Taking a 22 month old to the parks?

[DaystarPearl]

My sister is taking my great niece, her granddaughter to WDW with us for our OCT. vacation, can anyone give me some advice or suggestions on taking a 22 month old to the parks.

 

[Hootch]

Young ones will want to something you don't want to do so your plans, or your sister's plans, will be fluid.

Keep an eye on the weather. It can be hot in October. There is a child care center, I believe, in all of the parks. The one in the MK is near the Crystal Palace. They have chairs that you can use for example.

Some kids are timid. You might to want to show her some of the characters in costume so she can get comfortable. There are videos on you tube.

There are many things that she will not be able to do, but there are playgrounds that might entertain herself for quite a bit of time.

Character meals? It's somewhat expensive, but we found it worth the money. Crystal Palace has Pooh and friends. Chef Mickey's has Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Pluto. The princesses are at Cinderella's Royal Table and Askerhus. . Sometimes face characters are easier for kids.

Both of ours were three when we took them. Even at that age proximity to the parks was a great advantage.

Good Luck

 

[CarolynFH]

Check out the Disney for Families forum on these boards. It's full of excellent information!

 

[larryz]

Sing-along Songs were great introductions for our kids. When they got into the parks (18 months for one, and 24 for the other) they recognized the characters right away.

 

[AP1209]

Sing-along Songs were great introductions for our kids. When they got into the parks (18 months for one, and 24 for the other) they recognized the characters right away.

My DD was obsessed with the sing-along songs when she was little. My wife had them on VHS from when she was a kid. When my DD outgrew the sing-alongs we were finally able to get rid of our last VCR

 

[nycdisneygal]

My DD was 22 months for her second trip. She had seen some Mickey Mouse clubhouse, Winnie the Pooh and sing a longs. We made sure to have plenty of snacks for her. She LOVED the trip. The only thing she did not like was her first haircut at the barber shop.
When waiting in line we explained to her that everyone got their turn and ours would come up soon. She was fine.

 

[slp87]

Be sure to take an stroller with a shade that reclines.

 

[wmjeffer]

I'll be taking my just-turned two year old to WDW in November - I've found tons of articles on Pinterest about Disney with a toddler! I think the most important points are to be prepared/organized, try to keep them on schedule (mostly), and take your time!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

My 22 month cousin loved it so much and still talks about at at almost 3. Just enjoy. She loved even the transportation getting to the parks. See it through the eyes of a tot.

 

[travelfearlessly]

Our daughter is 2.5 and has been to Disney 3 times already. We mostly stick with Epcot vs. Hollywood Studios because Epcot has musical performances in the countries that she can dance along to. Hollywood Studios has more sit-down shows and our kiddo just can't sit still long enough for stuff like that. There are LOTS of great rides at Magic Kingdom and she will probably enjoy Animal Kingdom as well.

 

[tinkerbesh]

When DS was 22-23 months, his favorite thing to watch became the "Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." It's basically the "Many" Adventures broken into 3 minute clips. Great primer on those characters, and they were his favorites to look for and meet at Crystal Palace lunch.

Other advice I would say is bring a good stroller - something with good shade, storage, and beverage holders for you and the child. Also a stroller that you're comfortable with collapsing easily for bus transportation.

 

[roxymama]

We let my daughter look into the windows outside Crystal Palace before checking in to our first character breakfast on the first day. Having the buffer of the window kept her from being surprised by a character right up close next to her and also got her very excited to get to go inside and meet them. It was such a simple thing that my dad thought of in the moment and I think really helped her enjoy the experience. Also explaining what we were doing a little bit helped...for instance on the Ariel ride I leaned down during the Ursala part and said "Oh cool, look, a singing sea witch, she's so silly" Maybe was overkill but I was being protective.

Also we never were at the park past lunch with her. We took turns babysitting her at night while other people went out and did older-kid things.

 

[travelfearlessly]

We let my daughter look into the windows outside Crystal Palace before checking in to our first character breakfast on the first day. Having the buffer of the window kept her from being surprised by a character right up close next to her and also got her very excited to get to go inside and meet them. It was such a simple thing that my dad thought of in the moment and I think really helped her enjoy the experience. Also explaining what we were doing a little bit helped...for instance on the Ariel ride I leaned down during the Ursala part and said "Oh cool, look, a singing sea witch, she's so silly" Maybe was overkill but I was being protective.

Also we never were at the park past lunch with her. We took turns babysitting her at night while other people went out and did older-kid things.

Character breakfasts were HARD with our toddler because she'd see Goofy or Tigger across the restaurant and want to meet them IMMEDIATELY! Of course they have to make their rounds and it takes like 20 minutes for them to get to you and during those 20 minutes she'd be too pent up with excitement to want to eat anything!

 

[Meriweather]

we took our DGD at 17 months. It was so much fun!
But, she is a active little one and we didn't do anything that took sitting for too long, so no shows.
She is also very vocal, so meals at sit downs could go wrong very fast.
She had a great time though and loved! the characters.
After a couple of days she knew what was going on and pushed her stroller to the door. Brought everyone their bags and shoes.....even though it was 6 am and she was running around in a diaper.....she was ready to go!

 

[Dbktmc]

We took my son for his first trip when he was 25 months old. He absolutely loved it. He did want to keep to his normal schedule though. He still took his 3 hour naps (in the hotel) and wanted to be in bed by 8:30 p.m. That being said, keeping him on his schedule kept him happy and pleasant the entire trip. He remembered so much about that trip and brought it up all of the time. I would definitely consider keeping children on their normal schedule.

Now that we went a second time (he is 3 1/2) he is begging to go back again. In fact, he cried and begged us not to leave at the end of our 11 day trip! We are already planning our trip next summer and plan to stick to his schedule again. (Whatever that will be!)

 

[hicksnichols]

we took our DGD at 17 months. It was so much fun!
But, she is a active little one and we didn't do anything that took sitting for too long, so no shows.
She is also very vocal, so meals at sit downs could go wrong very fast.
She had a great time though and loved! the characters.
After a couple of days she knew what was going on and pushed her stroller to the door. Brought everyone their bags and shoes.....even though it was 6 am and she was running around in a diaper.....she was ready to go!

So glad you posted this. We plan to take our son when he turns 19 months. I'm so glad to hear you say she was ready for more! Thanks for sharing