Our first trip with a 21 month old 9/6-9/11

[catra121]

I posted a while back for some advice and tips on a trip with a 21 month old so I thought I would post about how it all went!

Here was our general plan:

Tuesday - Arrival Day and MK in the PM
Wednesday - Epcot
Thursday - AK
Friday - MK
Saturday - MK
Sunday - Departure Day and Epcot in the AM

We chose to skip Hollywood Studios and I am really happy with this decision. My daughter liked shows ok...but waiting for shows to begin was a bit of a nightmare...she was just too restless. So while I missed seeing some of my favorite shows at HS...this was the best decision for us and our girl.

Her favorite park: Epcot...hands down! We could have gone there every day of the trip and I think she would have been in heaven. She loved the character spot, Figment, Living with the Land, the Mexico ride, and the Frozen ride. Nemo was just ok for her and she liked the dinosaur part of the Ellen ride. What she loved best though was just the different places to run around and explore like the imagination pavilion, the seas pavilion, the courtyard in back of England, and for some reason poking all the eyes of the painted skulls in the Mexico pavilion. It was also great because there were lots of air conditioned places for her to spend time and play...she got overheated pretty quick in AK and MK because we were outdoors a LOT.

Meals: This girl did not eat at ALL like she does at home. She normally eats a ton and her go to meals that you KNOW she will eat are PB&J and Chicken nuggets...she wasn't having any of that at ALL. Her favorite meals were at Morocco and Mexico in Epcot. At home she drinks water all day with milk at night before bed...NOPE...milk ALL DAY while we were there...wouldn't drink water at all. We had bagels and fruit in the room for breakfast each morning.

Breaks: We went back to the room for breaks on our one MK day where we got there at 9am and stayed until the electrical parade at 10pm. That was the only day we took a break and she didn't even nap that day so we went to the water area at the resort instead to cool off and had dinner before going back to the park. I didn't think she would take naps while we were there and I was right. She fell asleep in the stroller once on that Saturday while in line for Haunted Mansion and woke up when we got on the ride...so she got about 10 minutes of sleep in there. Breaks were not for us for the most part but generally we got later starts to the day or went back to the resort early...or both.

Rides: She loved every ride and every character we met...she was lots of fun! She would point and say: Wow!...Woa!...Look at that!...and other such stuff...it was GREAT!

Stroller: We bought an umbrella stroller before the trip and this worked out really great for the parks. Easy to fold up one handed to get on the bus. This was the first time we used it so it was a gamble...but it paid off.

Diaper Bag: We packed really light when going to the parks. One change of clothes for her, 6 diapers, wipes, aquaphor, sunscreen, and her sippy cup. Definitely glad we did that with just a small bag. Dad and her went through the no bag line with the stroller and I went through the bag check with the small bag to meet up after. We never needed the change of clothes...but better safe than sorry on that end.

Best memories from the trip were her making friends with other kids while playing, the splash area at the resort, her saying, "Goodbye Everybody!" and waving every time we left the park, and her interacting with the characters. She was totally ready for this trip and the right age for it. So excited to go with her again as soon as we can save up for trip #2.

My best advice is to say that you know your kids better than anyone...so do what you think is best for them. Even then...they will throw you for a loop with some things like my daughter did with the not wanting to eat much and wanting milk all day long.

Feel free to ask me any questions!

 

[tinkerbella16]

Thanks for the review! We just got home Saturday and took my 17 month old niece for her first trip 9/3-9/10. She too, loved it and had a wonderful time. Just like your DD, she would not eat at all like she does at home! It was so weird. Everything we tried to give her, she would not touch. She only wanted her snacks and fruit and that was it. All she drinks is water all day and milk before bed, and that wasn't a problem at all. We had to keep her hydrated all day in that heat. It was just the food that she wanted nothing to do with, unless it was her snacks.

We did all 4 parks and she loved them all. This kid seriously loved talking to CM's and other guests the entire time, it was so cute. She loved every single ride and show we brought her to. Never got scared on Haunted Mansion like we thought she would.

Everyone told us she was too young when we booked this trip and she wouldn't remember it. No age is too young for Disney, and this trip proved that immensely! Can't wait for next year with her at 2 1/2 years old.

 

[tlmadden73]

Great report.

Definitely you were more risky than I was on my son's (26 month) first trip. We only did two park days and skipped Epcot entirely.

I decided against Epcot when I went on my son's first trip (he was 26 months) and we only did two park days to avoid burnout and general tiredness.
I mainly avoided it because the number of attractions that a toddler can go on are SO few.

Glad to see you found those "non-ride" attractions that are often the best part of a Disney trip.

We also found eating an issue with my son. What can you do? I think the sensory overload just makes them too distracted to eat. Thankfully Disney is very family friendly in that way with free admission and free food (just ate off our plates at the buffet meals).