Taking 2 year old vs 3 year old. Tips on Meals, FP Planning, etc?

[MrsSkellington]

Last year our son was 2, so we were able to each get a FP for a ride that he wanted and switch off so he could go twice. (Looking at you, SDMT) I'm hoping he's not bummed about only going once.

He was also free to eat off our plates, and we had Free Dining, so that made things easier.

What are your best tips for me?

 

[Tondee]

We dined out of pocket this last time. I packed a lunch for my son. He actually ate it at dinner when he didn't want to eat at Cafe in Tomorrow land. My husband and I would share off our plates because we honestly always had plenty. I also packed a box of the kool aid singles and we all had water with our meals. (Of course I packed tons of snacks.) I am sure he won't remember going more than once on the rides last year. Just remind him in line that this ride is a one time ride. Sometimes, if the line is short, we would wait in line before our FP and then jump back on after we got off.
Have fun!

 

[caliope]

We took our DS at 2 and then 3. The biggest difference was that now he was taller (just hit 40"), so he met the height requirement on many more rides. And he was much more opinionated on what he wanted to do. We showed him YouTube videos ahead of time for any rides that were new to him (some rides he remembered from the previous trip) and explained about the wait times and "special appointments" (that's how we described FastPass+). We didn't have any issues with him demanding an immediate second ride. We just pressed on to something new! We were able to repeat a few things with multiple FP over several days as well as less popular rides first thing in the morning.

Another difference was in his mobility. He was out of his stroller more this trip than last, though we still used it a lot on our longer days.

He was also more in tune to the other goings on in the parks than last time. He would hear the Move it, Shake it music, for instance, and demand to go near the hub to watch. He also knew there were fireworks to look forward to and the parades. Last trip, he was more of a passive bystander; this trip, he was an active participant.

We had no trouble at meals either. We planned large enough breakfasts to sustain us most of the morning (he's a big fan of Mickey waffles), carried along our own snacks and water (which is all my DS drinks besides milk anyway) and had relatively early dinners. We found something for him on every menu.

We're now busy planning for our trip in December when he will be 4!

 

[DSNY4ever]

Hmm, I never thought about riding twice with a fastness when they are little. But I would think it would be more fun to ride all together as a family...? The nice thing about them being a little older they are more willing to wait in line if they really want to ride again and you don't have a fast pass. My son loved Radiator Springs Racers in Disneyland so much that he was willing to wait 55 minutes to ride it again. We also still sort of split meals with him when possible. One of us would order something big to share or we would order an appetizer so it would stretch our meals to share.

P.S. Calliope's son must be really tall because our son didn't hit 40 inches until his 4th birthday! Have fun!

 

[caliope]

Hmm, I never thought about riding twice with a fastness when they are little. But I would think it would be more fun to ride all together as a family...? The nice thing about them being a little older they are more willing to wait in line if they really want to ride again and you don't have a fast pass. My son loved Radiator Springs Racers in Disneyland so much that he was willing to wait 55 minutes to ride it again. We also still sort of split meals with him when possible. One of us would order something big to share or we would order an appetizer so it would stretch our meals to share.

P.S. Calliope's son must be really tall because our son didn't hit 40 inches until his 4th birthday! Have fun!

Yes, my son is tall! They checked him at all the 40" rides and he made it every time.

And just to clarify, we didn't FP any of the same rides twice in the same day. But if he liked something a lot (like Big Thunder Mtn), we grabbed another FP for the next day so he had that to look forward to. I had preplaned some other FP that we dropped to make that happen.

 

[DisneyOma]

For a 3 year old, I'd skip the dining plan. At least, my kids never ate enough at age 3 to make it worthwhile to pay for the dining plan or pay full price for the room to get the free dining.

Skip character meals, as you have to pay for the 3 year old - unless he loves characters sooooo much!

 

[MrsSkellington]

Funny, my guy will be 3 in May, and I think he was at least 38" back in October/November because we went on 7DMT. So maybe having more rides opened up to him will mean he doesn't complain about wanting to go again. He would cry when we got off the ride because he wanted to go again.

I think we'll definitely be skipping character meals. Maaaybe 1, like CP if we want to get into the park early (if I can grab it, that is).

He was also more in tune to the other goings on in the parks than last time. He would hear the Move it, Shake it music, for instance, and demand to go near the hub to watch. He also knew there were fireworks to look forward to and the parades. Last trip, he was more of a passive bystander; this trip, he was an active participant.

I think this might come into play, too. There was SO much going on that he wasn't really seeing everything at once, just the ride in front of him or the people. I think we're going to play it by ear much more this time.