Looking for tips for vacationing w/a 2yo

[NandP]

Please give me any tips that you may have to make our Disney Vacation with a 2 year old enjoyable. We will be spending 8 days in Disney and 3 days in Universal, in August.

For example, how do you handle standing on a long line with a 2 year old, when all they want to do is move or be busy? What about naps (our 2 year old sleeps from 12:30pm to 3:30pm every day), should we keep that schedule and take him back to the room to sleep? What have been your experiences? We are generally flexible people and not rigid, we know that we will just have to go with the flow. But any suggestions to make it flow smoother would be greatly appreciated.

What about the airplane? We are bringing a portable DVD for his Baby Einstein movies.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

We have three children ages 7, 5, and 2. We have been to WDW quite a few times since our oldest child was about 1 1/2 years old. Slow things down if you can. Definitely break up your days with an afternoon nap. It really does help. Bring lots of snacks and drinks - they are great for keeping little ones preoccupied during necessary times. Those miniature bubbles work well too. I always save my snacks/bubbles for later in the day as they come in handy when our little one is getting tired or hungry. Also bring hand wipes/sanitizer. My two year old put her hands on every bar, chain, rope, fence etc. that she could and would then want to suck her thumb. Be prepared to do a lot of holding!! Bring extra bibs and extra clothing changes with you as well as diapers. If you are planning on swimming, don't forget swim diapers too! Well, I think that's about it. Hope that helps!

 

[Aidensmom]

I have a 3 year old that has been going to theme parks since he was 6 months old.

1. Make sure you carry small snacks with you - you are not always going to find something a picky toddler will eat.

2. Don't wait in lines over 30 minutes - get a fastpass.

3. Make sure to spend lots of time at toddler/preschooler favorites: at MK the playground at Toontown is a big hit and lets them get out some of their energy. At AK, try the Boneyard. At Islands of Adventure, go to the playground/water area in the Dr Seuss land. At Universal Studios, play in Barney's park.

4. Take your own reclining stroller rather than renting one - if your child is tired, they can sleep anywhere you happen to be.

5. Know which restaurants serve what your child will eat. Check www.allearsnet.com for menus.

6. Realize that a lot of what appears to be "harmless" rides have a lot of things small children may be afraid of (thunder & lightning, darkness, loud music, etc.) Check Disney's site, or post questions here, regarding the rides to see if any might not be tolerated by your child.

7. Most of all, be flexible. We are pretty laid back when we go anywhere because we know our son would not be able to understand why we are passing up all the places he wants to go because it is not the "optimal" time to go there. IMHO, rigid schedules are not for those with young children.

8. Plan something special for them to look forward to - next time we are going, we are doing a character meal which DS is really excited about.

 

[2dogmom]

Flexibility is the most important thing.
If a line was too long, we didn't stand in it. I always tried to bring snacks for standing in line.
If your child will nap in the room, then go back to the room. My older DD wouldn't nap in the room but would in her stroller (and still will at almost 5yo) My younger DD preferred napping in the room.
If your child is afraid of the characters, then avoid them.
If your child starts to get crabby, head back to the pool. Kids love water and usually cheer up.

You know your child best, and it will all work out.

 

[TJA]

I agree with the above posters -- take lots of snacks. We give snacks to quiet our twins on the airplane rides and also snacks to bribe them back into the stroller. As far as naps, what works for us is taking our comfortable stroller from home and our twins nap perfectly in that. The seats recline and we can shade them with canopies. As far as standing in line for rides, I agree with the above to not wait in lines over 30 minutes. We just bought Ergo carriers (that hold lots of weight for "older" toddlers -- you can wear them on your front or back) and we plan to put our 2 yr olds in the carriers while standing in lines. Not sure how it will work, but that is our game plan!

 

[mtrice]

Great thread, I'll be using these ideas too.

 

[NandP]

I want to thank you for really good responses... My DW and I really appreciate the comments....

I wanted to bump this so we can hear from more vetran WDW-Commandos with kids.

 

[meandtheguys2]

Flexibility is the most important thing.
If a line was too long, we didn't stand in it. I always tried to bring snacks for standing in line.
If your child will nap in the room, then go back to the room. My older DD wouldn't nap in the room but would in her stroller (and still will at almost 5yo) My younger DD preferred napping in the room.
If your child is afraid of the characters, then avoid them.
If your child starts to get crabby, head back to the pool. Kids love water and usually cheer up.

You know your child best, and it will all work out.

Really good points. Also, know where they can get wet in the parks, and assume they will! Plan to take plenty of time off to wander and play, rather than standing in hot lines with grumpy people who don't want your little darling under their feet. Take time for the seemingly silly time wasters. things like watching the flamingos, fish or fountains. Know that you wan't see or do it all, and just enjoy the special time in his life, because it passes so quickly.

 

[mommyarewegoingback]

My son has been going since he was 2 (now 4) and my daughter at 10 months (now 14 mos). I agree with the previous posters, keep flexible. Don't feel you have to see as many attractions as you can so that you can get your money's worth. We see it as a family trip to regroup as a family without work and the day to day grind. Our last trip was the best, this past January. We spent 1.5 hours at the Boneyard. We had take out lunch from Japan and ate in front of Germany's outdoor minature train (for over 1 hour). We spent another hour at the Honey, I shrunk the kids. My husband and I have gone many times and saw it as adults, now we're looking it as kids...

Some tips:
- as previous poster, carry small serving sizes of snacks while waiting in lines.
- although you may want to avoid long lines, my son won't avoid winnie the pooh, so we get 3 fast passes (me, my husband and son). wait in line while we wait out the fast passes. then it is soon time for the fast pass. And we let one adult go with my son and because he's still really small for the age (i know i'm bad), we only use 1 fast pass for the adult and carry my son. Then we repeat with the other fast passes. so he has now gone on 4 times. my son likes repetition.
- we rarely leave the parks for a nap and come back... We stay a little past naptime like 2pm and leave the park for the day. go back to hotel to nap and play.
- if we stay all day, we feed kids earlier, and then wait to have our lunch late (after usual naptime, so that they're good and tired) so that they fall asleep while we're eating.
- my son doesn't like pushy crowds, so we usually just meet characters at a character meal, not in the lines.

I know this is long so i'll stop. Good luck!

 

[tbelfonti]

Prepare your child for the trip - if your child has never slept anywhere but home, talk about how you'll be sleeping in the hotel. Maybe sleep over (as a family) at grandma's house to prepare your child for waking up somewhere "unfamiliar".

Bring toys from home to play with! We didn't our first trip and ended up at KMart buying things (don't know WHAT I was thinking! Probably figured we would spend most of our time in the parks)

If your child has a "lovey" and you have a spare - bring both with you just in case one gets lost.


Bring your own stroller for the trip. Because there is nothing worse than lugging a sleeping child through the airport. You can gate check it and then you don't need to worry about your child wandering off in the airport.

For the airplane: I bring along coloring books & crayons, stickers (always a hit w/ my DD), playdoh (just picked up some small containers with a playdoh tool attached at the Dollar store), books, and toys they haven't played with in a while. "New" toys are always more fun.

Have a great trip!

 

[jenr812]

Thanks for the great tips

 

[back2disney]

Plan something special for them to look forward to - next time we are going, we are doing a character meal which DS is really excited about.

Was your 3yr old not ready for character meals yet?
What do you think would be an approriate age?

My daughter likes pooh so I figured CP, and is taking a liking fo mickey but except for mom and dad she is shy around everyone including relatives sometimes.

I'm trying to get her to interact more, hopefully go to Chuck E. Cheese before we go. She is even shy at toys r us around other kids

 

[Aidensmom]

Was your 3yr old not ready for character meals yet?
What do you think would be an approriate age?

My daughter likes pooh so I figured CP, and is taking a liking fo mickey but except for mom and dad she is shy around everyone including relatives sometimes.

I'm trying to get her to interact more, hopefully go to Chuck E. Cheese before we go. She is even shy at toys r us around other kids

For us the character meals are expensive (we usually only eat counter service) so we would not have wanted to do one if we were not sure he would enjoy it yet. Last year, at 2 -1/2, he was still afraid of most of the characters. Last month however, we went for a day drip and he just loved the characters and couldn't wait to meet them all, so we know he is ready. Plus we are doing a princess meal (DS is in love with them all), so they are not quite as intimidating as some of the other characters.