My best tip for taking toddlers...

[MrsJD]

We didn't need this when we went, but it did give us some piece of mind. I made stickers out of mailing labels on the computer that said "If I'm Lost please call 555-555-5555" and put in our cell numbers. I stuck them on her back so she never knew it was there to pull it off. I got several comments from other parents that thought it was a great idea. I took extras in our bag everyday incase it got lost or wet.

Other tips for toddlers:

Take a DIsney washcloth to wet down and put on warm little necks. Cools them down fast!

Nemo snacks!!! made line waiting much easier

Skip the big shows...the waiting is endless and they just don't have the patience.

The best times we had were doing the small things...steel drum band at Animal Kingdom, she danced and danced to the music while I took a little sit down. The water fountains at Epcot, cooled off and she LOVED it!

Character meetings...we did a few but I think she was too young to really make it worth it. (long lines and intimidating people) She prefered the real people ones, like Mulan and Belle. I think 5 is a better age for this event.

Give them a water bottle to do with what they want...pour all over themselves or drink. Either way it's keeping him happy!

Shoes...I bought new tennies for the trip but she ended up wearing her everyday play ones because they made her happy.

It'll be hard but try to make sure they eat good food and not just junk. It's hard but it makes them less cranky. It's esp hard if you bring your sister that rarely sees your kids!

Hope I help some of you with my thoughts!

 

[ssdeverell]

Thank you for the suggestion about the wash cloth to wet down. I am not hot natured, so I do not think of things like that. My DD2 is sooooo hot natured, and this will be great for her. Putting it on my list.

I also like the labels idea. Much cheaper than the other options.

Thanks,

 

[dayzemair]

How old was your toddler when you went?

We are taking dd who will be 3 and are doing a couple character meals while we are there so I am thinking that this will be good for getting her used the them without all the waiting and then if she doesn't like them, then we will know not to waste our time waiting. We took her to chuck e cheese and she loved the guy in the mouse costume, do you think this bodes well??

Good advice about the small things, those are always where the best memories come from anyway

 

[ktlm]

Uh oh dayzemair, if your DD loved the Chuck E. Cheese guy, I think you are really in for it at WDW. My DD also never had a fear of characters. We took her to WDW last December when she was 2 yrs 10 months. She already knew who all the characters were through a little board book set she had and the Golden books. She walked into MK, saw Pluto instantly, saw she could get in line to see him, and we were done for. She was immediately a character fanatic. She wanted to see them all. She did not care how long the line was. She did not care if she had just seen Mickey or Jasmine at a character meal 10 minutes earlier, if she saw them out in the park she was getting in line to see them again. The characters were definitely the most important part of our trip for her. I would advise that you quickly learn the block and divert tactic. You must keep your eyes out for all characters and spot them before she does. If you do not wish to stop at that specific time to see said character, then you must position yourself between your DDs line of sight and said character, you must then change paths and remove DD from the area before DD spots the character. Believe me it works!

I agree that the small things are great. My DD spent 30 minutes banging the drums in WorldShowcase at Epcot. When we finally dragged her away, she still did not want to stop.

Snacks in line are a must too. It is pretty much a given that after about 10 minutes in line your child will suddenly start saying "I'm hungry"

I don't agree with not seeing the shows. It depends on your child. My DD has always liked shows. She will sit from beginning to end completely engrossed. The waiting for them to start can sometimes be a little hard, but for us it was well worth it. She absolutely loved the parades too.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Thanks for the tips. We ahve gone to WDW many times but this will be our first time with our daughter who will be 2 and 10 months when we go.
We have been having her watch the Disney World sing alongs. She loves them and knows who everyone is as well as learing the rides and the area. I got that idea on here quite a while ago so we got them for her about a year ago. She loves them and now gets excited saying she is going there.

 

[disneybridetobe]

Thank you for the tips! Much appreciated!

 

[disneybridetobe]

I would advise that you quickly learn the block and divert tactic. You must keep your eyes out for all characters and spot them before she does. If you do not wish to stop at that specific time to see said character, then you must position yourself between your DDs line of sight and said character, you must then change paths and remove DD from the area before DD spots the character. Believe me it works!

That's the truth! Ha, we have to use that tactic for many things.

 

[Ariel on Land]

We have been having her watch the Disney World sing alongs.

Do you have a link for these?? I'd love to get my hands on something like that- I think the boys would really like that!

 

[Wendybird55]

The name tag sticker on back is great! I read the same tip on this board last year before I took my son for the first time (he was almost 2 when we went) and it worked great! (thankfully he didn't get loast) I'm using it when we go again this year.

Another great thing for toddlers I discovered last year were the play yards in all the parks - my son loved them! It was a chance for him to run around and have fun in a confined enough area that me and DH could easily watch him. Some had water falls and water squirts which helped cool him down and he just had lots of fun interacting with the other kids his age. It was tough to get him to leave them!

Also, I was never much for EMH - never really paid attention. One of our planned days for MK happened to be an EMH adn we decided to try it - it was great! Got on alot of the popular Fantasyland rides quickly - we were even able to go on Peter Pan twice in a row with no wait time! We got to the park at opening (8am) went on a couple fo rides - had breakfast ressies at Crystal palace and then hit more rides - we got to go on alot of rides that morning - had lunch and then were able to relax and watch the parade and then go back to the room for some rest.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Do you have a link for these?? I'd love to get my hands on something like that- I think the boys would really like that!

You can get them through amazon and I've seen them in toysrus etc.....
they are Disney sing alongs. We have disneyworld beach party and the disnyland one that shows the rides etc.... there is also one set in AK but we don't have that one. I think these are the only ones in the parks. there are others with princesses etc.... but not set in parks.
Now mind you....... they were done in the 90's .... a little outdated when you see what people are wearing but rides/characters are the same.
My daughter LOVES these and talks about what she wants to ride etc.....

 

[MrsJ Henry]

http://www.amazon.com/Sing-Along-Songs-Disneyland-Fun/dp/B0009X75W4/ref=pd_sim_v_9

http://www.amazon.com/Disneys-Sing-Along-Songs-Disney/dp/B0009X75WO/ref=pd_sim_v_17

http://www.amazon.com/Sing-Along-Songs-Campout-Disney/dp/B0009X75XI/ref=pd_bxgy_d_img_c

http://www.amazon.com/Sing-Along-Songs-Musical-Adventure/dp/B0009X75XS/ref=pd_sim_v_45

 

[MrsJD]

How old was your toddler when you went?

We are taking dd who will be 3 and are doing a couple character meals while we are there so I am thinking that this will be good for getting her used the them without all the waiting and then if she doesn't like them, then we will know not to waste our time waiting. We took her to chuck e cheese and she loved the guy in the mouse costume, do you think this bodes well??

Good advice about the small things, those are always where the best memories come from anyway

DD loved the characters but the lines were a bit too much for her. The character breakfasts are a great idea. The one line that we waited the longest in was for the big man himself, MICKEY! and it was magical. She was absolutely in awe. Otherwise, if we saw a character with a short line, we hopped in.. We even got lucky with one of the photopass photographers..we had run into her a few times through Epcot and she found us to tell us that Belle was coming out soon, so we got to be 3rd in line. This was so cool...DD loves the Beast and the pics of her with Belle were so cute. DD kept asking where Beast was and Belle told her she would share him with my daughter.

 

[MrsJD]

One idea I had after I left Orlando...

If you want to see the big shows, wait until last minute to get there. You will avoid waiting for the show to start, plus you will be closer to the exit when it ends. There are no bad seats for most of them.

Man, I really really really want to go to Disney now! Gonna have to work a few days in after our cruise!!

 

[aleighjc]

We did the big shows but the lines were never that bad for them. My two yearsolds favorite was the nimo show at animal kingdom. I found a lot of young ones got scared at the little mermaid show. We always make sure to sit near the exit for shows but we lucked out and our daughter loved all of them. Also it is funny you mention your child liked the people characters vs characters like mickey. My daughter was the opposite. She couldnt get enough of mickey, minnie, the monsters inc guys and so on. We actually waited in two lines to see mickey on 2 differen't days because she liked seeing him so much. Some toddlers might not like them but others will probably be surprised. I thought my daughter would for sure be shy of them and she wasn't. She wanted nothing to do with the people/princesses though.