Looking for Tips with toddler and preschooler

[cyneswith]

I've been around for a while, so I've got some things down. We're staying in a DVC rental on the monorail, we've got all our ADRs (~30% reservations), outfits in plastic bags, rest day, daily nap/rest time... I've even got post-it notes for auto-flush toilets (though my initially nervous-at-public-toilets son LOVES auto-flush toilets now.) Just trying to get my ducks in a row and have my FP list ready when I'm able to reserve them.

- DD is casually starting potty-training. Some days, she sheds her diapers, some days she's fine with them. Should I bring her potty with just in case? (For when we're in the room, obviously.)

- Top MK, HS, and EPCOT FP recs? 7DMT and meeting Mickey, possibly Tink are all I'm tracking. Are FPs recommended or even available for Nemo-related attractions or to meet Tiana or Lightning McQueen? Is it possible to meet Marie from Aristocats? (I know to dump all character FPs if the kids end up disliking characters in general, and that face characters are different from non-speaking ones.)

- Any other recommendations?

 

[happymommy]

First trip with a 2 and 4 year old, the 2 year old was fully potty trained. I had her wear pull-ups every day, even though she was not wearing them at home. I didn't want to worry about being in a line and having her suddenly need to go potty! I was super glad I did that, and when we got home she had no issue to going back to regular underwear.

We didn't go back to the room for naps; rather, we took it easy, the kids both took a long nap in the double stroller during the afternoon, so hubby and I would find a nice shady spot and have a beer & relax! We wouldn't stay out too late, so would be back in the room (we were also in a DVC one bedroom at the BWV) about 6pm or so. I'd get the kids their bath & in jammies, so they could wind down. Once or twice one of us would take just our son back out to Epcot to stroll around for an hour or so (he loved Spaceship Earth, so I took him back to ride that one night, and then he was sound asleep in the stroller by the time we got back to the room).

My daughter was not a fan of characters of any sort, so we didn't do any meeting of them much. They scared her I think!

We never brought any sort of potty, since she was fine without one. She would hold onto the side of the toilet (yuck I know - but we washed hands WELL afterwards!).

We did have a backpack with a change of clothes for the kids with us when we were out too. Dry socks were helpful to have!

We drove down that trip, so I had lots of familiar snacks for the kids with us, plus breakfast items and simple foods like pasta, ramen, juice boxes, etc... Often for dinner they just wanted that type of thing, not a big meal.

 

[emilyrachael]

They make different fold-up travel potty seats that you could bring. When we went last year, my son was mostly potty-trained. We still put him in pull-ups, but I'm have him go in the room before we left and when we got back from the parks. We brought the travel seat with us to the parks and he did pretty well in the restrooms there - we're usually try to find one that wasn't as crowded or noisy.

My son loved Buzz at MK, and the line can get a bit long in the afternoon.

Our big thing was not over-doing it. We didn't stay out late either (my son was an early riser) so we'd have some downtime at the room in the evenings.

 

[TravelingTotMom]

I wanted to address some of the things you mentioned about FastPasses.

MK - Thumbs up for FastPasses for meeting Mickey and 7DMT (you know about rider swap for the younger one, right?). With little kids, some other FastPasses you might want to consider are the Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh or Dumbo, if you can't get to them early in the morning. Also, is your son going to want to "drive" on the Tomorrowland Speedway? You might want to consider a FastPass for that b/c the fumes are horrible, and I wouldn't want to wait in a long line breathing them in. Also, make sure you don't miss Enchanted Tales with Belle - it's super cute, and kids get to be involved.

The great thing about rides for younger kids at the MK is that they are often available as a 4th (or more) FastPass option later in the day. Make sure you have the My Disney Experience app on your phone so you can easily snag additional FastPasses.

Marie used to meet at the front of MK in the mornings, but doesn't anymore. I believe she was replaced by Stitch. Tiana used to have her own meet in Liberty Square, but now she is usually the "visiting Princess" meeting with Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall, where FastPasses are offered.

Epcot - If you are looking for Nemo, don't miss The Seas with Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush (won't use a FP for either, though). Since FP are tiered, your Tier 1 is going to be up to your family preference - Frozen, Soarin' or Test Track. For Tier 2, your best bets may be the Character Spot (that queue is horrible waiting with little kids) and Journey into Imagination (which surprisingly can end up with huge standby waits). There are also lots of play places for little kids at Epcot - after Imagination, Mission Space and Test Track (enter through the exits).

DHS - This is our least favorite park with our toddler. We usually use our FP for rides where we do a child swap (Star Tours, Rock 'n' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror) and then hop over to another park. Still, your kids will probably enjoy some character meets and the Disney Jr. show.

There used to be a Lightning McQueen meet at DHS, but that is closed. The only place to really see Cars is in the Cars section at the Art of Animation resort. If your son is a huge Cars fan and you have some downtime, it might be worth a visit. My two year old loves Cars and could spend hours running around visiting the life-size replicas. You could also grab a meal in their food court.

It will still be hot in Sept., so remember you can bring in your own bottles of water/drinks into the parks. Snacks are also a great way to keep the kids busy while waiting in line.

 

[Tucker24]

Tomorrowland Speedway turns into a long standby line as well. We took the kids to Barnstormer as a roller coaster test run however, it bit me in the butt with my youngest because he saw the ride and it freaked him out. 7DM is a really smooth roller coaster so that is a huge benefit. At DHS the little mermaid show is really cute and it's a nice break from the heat and sun.
My son was extremely afraid of characters so we had to give him the phone to play with so sister could meet everyone.
he was halfway potty trained and I used pull ups for the trip. They came in helpful but he also didn't want to wet himself so he wanted to use the potty moreso than the pull up

 

[cyneswith]

Thanks, TravelingTotMom! I think I now know what all I'll get FP for! None for HS, unless for fireworks viewing, as we will only be there for one afternoon/evening (AK until we go back to rest).

 

[jacknsally19]

Thanks, TravelingTotMom! I think I now know what all I'll get FP for! None for HS, unless for fireworks viewing, as we will only be there for one afternoon/evening (AK until we go back to rest).

I would really recommend getting Peter Pan FP at MK. Unless that is the first ride that you go on, its always a really really long wait. Its a great ride too. If you are going in September, I don't think you will have much of an issue waiting at Dumbo or Winnie the Pooh. Both Dumbo and Pooh have great 'queues' for the kids to play in. I mean I think my daughter actually prefers playing in the waiting area for Dumbo more so than the ride!

If you want Talking Mickey, I would definitely FP that as his waits can be quite long. However, we have seen him with little to no waits at HS & AK during slow to midlevel crowd times. Early December, we had NO WAIT for him at HS. Tinkerbell usually has minimal wait times so I wouldn't FP her.

I really recommend seeing Tiana she is such a fun princess! Arial is always lovely as well. Both characters are very good with the kids while some of the other princesses can be a bit more reserved.

The only other recommendation that I have for young kids is too bring water bottles (like nalgene) and then filling them up with iced water from quick service places as needed. I also bring small containers to put leftovers so they don't get smashed in my bag. For example, a lot of kids meals are served with grapes - which make for good snacks. I would stick those in the container so that my DD had a snack during a long wait or something.

 

[jacknsally19]

Oops just wanted to clarify that Mickey DOES NOT talk at HS or AK - only at MK.