Taking a 2 year old on a Disney Cruise.

[sgtpet]

My wife and I were wondering if our will be 2 year old DS enjoy himself on the Disney Cruise. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[dizneykids]

...of course, he doesn't remember it! but he's been back twice since and going for #3 here in less than 3 weeks.

going with a 2yo is what you make of it. you didn't say if you were doing the 3-, 4- or 7-night, but so long as y'all still try to stick with his schedule (as much as is possible) but doing naps and getting him to bed close to his usual bedtime, then you should be okay.

when you get each day's navigator, try to select some things he would like to do...for instance, seeing characters, watching some of the tournaments on board, or some of the shows/activities during the day. our son enjoyed hanging out by the pool a lot and having ice cream. if you are on one of the shorter cruises, there will be a lot going on with shore excursions and what not. for the 7-day, you have more time on board the ship.

do plan to take him to flounders nursery at least once during the cruise (so he can play with other kids) so that y'all can do Palos. just make sure you sign him up right away on embarkation day so you have a shot at getting him in one night. flounders charges (it think) $5/hour and the cms in there are just wonderful!

other tips: you can borrow one of their strollers, eliminating the need to bring your own. i don't know if they charge for them now, but they didn't the last time we borrowed one. you can ask for a diaper genie (wish i'd known that on our first cruise with him!). also, if you don't want him to sleep in a pack-in-play, you can ask for a bed rail and sleep him in a regular bed.

bottom line? he'll have a ball! and so will y'all!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

I'd wait until he's 3 and potty-trained so he can enjoy the Oceaneer's Club and you don't have to pay fees for him to enjoy Flounder's Reef Nursery.

 

[CarolAnnC]

I would take him when he is 2, and I would go back again when he is 3!!

 

[din]

This is not related to the cruise, but we took our first one to WDW when he was two and he is 10 now and claims he remember a little of it. (I think he is mixing all the trips together )

Anyway, when he was two, just to him smile, run towards and hug Pooh and Mickey was just priceless!!!!!

HAVE FUN!!!

 

[aprilgail2]

I am taking my 2 1/2 year old, I know she will have a ball. I am sure she wont stay in Flounders Nursery so I am not iven going to bother trying, besides I am going on vacation to spend time with her, I want to spend as much as I can with her. I didn't want to wait until she was 3 because there is a big price difference, right now she only costed 99.00!!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We took our son for the first time in Jan. 2001 when he was 2 on a 4 nighter. He had a great time. He loved the characters.(easier to see then at the park). He loved the Mickey pool and especially Castaway Cay and the beach. Only downfall is we booked kind of late and couldn't get early seating for dinner. That was tough to put it mildly. We have pictures sitting out from the cruise and he keeps asking when we're going back on the Mickey boat. I just reserved a 7 night for Nov. 2003 and we have early seating for dinner this time. Your 2 year old will have a great time. And so will you seeing it through his eyes. Have fun!

 

[willow0256]

All I can stress, as is true with any age, is SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN! He will have a blast. But if you are at the pool alot, or when out on the islands, I can't stress Sunscreen enough. Even (or especially) on the scalp. I have had a very nice "base" tan when I have gone on my past cruises, and have still burned while using 50 level sunscreen. So please limit exposure time to the sun!

 

[dijid]

and her will be 10 month old little brother. It'll be our first cruise with kids, but we're pretty sure it will be fun. I think it depends on your DS. Our DD is a great traveler - loves to try new things, sleep in different beds, go out to restaraunts, check out every potty every place we go! She totally gets this from her father and I who love to travel. Now, friends of ours have a 2yo who won't sleep anywhere but his own bed, is horrible at sitting still during dinner, etc. They had a horrible time on their cruise (not Disney) because their son just freaked at being in a totally foreign setting.

The biggest reason we're schlepping the two kids with us is that we've wanted to do a Disney cruise for years and it won't ever get any cheaper since the kids will be more $$ once they reach 3. We plan on doing WDW with them in about 5 years (if we can wait that long!)- when they're tall enough to ride rides with DH and I.

 

[badger5]

We took our almost 2 year old son on the 7 day cruise just this past January and had a very nice time. Try to get a room with a veranda so that when he or she naps you can enjoy relaxing and watching the ocean. That was actually my favorite time of the day. You can check out strollers for no cost at guest services and walk around the pormanade deck. The pool is extremely crowded, and we avoided it most day. Enjoy the fruit bar at scoops for snacks. Enjoy the shows - just sit on an end incase you need to leave. Check into Flounders for some adult time.

Go ahead and take him or her and have a great time. Your child may not remember it, but YOU will!

Patty

 

[Gillian]

We're taking our 2 your old in September on a 4 nighter. I hope it will be fun! He's a pretty easy going kid & I think he will be fine in flounders one night. I just hope that when he smiles people smile back, because he loves it! Today he was charming all the ladies at the grocery store