Suggestions for 18 month old

[mmholton]

Hello, I'm new to this board but do have a question. Some friends of ours are going to WDW after Thanksgiving and want us to come but our youngest DD will be 18 months old. Are there any rides that she will be able to do? Do you have any activity/ride suggestions for this age or should we wait until she gets older? TIA!!! We are trying to learn as much as possible since we've never been with children, and only once by ourselves for a couple of days.

 

[tanyaandallie]

We went last fall with my 3.5 year old and my 20 mos old. That baby was able to ride pretty much everything the 3.5 year old read. So many of the rides at the MK are theme based and not thrill rides so they are safe for small kids.

 

[Tigger&Aidan]

We took our DS at about 22 months old and he was able to ride lots of things. Really, the things he couldn't ride were things I wouldn't take him on anyway - rollercoasters, etc. He was able to go on It's a Small World type rides as well as others including the Buzz Lightyear ride (which he loved!) He did enjoy some the shows and characters and especially Playhouse Disney Live! That time of year, you can go to the Very Merry Mickey x-mas party, which is fun (maybe more so for adults, at least it was for us!)

There's a section on the WDW site for pre-school experience, which lists rides/activities good for younger kids. So, I think if you do take your DD, you'll find plenty to do and see. We are going back this year, same time (which happens to be the same time as you) and we can't wait!

 

[lillygator]

MK:
carousel
small world
peter pan
pooh
philharmagic
snow white
dumbo
tea cups
speedway
buzz lightyear
people mover
pirates
aladdin
jungle cruise

MGM (mostly shows)
playhouse disney
little mermaid
great movie ride


AK
safari
rafiki's planet watch
dinosaurs

Epcot
imagination
nemo ride
living with the land
spaceship earth
mexico boat ride
norway boat ride

 

[2goofykids]

We took my ds when he was 18 months and he loved it. I am about to take my dd who will be 18 months while we are there. After Thanksgiving is a great time to go. The weather is not hot (which can be hard in little ones) and they have all the christmas decorations up. Plan to take it slowly and possibly nap in the afternoon. There are lots of things for an 18 month old to do. I would think about planning a few character meals, but I would plan them for a few days after the start of the trip. This way you can find out how your dd will react to them before having to sit down at a meal with them around. And don't judge how she might be based on other costumed characters she may have already seen at home. For example we took our ds to Sesame Place about a month before we went to Disney to see how he would be with characters he was familiar with. He screamed and cried at the Sesame Street gang, but when we went to Disney he was so excited to see most of them, especially Mickey.
I would agree with most of lillygator's list except my little one didn't like the great movie ride, the speedway (too loud), or the Norway boat ride. Also if your dd enjoys music many of the countries in Epcot have a musical performance. My ds loved watching the drummers in Japan.

This is a great age to go IMO. Hope this helps!

 

[wrighter]

I think lillygator said it all - there are MANY rides your 18 month old can ride. I would just like to add, though, that not only did my 17mo DD ride most of these, she LOVED them! We'd get to the MK in the morning and she'd start freaking out when she saw Dumbo or the Carousel or IASW. She practically jumped out of her stroller. We were quite surprised at how into all of it she actually got.

Don't be at all hesitant - it will be great fun!

 

[mmholton]

Wow, you guys are great! Thanks so much for the input!!! I'll share this with my husband. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun for us afterall Now I'm actually getting excited about the idea If you think of anything else, please share and post it here! Thanks again!