How much time in each park with 2 yr olds?

[twins4me]

We are traveling on the 4/3 special like so many of you out there. As I try to plan I am trying to figure out how to break up the trip. Is one morning in AK with 2 yr olds enough? How much time do you dedicate to each park? We will need to go back to our resort (WL) for naps. What is your general agenda?
Thanks! Jenn

 

[Mom2Nick]

Once we had kids we never stayed in one place for the whole day. They are now 5, 7 and 10 and our routine will stay the same. We pick a park to go to - get there within an hour of opening and stay until 1-2 pm. We then go back to our hotel for some downtime which at this point means swimming no naps - then we go to dinner somewhere and hit the closet park for an hour or so afterwards.

We usually go for 7-12 days and we have all been several times so we don't have that commando need to squeeze absolutely everything in within a few days time.

 

[summermac]

I'm playing it by ear with my 5 & 2 year old. This is going to be difficult for me b/c normally I'm a strict agenda kind of woman. I have decided that in the end that will stress me out more than just going with the flow. I do know we are planning on a day off in the middle of the week for everyone to just chill.

 

[nessz79]

We usually do: get to park before or by rope drop and stay until 12:30-1. Go back to nap or rest and get back to the park around 5-6. Sometimes we stay until 9-9:30 and sometimes we only make it for a couple hours. If you are getting up to do rope drop the next day, you'll only want to be there in the evening for a little while to get those kids into bed at a decent time.

 

[dougsmom98]

I think the amount of time at AK depends on whether or not you want to walk any of the trails to see the animals. When my twins were two (they are 8 now) we spent from 8 am-5 pm at AK and we still missed a lot. We did do the safari, the Lion King show, we walked one of the trails, took the train over to the petting zoo area, and did a few other shows, ate counter service lunch and watched the parade. If we hadn't taken our time to walk the trail or see the parade we could have left by 1 pm or so. We enjoyed the trails though because we saw hippos, monkeys, gorillas... The parade was a highlight for one of my twins too. He just loved the music and the costumes. A lot of people park hop, but I am a type A personality and that is too chaotic for me. We have always picked a park and spent the day at the park. When the twins were little, the best thing for us was to get to the parks at opening and push it until 4-5 pm. Sometimes they would fall asleep in the stroller, sometimes they didn't. They rarely slept at the same time, but that was nice! We got some one-on-one time with the other twin. We would leave the parks and head back to the hotel for a quick swim and usually some take-out for dinner. We never ate table service because our twins were a nightmare to take out. We would get the kids to bed around 7-8 and we would do it again the next day. We missed all the night shows that first trip, but we have made up for it since.

 

[nessz79]

We usually do: get to park before or by rope drop and stay until 12:30-1. Go back to nap or rest and get back to the park around 5-6. Sometimes we stay until 9-9:30 and sometimes we only make it for a couple hours. If you are getting up to do rope drop the next day, you'll only want to be there in the evening for a little while to get those kids into bed at a decent time.

By the way, we have done it before where we went from rope drop (9) to about 4 in the afternoon, but this way was so much better for us as the kids were so much more refreshed and energized. When we tried to go all day they were sooooo cranky. I think small kids need more frequent rests. However, every kid is different. If your kids miss naptime, do they have meltdowns? If they do (mine did!!), then plan a rest break for a few hours every afternoon. You'll love it and you'll get a chance to see some occasional night shows.

 

[aanderson5]

Last year we went to MK for about 6 hours, returned to the resort for a nap and then went back after supper for another 3 or so. Worked well other than the meltdown as we were leaving. DS(2) did not want to leave despite (because of?) it being past nap time.

When we went to AK we stayed from rope drop till about 3:30. DS napped for about 45 minutes in the stroller. It wasn't worth going home for a nap with AK's closing time.

 

[daleswife]

We usually spend a whole day at each park. MK and Epcot get two days. We dont go back for naps as my DS will fall asleep in the stroller and my 5 yr old thinks she is to adult for a nap...(and its just gonna get worse ya'll!!!) it works for us...

 

[cheap traveler]

I think your best bet with little ones would be the standard advice everybody gives and nobody takes - take it slow. I did it my last trip - kids were 4&2, and it was our best trip ever. You get to see so many of the little details that you miss when you rush through everything. There are a lot of little play areas your kids can enjoy, little shows everywhere, and a nap in the middle of the day can really make your trip. Our Animal Kingdom day we never leave for a nap because the park hours are short already, but we always get to bed early that day. If your kids like animals, make sure to take your time in that park, there are so many hidden treasures. Have fun

 

[Frisina04]

Our DD, who is 3 now, has been to disney 5x and we always seem to start early, get the nice break after lunch back at the room for an hour or 2 and then we hit the parks up again....she is a trooper...also get a nice stroller that is comfy for them and light for u to lug around

 

[Tinkerbellandfamily]

I would say you definitely don't want to spend the whole day in one park unless you break it up by leaving and coming back later. You may want to decide what you want to do at each park first and work your way around. With a young child you may find that they aren't interested in all the things you thought and so you can skip those. I thought my son would love some of the things there but he just didn't care. Now I don't spend as much time at AK and everyone is happy.

 

[arielmomma]

My children will be 2 & 5 in Feb and we have been going since they were both infants. We have never had trouble going all day at the parks with either of them. We are going again in 2 weeks and we intend to go all day. Just play it by ear, try to have an ADR at their usual lunch time always helps with us - it gets them out of the heat and it makes my daughter full and comfortable to allow her to nap in the stroller. My son doesn't take naps and is fine through evening magic hours - even at four. Going all day is definitely doable.