like we really missed luck and have a wonderful time!
Amy

 

[Del]

If you take breaks to rest and remember to laugh with your child, the memories will be wonderful. The key is to open yourself to that child that was there many years ago and remember that magic. Have a ball!