How do I convince DH that taking a 2-year-old to WDW will be neither...

[wrldpossibility]

agonizing and/or pointless?? He think we should wait several more years. In my own defense, we have two other children, who will be 7 and 5, so I'm not going with JUST a 2 year old (although I might go for that!).

He thinks DS will be too small to do so much touring (we're going 10 days, staying at a deluxe and will be relaxed and napping plenty), and will be too short to ride anything (I know for a fact he can ride most things, just not the "big" ones).

My argument is that at age 2, 3, or 4 we have the same "problems"...we have a child who naps, needs a stroller, and is too short to do everything. Neither of us have any intention of waiting longer than a few years, so we might as well go sooner rather than later (the older kids are SO excited and into Disney right now). Basically, I just want to go and stop waiting (I've been waiting for a while because I didn't want to take a baby.)

Any tips if you've taken a 2-year-old? Any ideas that will ease DH's worries that he'll be so much work in the parks? (We're a family who travels plenty, DH is just a worry wort, IMHO

BTW, we're going early Dec. 06, before the crowds, I hope!

Amy

 

[statefan]

We had the same concerns taking our 2yr old DS last year! There was always the question as to whether or not he could handle the long days. There were plenty of things he could do, esp. with an adult! He did get more tired than his older sister, but we would just usually spend 1/2 a day at a park and the rest either swimming or relaxing! That way none of us got extremely bored ar worn out. Needless to say, this year might be different, just wanted to let you know it is very possible to enjoy your trip with a 2 yr old!

 

[buckler]

We took our DD when she was 2 years 10 months. She did great! The trip actually brought on a few milestones. She potty trained during the trip. We had her in pull-ups but she didn't have an accident the whole time. Also, she slept in a regularl bed for the first time (we brought a rail from home so she wouldn't fall out). When we went home she moved into a regular bed and the crib came down. Plus she got to wear her new Disney princess underwear!

She is able to remember things from the trip so it was definitely not a waste!

 

[all4fun]

Plus, Two year olds are FREE!!!

My vote is to go. With ten days you have plenty of time to take it a bit slower and still take everything you want in. We have take our ds 4x from 13 mos to 23 months and have no regrets. And he's our only child. We still enjoyed our trips immensly and loved experiencing the parks through a toddlers eyes as well.

 

[39CINDERELLA]

I took my ds when he was 21/2 he had a great time, just plan to take plenty of breaks and go slow enjoy it all now, later is always later! you don't know what can happen"later".

 

[Manda]

I just went through this, too. My tactic was to wear him down until he finally gave in just to shut me up. The 'take him while he's free' angle seemed to work well, too.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Disney caters to families of all ages, shapes, and sizes!

many many many may familes have gone with the 5 and under set.

Age--aside from the medical needs of a newborn--is really an irrelevant point when it comes to traveling to Disney--or in my opinion, most anywhere.

By the time my oldest was 4 and my youngest was 21 months..they were Disney pro's--and had traveled overseas for a vacation.

DH might be concerned about his fun being limited--b/c yes, a 2yo is not getting on any of the "thrill" rides (Disney "thrill" anyway). But we cannot live our lives in a box. What is the point of having kids if you let them hold you back from doing things b/c they are too young!

A vacation at Disney can be enjoyed---in my experience...from ages 4 months to Adult . (4 months is when teh youngest first went...11 months is when the oldest first went).

 

[DisneyArk]

The first time we took our kids they were 3 and 18 months. It was an awesome trip and both boys had so much fun!! Our situation was different because both of our children were young and we only did things that they would enjoy. We did just about everything in MK except the mountains. So my point is that you and your DH may need to split up a few times. Someone may need to take the older kids on rides that they will enjoy while the other parent spends time with the 2 yo. But there are things in each park that the 2yo can enjoy!

I think ages 5 and 7 are perfect for WDW. They will love it!! But if you wait for the youngest child to turn 5, then your oldest will be 10. Our friends waited for their children to be 6 and 10 before they took them and the 10 year old said she really wished she could have gone when she was younger and felt more of the magic. If you don't experience the magic then WDW is just another amusement park (which it is NOT).

Good luck making the decision!!

 

[wrldpossibility]

Exactly right! Dh is worried about his OWN fun, not the 2-year-old's! I agree about doing things NOW instead of always waiting...I don't know if we'll have as easy an opportunity later (with work and school schedules). I used the talk until he says yes to shut me up technique, and it's working wonderfully!

The only concern that I share with him is that since it's our first trip, we don't know what to expect, and that we know we won't be back for many years (probably do another trip when the kids are teens), so I want to time it right (but for the older kids too). I guess any time is a good time!

Amy

 

[WDWPartyof5]

I have tried so many times to convince families to take their young toddlers and preschoolers to experience the magic of Disney World. There is nothing like seeing your toddler all big eyed and smiling at their first look at Mickey Mouse or seeing the Castle for the first time. It was important to me to take my children while they still believed in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny too. Too them, its so real at a young age, where as when they are older some are more jaded.

I have taken my children from 1 year and up to Disney World. We had wonderful times with them. We planned breaks and often went back to our hotel or house when we needed too. I think that was key. When we took the 1 year old I was still breastfeeding and I have literally breastfed around the World without any problems.

We are going in 9 weeks, and this time will be taking a 15m old. I am a little nervous about taking a baby so young but this should be a slow paced family trip and so far she is an easy baby. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

 

[roserae]

My DD is 3 and has been 3 times and has done great! The first time she was just over 2 and we had SO much fun with her. I actually said after it was over that 2 is a perfect time to take a child because they are pretty much happy doing anything at that age, go where you tell them to go and don't pester you for snacks and toys. (you'll have enough of that to contend with with your older ones). But also she had a GREAT time...she wasn't oblivious to the goings-on that a younger child might be either.

Also at 2 we would put her in the stroller for her naps. We had one that laid down and at 2 she was still small enough (with feet dangling a bit) to sleep just fine in it. Then dh and I would take turns going on bigger rides while she slept. My advice since it sounds like he is still about 1 year old now, would be to start conditioning him to take naps in his stroller when you have a chance. With Emily, we would just say, "it's nap time" and a lay her down and be quiet. We wouldn't tour the parks at that time, just find a quiet place to sit for a couple of hours. With two other young kids, though, you'll probably want to go back to the room anyway. We did this on the last trip because she was too big to comfortably sleep in the stoller by that time WE wanted a nap too!

Every trip has been a blast with her so far and she's not even 4 yet. In fact, we had the opportunity to go last January without her, and we both realized that we didn't even WANT to go without her. It's so much fun seeing the "magic" through there eyes. In my personal opinion, ages 2, 5 and 7 are absolutely PERFECT ages to take the kids. Have fun!

 

[akamom]

I had so much fun with my ds when he was 2 when we went. It was so magical watching his eyes light up. He got tired at the end of the day, but he did great otherwise. We also took our dd who was 7 months old, she had fun too.

 

[Jessd]

Our daughter is only 1 year old and we went last month. She got on plenty of rides. She loved the character meals and seeing her favorite Pooh up close. We took her stroller when she didn't feel like walking. She is fiercly independent and spunky so she wanted to walk as much as possible. We had a blast.

We went to the parks around 9-10 and pretty much stayed at the parks all day getting back to the room at 9-10 pm. When she got tired, she slept in her stroller, when she needed a break, we went to the baby centers where she was able to walk around, play with other babies and play with toys. The baby centers are great, it is air conditioned, they have cartoons on for them, there are toys, chairs, tables, high chairs, anything you can think of. Hardly anyone goes to them so they are not crowded. Everytime we went, we were either the only ones in there, or just one other family.

Remember to use the baby swap on the rides that have a height requirement, that way you all can still get on them without baby getting in the way, you just have to take turns. We did this and it wasn't that much of an inconvienence. As a matter of fact, when my DH went on a ride, he took our two boys with him and then when I went on it, the boys went with me, so they got to ride twice.

We got some great pictures of her walking to Epcot with daddy, hugging characters, eating popcicles and looking at everything.

I would do it again in a heartbeat. We plan to go again, but not until she is 5 years old.

Jess

 

[asktriplets]

i have to agree with everyone else so far. we took three 2 yr. olds, so our situation is a bit different in that we had nothing but a toddler-friendly schedule. if your dh's concern is about coordinating schedules with a 2 yr. old and older kids, i can't help you (although it sounds from others as though your 2 older ones will need some daily downtime, too).

if his concern is regarding whether or not your 2yo will enjoy or "get enough" out of the experience, i can tell you ABSOLUTELY. no, they can't do many of the rides (and mine didn't like many in the MK, even, so we do fewer rides than many with toddlers, i'm sure), but at this age, EVERYTHING in wdw is magical, and REAL, and an adventure...the characters, the castle, the twinkling lights, the parades, the storylines of the shows (beuty and the beast, festival of the lion king, ariel, playhouse disney, etc). the other really wonderful thing about this age is that they are so excited about everything-many, many of the "little details" will be noticed by your 2 y.o....

below is part of my post back in may (after returning from a near perfect trip with our three 2 1/2 y. o.s):




"we really got a chance to see the disney magic from a toddler's viewpoint...
-the "twinkle lights" in the trees and in the walkways, and the jumping fountains and playscapes (just for the flower show?)at epcot, as well as all of the great entertainment in WS (my kids loved dancing to the moroccan band!)
-the "jewels" in the sidewalk in the oasis at AK, as well as the pretty (and comparatively uncrowded) walkways in the oasis
-being able to watch ants and slugs (and a few characters, too), and chase each other around the trees under the big "pointed mickey hat" while eating mickey ice cream at mgm
-overlooking the entrance to "it's a small world" and watching the boats load from the pinnochio haus restaurant
-watching minnie's cake fall over and over again(which, apparently, is HYSTERICAL to my 3) in minnie's house in toon town (we still talk about it daily!)
--seeing cinderella get her crown in cinderellabration (over and over and over), AND seeing all of the other princesses dancing at the same time (funny thing in that i had avoided all of the "princess" stuff prior to this trip, but my girls became enthralled with all of them while there)
---etc, etc. etc"


because my kids will be turning 3 on our next trip (birthday celebration at the castle, hopefully!), we had planned on this being our last trip for a while . we really took advantage of the fact that they were "free until 3", including eating free at buffet character meals! we recently talked with family friends who went for the 1st time with their 3 (ages 12, 9, and 5) last month. they said that their 2 oldest wanted to spend most of their time at the pool and at the hotel (poly...can understand why the liked it so much) or riding the roller coasters. as a result of this conversation, we both agreed that we should take advantage of their little kid innocence, their wonder with the world (both the world and The World), and their ability to see the magical in many things, and plan on continung to take them at least every year (actually, the conversation went like this, "aw, who are we kidding, we'll probably continue to go twice a year for YEARS). when they get older and want to ride thrill rides, we can make quicker (and hopefully much cheaper) trips to cedar point, kings island, etc.

i hope my kids never "outgrow" disney world (dh and i haven't!), but they LOVE it now, so we'll take them now! to paraphrase another poster, you never know what tomorrow may bring....

don't know if this helps or not. just remember, your 2 y.o. will be free at the parks, he isn't included -as far as i know-in the hotel room count if still small enough for a pack-n-play, and he can eat free at any buffet meals-including character meals.

also, as for tips, if you do a search for "toddlers in the parks" or "2 year olds" or "toddler tips" (or whatever), you'll come up with a ton of helpful info....


edited to add: there is a post today about "preparing a toddler"...
good luck,

 

[HotMama]

Your DH really needs to reconsider! We just went with our 20 month old last month and it was the BEST vacation we have ever had. She had the best time....loved the rides she rode, enjoyed the shows, had a awesome time at the four character meals we had, took naps in the stroller at the parks while DH got to ride his rides. Our DD really got a lot out of that vacation. Some people did critize us for taking her while she is so young, stating she wouldn't even understand what was going on......Well, we just loved showing our great pictures and video to those who critized us!! DD still won't put down her pal Mickey and we've been back for almost a month now!

 

[lovesdumbo]

On our last trip my youngest was 21 months. She had a blast! She's a late talker but had 2 new words on that trip. One was "moon" because it was a full moon and she just LOVED being outside at night. The 2nd was "WOW". She loved the fountains at Epcot-especially at night. So even a 2 year old can be WOWed by Disney!

A lot of deluxe rooms sleep 5 plus one under 3 so maybe you could bring someone with you to help out with the kids and take some of the pressure off your DH. Thats what we do.

 

[tiggersthebest]

I have to agree with what everyone else has said so far. I went with my DD when she was two. My husband was so convinced it would be a miserable trip he would not come. However at the time the POLY had GREAT rates so my sister, myself and DD went down. It was a blast!!!!! She waited patiently for the rides, had fun, napped in stroller and was so excited just to be there. The memory is mostly for me but she still talks about her trip from when she was 3. Hubby regretted not going when viewing all the video.

5 1
Proud to be a Christian
Too many times to list as a kid
Once I “grew” up:
1997 Fort Wilderness (summer); Coronado Springs Christmas
1999 Wilderness Lodge (Spring); Fort Wilderness Christmas/New Years
2002 Polynesian
2003 Caribbean Beach
2004 Took a break after having a baby
2005 Going to Port Orleans Riverside
2006 Back to Poly!!!

 

[Alysa]

Maybe it might help to watch these two slide shows - my DD at 14 and 25 months.

http://homepage.mac.com/alysa.kim/thekimsatdisney.htm

http://homepage.mac.com/alysa.kim/disneyspring2005.htm

We are taking our daughter again next March with her new baby brother or sister, her grandparents, and my sister and her family. She is already talking about it all the time. "We go to Disney in March!" she told her day care teacher, who said to us, "That is so nice, kids should wait until they are old enough to enjoy it there". We just smiled at her, we were too embarrased to tell her that DD has gone once a year since birth and loved EVERY minute of both trips and still talks about them to this day. She LOVES watching the slide shows on the computer and looking through the albums and she gets quite annoyed when she looks at the album from before she was born and can find pictures of everyone in her family except her and her cousin who is the same age as her (18 of us at the BWV Grand Villa and 2 studios - now that was a trip!) She still talks about the trip - she takes her dollies to see "Cinderellabration!" all the time and last week when DH went over a large bump in the car she said "Like Dumbo!"

Our first trip with our baby girl was so wonderful. Every trip is, but that one was different - magic - it was like after so much hard work and sleep deprivation that it was the first time we could just enjoy that brand new, emerging personality. Great family time - you'll never forget it. Good luck convincing him!

 

[minkydog]

As long as you know what you're up against...I've been with a 2yo and with older kids, and older kids is definitely easier. It wouldn't keep me from going, but it is certainly more work, more of everything with a younger child. But now that you know that you can plan around it.

We take our severely mentally handicapped/autistic son with us. He's 10yo, wears diapers, spends part of the day in a wheelchair, eats only mushy food, and can't abide loud noises. He also has low muscle tone, so big rides are straight out. So we do a lot of the little kid things--he LOVES Small World and POTC. He has to have some rest periods, but so does DH, who has a serious heart condition. So we go eat at the Castle and everyone takes a long mid-day break. If we have to, we go back to the camper(oh, that's right, we also CAMP! ) So far, DS10 hasn't kept us from doing anything that we really wanted to do, as long as we're willing to be flexible and split up sometimes.

 

[Ambassador]

We have been taking the Young Delegates to Disney since before they were one-year-old. It's all about one's expectations, and slowing down to the young child's pace. In eight consecutive years, we have yet to ride the super-headliners, opting for young-kid-friendly rides and leaving the Parks early, returning to our Resort and pool instead. And loving it, I might add.

Mrs. Ambassador would have delivered at a Baby Care Center in the Parks, if it were allowed, swaddling the infant in a Bambi blanket with a Mickey ears soft cap.