Help Newbie with questions about 2 year old and Disney

[mikenzacksmom]

Hello, I am new here, I have been lurking for quite a while and taking in all the tips and suggestions you all have to offer. Thank you very much.

We are leaving for WDW on Tuesday. My son is 2 and kinda petite. We are planning on going to all 4 of the major parks and taking in some resort activities that I have seen mentioned. Ie: the petting zoo at wilderness, watching the fireworks from different resort areas because my little one did not like the fireworks this past july. I have purchased ear plugs just incase I might need them for him on rides, watched the disney themed ride movies with him, singalongs, we are also going to be doing 2 character breakfast, Chef Mickey and Crystal palace. I've planned rest time each day.

Which would bring me to my main question, I have done so much planning, I just want to make sure he will be able to ride the rides. Anyone else who has taken 2 and under that could help with these questions.

In the 4 parks will he be able to ride most of the rides. We plan to do the babyswap on the mountains and other thrill rides as suggested. All the other rides I am wondering about. He is about 31". I have a hip/fanny pack carrier for while we are waiting in lines. I'm wondering if I can carry him on the rides in this. or if he will just sit in between us.

I'm sorry for all the questions at once. Thanks for any help
Michelle

 

[Laurie W]

Hi. We took our 2 yr old daughter in September and are planning on going back again in May. At MK, she was able to ride Magic Carpets of Alladin (sp?), It's a Small world, the Carousel, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, the Jungle Cruise and Pirates (but I don't recommend that, it was a lot darker than I had remembered and she was scared). She may have been able to ride Buzz but was asleep and the Haunted Mansion was closed. At Epcot, we only went on Journey to your Imagination. It was a little dark and loud for her. We skipped the Great Movie ride at MGM because there are scary parts. At Animal Kingdom, we did the Safari and the dinosaur ride that's like Dumbo. So, there should be a lot for your little guy to ride. Good luck planning. He should love the character breakfasts too!!

Laurie

 

[MKFan-PR]

Welcome!

You and your son will be fine! All those planning strategies are great! Our last two trips we took our daughter. She was 9 months for one and and 3 yrs. 7 mo. on the other.

You'll be able to ride with him no problem, either in the carrier, seating or in your lap. Be sure to ask in each ride if you have any doubts, the Cast Members will help you. We rode with with our daughter seating between us without any problems in all the rides without height restrictions.

Some notes:
-I'd recommend that, if you can take a stroller with you, do it. Renting at the park is great (most of the strollers are nice), especially if you don't want to carry a lot of stuff. But when the kid gets tired and you are somewhere else, YOU will get tired even faster by carrying him. Umbrella strollers are nice and mostly inexpensive, and you can find some with canopies and/or storage space, like ours. We took it and it was great for carrying her around the airport, the hotel and everywhere else when she fell asleep.

-If you go to see Fantasmic, arrive early so you can grab a higher seating. If you seat too close to the first row, everyone will get wet, and if your son gets a cold it could make for a terrible vacation memory!

-Bring a couple snacks, water/juice and a favorite toy to make him comfortable.

-In the character meals, most of the characters are mindful that they can be scary to small children; they will be very careful approaching them, so that the kids don't get too scared.

Don't be disappointed if he's not comfortable with some things. Go at his pace, and you'll be surprised at what he'll discover and enjoy. You'll have some lovely memories!

Have fun!

 

[momtotwinglesx4]

When my ds was 18 mos. old, we took him on most of the rides and attractions with us. Off the top of my head, the only ones he was too small for were, in MK: the 3 mountains, astro orbiter, alien encounter; in MGM: RnRC, ToT, Star Tours; in Epcot: Test Track, Body Wars (I wasn't sure about Maelstrom, but he was fine); in AK: Dinosaur, Primevil Whirl, Kali River Rapids. I think he went on all the rest, although I could be forgetting something

He also went with us to Cirque du Soleil, and was mesmerized.

Sue

 

[house_of_princesses]

We took our 4 DD's last October, youngest was 20 mos. Because the parks closed early, we didn't nap during the day. Their stamina held better than mine! The stroller is a must. My DH and I chose rides/attractions for the girls, not for us, so we didn't do the baby swap. There were a few times when the older two wanted to do something the younger two were height restricted from, so I took the youngun's for ice cream or to Tom Sawyer Island. Buzz was an absolute fave of the 20 month old. For all your planning, you'll have a super time! Enjoy!

 

[house_of_princesses]

We took our 4 DD's last October, youngest was 20 mos. Because the parks closed early, we didn't nap during the day. Their stamina held better than mine! The stroller is a must. My DH and I chose rides/attractions for the girls, not for us, so we didn't do the baby swap. There were a few times when the older two wanted to do something the younger two were height restricted from, so I took the youngun's for ice cream or to Tom Sawyer Island. Buzz was an absolute fave of the 20 month old. We all loved the Haunted Mansion, Pirates, depends on your youngster. You'll know if it's for him or not. For all your planning, you'll have a super time! Enjoy!

 

[Dana_Buckley]

We took our 2 yo this past June for a week. It was a lot of fun. You can read my trip reports, if you want to. Just go to the Trip Reports Board and in the search field type 'Buckley'.

The other advice I can add is that DS would not take a nap in the hotel. We took breaks and went swimming from about 2-5pm each day, but mostly because it was sooo HOT! Then he would fall asleep in the stroller as we were heading out for dinner in the evenings. Just go with the flow!

Have a great vacation!

 

[deb305]

Went this January with 4yr DD and 1 yr DS. Did most of the rides with him, except those with height requirements.
For us a reclining stroller was a must. He still took 2 naps. He was able to sleep among the crowds. When he's 3, we'll switch to renting a double he can share with the then 6 year old.
Carrying him 3-4 miles a day can be exhausting (I read in the guide books that this is the average miles walked at WDW). How good is he at walking and staying with you? That is very important not only in line at the rides but at EPCOT. For us we were not able to enjoy the pavillions because strollers were not allowed. 1 yr old DS is a tornado, no way the three of us could have kept him corraled (sp). When we took DD when she was 3 she really only enjoyed Mickey/Minnie Character meal. This trip when she was 4 we scheduled 4 of them, she wanted to quit after 3. I enjoyed the characters more than she did. However, she loved spotting them in the park (though by day 6 she literally ran from Miss Piggy).

We found that our 1 year old took the greatest pleasure from the things we normally would walk by - lizards in the path, flowers, birds, balloon vendors, Tiki room, etc. We all slowed down and went with his flow. He loved World Showcase as he is really musical, and there was always a group playing.
At AK the animal trails were a little lost on him, he couldn't find them usually. However he loved the roaming African musical groups!

Bottom line this is a great time to see WDW through an entirely different perspective. Go slow, he won't know that he didn't get to ride Snow White. One last hint, if he is scared of fireworks take the monorail over to Poly or GF one night and watch them from their. No loud booms, but a great show!

 

[mikenzacksmom]

Thank you so much for all the good advice, I am planning on taking his stroller for him to sit in most of the time. He likes to run off but will walk pretty good when I hold his hand. The carrier I have is a fanny pack/baby hip carrier, holds baby up to 35 pounds. He is only 24 pounds. I tested it out in the store the other day and it works well. I figured I would use that while we were waiting in lines in places the stroller is not allowed. We are leaving in 3 days. YEAH!! Again thank you so much.
Michelle

 

[zaxmom]

It is probably smart to have the carrier with you for waiting in lines and preshows and such. My little one is a monster and always getting yelled at to get down from the bars, quit playing with the ropes, get off the stage, whatever he is not supposed to do, he's doing. It gets tough to hold them through longer lines and if you can strap the kid down, all the better. Too bad mine is 37 pounds or I would look for that hip carrier, too. If it is small enough to fit in your stroller basket, that is great also.
I like to rent the strollers there because we always stay off site and it is easier not to have to take one on the tram to the car. If you do rent one bring something to tie on it so you can recognize it easily. We have used a cup holder that attaches and it works wonderfully.
By the way, I am a Zack's Mom, too. Also a Zane's mom.

 

[angelina]

We went 2 summers ago with ds9, dd7, and dd 2--loved everything, especially the volcano pool at the hotel.

You can get a certificate at some of the rides with height restrictions, like Splash Mountain that's really cute and a nice keepsake, too Don't know if it's available at the other rides like TMRR or Space mountain, but you can always ask.

On our first trip with our two oldest, ages 6 and 4, we brought our umbrella stroller, and both used it often. They were able to rest between rides, and it made getting around the parks easier and faster. Also remember to bring drinks like Capri Sun or juice boxes, and little snacks that will keep them occupied.

Have a great trip!