MNSSHP with a 2 year old

[amarberry]

We're going to be at WDW in late Sept./early Oct. with DD who will be 26 months at the time. Should we consider going to MNSSHP with her? We've never been so I have no idea what to expect or if it is even appropriate for a 2 year old. I guess I didn't even consider it before since it goes on so late and we'd only be able to stay for a couple of hours. Can anyone fill me in on the pros and cons?

Thanks!

 

[nicolem]

Hi! It sounds like our kids are *very* close in age - my DS was born 7/9/04. DH and I went to MNSSHP the year before DS was born, and I don't think there's anything about it that's inappropriate or scary for young kids. However, we've agreed that we won't be going back for several years just because of the time it's held. DS goes to bed at 7 each night, which works out very well here at home, but curtails a lot of our WDW activity! We kept him out as late as 10 or so when we were there in December for MVMCP, but we regretted it later. He doesn't sleep in his stroller well, and he was miserable to deal with on the bus back to the resort. It also got us off schedule for the next morning, when he needed to sleep about three hours later than usual. If your child can sleep comfortably in the stroller when she gets tired, and you and DH would enjoy MNSSHP while she's sleeping, I think it would be worth it. Otherwise, I'm not so sure.

 

[crisi]

I posted this earlier today. My kids are six and seven:

We went last year and it wasn't worth the money. It would be worth every penny if your kids could stay up until 10 or 11 and were "Mountain" riders (mine will ride BTMRR, but that is it) - no lines at all on the Mountains. The parade was cute. There was lots of Trick or Treating, but my kids get plenty of candy from October through Easter. It starts at seven and my kids bedtime is 8:30 - and they were pretty tired from being at Disney. We kept them up to see the fireworks (my son was doing better than my daughter) and left right after the fireworks. So we spent $120 or something for a little candy, a parade, two rides on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a trip through the Haunted Mansion, a showing of Mickey's Philharmagic (and the rides we had no problem knocking off during the day) and fireworks we could have seen from the beach at the Poly. The logistics of costumes was difficult. Then they were wiped the next day.

Added: I saw a lot of toddlers sleeping in their strollers within half an hour of the party starting.

 

[amarberry]

This is exactly the information that I was looking for and suspected. It definitely sounds like something we should postpone for a few years. DD (who was born on 7/14/04...five days younger than your son, nicolem) stays up a little later at WDW (around 9pm), but it doesn't sound like anything she would really enjoy at this point. She doesn't even eat candy! Besides, I think that we would rather take advantage of the early morning hours in the park than sleeping in.

Thank you both for your input!

 

[lillygator]

Well - our DD was born on Halloween...she has been every year since and this year she will be 4 at MNSSHP. She has done great every year and has never fallen asleep at the party. We usually do a resort day or something easy in the morning, take a nap and then head out to the party, dine in a TS restaurant and then hit MK! We always have a ton of fun and last year DD#2 was only 8/9 months and she did awesome as well. DD didn't eat the candy at two but loved taking the treat bag around. There are tons of characters out, special parade and fireworks - balloon making, face painting, etc. We love it and have a blast!

 

[goofy 28]

We're going to be at WDW in late Sept./early Oct. with DD who will be 26 months at the time. Should we consider going to MNSSHP with her? We've never been so I have no idea what to expect or if it is even appropriate for a 2 year old. I guess I didn't even consider it before since it goes on so late and we'd only be able to stay for a couple of hours. Can anyone fill me in on the pros and cons?

Thanks!

I personally wound not bring a 2 year old on it.
It can get pretty intense.
And isn't there a height restriction on this ride?

 

[beattyfamily]

We've been attending the parties (both MNSSHP and MVMCP) since my girls were 1 and 4. They are now 6 & 9.

When my younger DD was 2 it was the first time she actually stayed up for the second parade! All other years she was asleep before it began. She got her second wind!

We LOVE the parties and my girls look forward to them at every age. I think it is very appropriate for children of all ages.

One big plus is your DD will be FREE!!

A good thing to do that day is take it easy or maybe get them to take a nap if possible. Or they can just fall asleep in their stroller when they're tired out and you can still see the parade and fireworks which, IMHO, are worth the price of admission.

I think there's nothing better then trick or treating at Magic Kingdom and so do my girls!