Taking my 2 and a half year old daughter to DW in Jan............I need help!!

[Atrain13]

So we are taking our first real family vacation the last full week on January and we decided we're going to go to Disney! The wife and I went about 4 years ago and we loved it. Well now we have our own princess and we are very excited to see her face and watch how happy it'll make her. She knows some of the characters already (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Tink) but that's about it.There's still time to teach her about the classics. I literally just thought of this on Tuesday night and realized that we, as a full family, have yet to take a real vacation. I just finished school in May we were tight on money. Well now we're in a situation where we should treat ourselves.

We're going the 23rd and staying till the 29th. From all I've seen online, that's generally a pretty slow time of the year, which is great. Plus they have great packages at that time (stay, play, and dine I think is what we're getting). Plus the weather really isn't going to be too bad I hope. We're from Kansas, so we don't mind a little chill. I think the average temp in Orlando then is about 60, which is really nice.

Anyhoo............ I've never gone with a child before and we really don't know how to plan with her. We figure 2 days at MK, 1 at AK, 1 at HS, 1 full day at Epcot and then lots of time to rest. As of our plans now, I believe we should get to our resort around 2. Depending on how our daughter is doing (first flight and an early one at that) my idea was to spend part of the first day at Epcot. Not a ton to do there for kids so I didn't want to dedicate 2 full days there. Probably just do a few rides and see a few things but over all, keep it pretty simple.

From there, I have no idea how to plan. All I know is first full day would be Magic Kingdom. Can someone help me out with planning this? I know that's asking a lot, but it would really help us out. With our dining plan (1 table service, 1 quick meal, and 2 treats) what are some good places to take a child to eat? To me, Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, and Tusker House are all musts (all characters she knows!). What are some other places that would be fun for a child to see/do?

Also, I"m a fan of the non traditional things at disney. I want to spend more time at Main St. USA and see what's all there. What are some "hidden gems" of disney. The things that are fun to see but are often over looked.

I've been on this site since before my last trip, and everyone has given great advice. I know I"ll get the same kind of help this time and that means a lot to me. Thank you everyone for all of your input!!

 

[sharonabe]

My foremost piece of advice for you is to take your cues from her. You never know what will catch her eye and make all of you want to slow down.

With that in mind, here are a few things my kids really enjoyed when they were little:

EP: The Seas aquarium could take hours, so beware. Try the Crush interactive show and sit near the front. The jumping fountains outside Imagination are fun to watch. The miniature train layout in Germany. Speak of the aquarium, she might enjoy a meal at Coral Reef.

AK: So much here just to slow down and take in. Do the trails, ride the train. The boneyard could be a huge time taker, so again, beware.

HS: We enjoy this park now, but I can't think of anything that caught their attention specifically. Lots of good character opportunities if she's into that.

MK: Take time to ride one of the Main St vehicles.

 

[alliecat523]

Enjoy the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast shows at HS.

 

[MrsJamesPSullivan]

Just be aware that she may love the characters or being in the same state as them may be the last thing she wants. I would try to schedule the first character meal for a time that she will be well rested. See how she reacts to them then decide if you keep the other ADRs for other character meals based on that. If you have to reschedule it's OK, she may fall in love with something you never would have thought of at the replacement restaurant.

Have a great trip!

 

[sharonabe]

OH I forgot! Try to be in EP at night and stop to check out the "pixie dust" in the stone tiles outside of Innoventions.

 

[Klayfish]

My foremost piece of advice for you is to take your cues from her. You never know what will catch her eye and make all of you want to slow down.

With that in mind, here are a few things my kids really enjoyed when they were little:

EP: The Seas aquarium could take hours, so beware. Try the Crush interactive show and sit near the front. The jumping fountains outside Imagination are fun to watch. The miniature train layout in Germany. Speak of the aquarium, she might enjoy a meal at Coral Reef.

AK: So much here just to slow down and take in. Do the trails, ride the train. The boneyard could be a huge time taker, so again, beware.

HS: We enjoy this park now, but I can't think of anything that caught their attention specifically. Lots of good character opportunities if she's into that.

MK: Take time to ride one of the Main St vehicles.

Some great ideas there.

At that age, she'll be starry eyed at everything, so it's hard to go wrong. When our kids were that age, we focused on the young child friendly stuff (obviously). For that reason, it'll be an entirely different trip than when you went alone. You'll probably get more enjoyment out of watching her discover WDW than you will from the attractions themselves. We did things like Pooh, Peter Pan, Small World, Mickey's Philharmagic (make sure your DD isn't frightened by that stuff), Tomorrowland Speedway, etc... Do lots of character meets. I completely agree that the aquarium in the Seas could be a great thing, as will the Nemo ride itself.

Honestly, just my own $.02, while there's nothing at all wrong with trying to find hidden gems or off the beaten path stuff (we look for it ourselves), I wouldn't focus too much on it. For your daughter, just show her the classic WDW attractions that are kid oriented and she'll be hooked for life. Go at a pace that's best for her. We actually found our kids were fine for all day excursions at that age. We put them in strollers for 100% of the trip, and did it for a specific reason. We wanted them to save their energy for rides, characters, etc... So for them, it wasn't physically exerting at all, they just rode from place to place. Plus if they needed a nap, they fell asleep in the stroller while my wife and I relaxed with a cool drink, or just took a quiet walk around the park.

Have fun!!!

 

[Heather Marie]

So I spent Christmas with my nephew who was 1.5 yrs at the time. People think Disney with young children is hard, but in my opinion it makes it more magical. They're so easily impressed, and you can still do all the things you love.

MK- Easily you can do Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Story Time with Belle, Small World, Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress (this is good for kiddies to get a nap in while getting air condition), and depending on her height you might be able to do a few of the kiddie rollercoasters and things alike. You will not run out of things to do at MK. When it comes to Space Mountain, Splash Mountain etc. you don't have to miss out. Disney provides a great thing called Baby Swap / Child Swap. Basically someone from your party goes on the ride, they come back, and then you go on the ride in the fast pass line. It's awesome. Also I recommend meeting Magic Mickey right away. Everyone wants pictures with their young ones and Mickey. Sometimes children are terrified with characters at a young age. Start with Mickey. He's recognizable and if your child is scared of him, at least you got the photo / a good memory... If the child likes characters, then introduce them to others

Epcot- Get a passport / duffy for your young one to get stamps at the Kidcots in World Showcase. Ellen Degeneres ride (could be good for a nap), Innovation, Figment, and The Land are great for young kids.

Hollywood- Honey I shrunk the kids playground, Playhouse junior show / meet and greet, muppets, height check toy story, Little Mermaid, One Mans Dream,

AK- The list goes on. The Safari, the Playground, conservation stations, almost everything at AK is great for young kids minus the ride rides.

Hope this helps.

 

[Hootch]

We took both of our kids the first time when they were around three. Even at that age, and with kids that are not tall, there were a few rides they could do.

1) Plan for breaks - we stayed at the Contemporary with our first. My wife was also pregnant at the time. Kids can differ but most still need a nap at that age and good amount of sleep at night. Being able to walk to your resort was a time saver but also expensive. We had a lot of travel issues with the first visit for the second child. We tried to do too much and she had a meltdown in Prime Time. Lesson learned.

2) As someone notes above take cues from your kid. They may want to play in one of the playgrounds that may seem like other playgrounds back home. It is their vacation too.

3) Start slowly with characters and watch how your child reacts. I have seen kids afraid of characters. Sometimes it may take some time.

4) Same thing for attractions. Start with the simple things, assuming your child meets the minimum heights, and build from there. They don't know what the ride is like. My son enjoyed Goofy's ride and we went to Splash which he enjoyed. He did not like Big Thunder back then with all of the twists. I think the Little Mermaid show at DHS is great. Some kids can be scared of Ursula.

 

[Candycane83]

I'm in pretty much the same situation as you where DH and I went 4 years ago and will go back again in December with our 2 and 1/2 year old (boy though ) My MK plan is to meet Mickey at Town Square first (you can meet Tink too there I believe) then ride Main Street Vehicle in. I want to make time for the Move It Shake It Party that morning as well. I know there are various little shows in Main Street like the Dapper Dans and Trolley show which looks very interesting.
I'm very nervous as we've never really taken a trip for so long away from home yet but it seems like WDW is a good place to have his first official vacation! Have fun!

 

[Atrain13]

Thank you for all the info so far. This site always has lots of people who are able to help! What are some fun places that kids like to eat? Chef Mickey is a must, as well as Tusker House. Other than that I'm really not sure. The sea place at Epcot sounds like a fun place as she likes water and fish. Does anyone think that a kid that age would get the fun of 50s prime time or Sci fy?

How are the shows at AK? I have a fear that we aren't going to be able to spend much time there because I just don't know how much there is for younger children to do. She loves animals (from a distance) so the safari is a must and I know they have a few shows, but is there anything else for young people to do there?

Also, is there anything that we should think about bringing with us? Food SHOULD be ok, each person gets 2 snacks, and we are bringing her small stroller. What else should we try not to forgot (even though it's bound to happen )

 

[Heather Marie]

Thank you for all the info so far. This site always has lots of people who are able to help! What are some fun places that kids like to eat? Chef Mickey is a must, as well as Tusker House. Other than that I'm really not sure. The sea place at Epcot sounds like a fun place as she likes water and fish. Does anyone think that a kid that age would get the fun of 50s prime time or Sci fy?

How are the shows at AK? I have a fear that we aren't going to be able to spend much time there because I just don't know how much there is for younger children to do. She loves animals (from a distance) so the safari is a must and I know they have a few shows, but is there anything else for young people to do there?

Also, is there anything that we should think about bringing with us? Food SHOULD be ok, each person gets 2 snacks, and we are bringing her small stroller. What else should we try not to forgot (even though it's bound to happen )

Honestly I think AK is AMAZING for young kids. They have the play ground in dino land, the FOTLK show will be great for young ones, Conservation station, the walking treks, etc. I think AK is one of the best parks (minus MK) for little ones.

Bring water bottles. You can fill them up for free instead of speed $3 a bottle. Makes a big difference.

 

[ktlm]

2 was our favorite trip- everything was new and amazing to DD. Other than MK, her favorite park was by far EPCOT. We spent 1day there from open to close that trip and wished we had more time. There really is a ton to do there with little kids especially if it turns out she likes characters. DD loved the characters, memo, the aquariums, figment ride, living with the Land, boat ride in Mexico, the entertainment in the different countries- jugglers, bands, acrobat etc. Her favorite restaurant other than princess meals has always been Biergarten- they have a band that does a show and the kids can get out on the dance floor. DD was not an AK fan that year- still isn't at age 10. She wants to ride Safari, eat at Tusker House, see some characters and watch the Lion King show and then she is done. We have a really good zoo at home and she has no interest in seeing the same animals we have at home when there were princesses to meet in other parks and rides to ride. I would show her the movie Cinderella- nothing scary in that one. We also had a set of board books that came in a box- one with all the princesses and one with all the other characters. She was so excited when she got to WDW and saw all the characters from her books! That worked really well for us. Have a great trip.

 

[TLM2015]

Thank you for all the info so far. This site always has lots of people who are able to help! What are some fun places that kids like to eat? Chef Mickey is a must, as well as Tusker House. Other than that I'm really not sure. The sea place at Epcot sounds like a fun place as she likes water and fish. Does anyone think that a kid that age would get the fun of 50s prime time or Sci fy?

How are the shows at AK? I have a fear that we aren't going to be able to spend much time there because I just don't know how much there is for younger children to do. She loves animals (from a distance) so the safari is a must and I know they have a few shows, but is there anything else for young people to do there?

Also, is there anything that we should think about bringing with us? Food SHOULD be ok, each person gets 2 snacks, and we are bringing her small stroller. What else should we try not to forgot (even though it's bound to happen )

Had to chime in because I feel like this place gets overlooked sometimes, Garden Grill at Epcot. It's a character meal and the restaurant rotates and you can see the Living with the Land ride from booth (especially if you sit on the outside rim of the restaurant) which my daughter who was 5 at the time really loved and it's the only reason I could convince her to try to ride.

That being said, be prepared for some of your plans to go out of the window. When I took DD last year at 5 I figured we'd spend at least one day at each park and I scheduled dinner or lunch in each park. We went to eat at the various parks but I couldn't get her to stay! I think the mistake was we started with MK and she fell in love with certain rides (Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean to name two) and she didn't want to go to any other park for more than a handful of hours. I think we ended up at MK every day of our trip which was 5 park days. I love MK so it's not a big deal but I was hoping that she would get a chance to experience the other parks more but it was fine we are going back this year. I would suggest maybe starting with a different park other than MK maybe if you want to get a chance to fully experience the other parks because honestly even I find MK to be the most magical park.

 

[brittanidp]

We are going in December with our 15 month old and I have heard great things about the Garden Grill at Epcot! It's a character meal (Mickey, Pluto, Chip n' Dale) and the food looks really good. It's all you care to enjoy, but not a buffet which is helpful with little kids. It's also in the Land Pavilion and you get to see some of the Living with the Land ride while you eat since the restaurant (very slowly) rotates!! It's also pretty easy to get an ADR!

 

[Lvsdisney]

Thank you for all the info so far. This site always has lots of people who are able to help! What are some fun places that kids like to eat? Chef Mickey is a must, as well as Tusker House. Other than that I'm really not sure. The sea place at Epcot sounds like a fun place as she likes water and fish. Does anyone think that a kid that age would get the fun of 50s prime time or Sci fy?

How are the shows at AK? I have a fear that we aren't going to be able to spend much time there because I just don't know how much there is for younger children to do. She loves animals (from a distance) so the safari is a must and I know they have a few shows, but is there anything else for young people to do there?

Also, is there anything that we should think about bringing with us? Food SHOULD be ok, each person gets 2 snacks, and we are bringing her small stroller. What else should we try not to forgot (even though it's bound to happen )

My DD was 2.5 this past visit. She LOVED meeting Sophia at DHS!

The Lion King Show at AK was a hit for her. I have not seen the Nemo show, so cannot comment on that. There also is great playground in Dinosaur area. Some good things for the little kids (as well as the big kids) and they have a "carnival" in that area with a flying dinosaur (like Dumbo) ride.

You'd be surprised what she can go on at MK (Pirates, Small world, Haunted mansion, Peter Pan, Dumbo,Tomorrow Land Speedway, Buzz Lightyear - though HM and Pirates may bee too scary for her?). My DD loved all but the HM (it kept stopping while we were on it and she did NOT like that).

And as others said, take breaks!! We usually left after lunch and stayed at the resort 2-3 hours and then returned to parks at night. My D is a very picky eater so we brought snacks and lunch in the parks (they allow food which I utilize!).

Have fun!!

 

[Atrain13]

I'm on info overload right now! Epcot is my biggest headache. 2.5 days at MK and just 1 full day at Epcot or 2 full at MK and 1.5 at Epcot? I'll have to look into the garden grill. I dont think I even knew about that! Biergarten (sorry for killing the spelling) is one place I really want to do.

Hmmm what else should I know when planning this trip besides none of my plans should be inked in.

 

[Heather Marie]

I'm on info overload right now! Epcot is my biggest headache. 2.5 days at MK and just 1 full day at Epcot or 2 full at MK and 1.5 at Epcot? I'll have to look into the garden grill. I dont think I even knew about that! Biergarten (sorry for killing the spelling) is one place I really want to do.

Hmmm what else should I know when planning this trip besides none of my plans should be inked in.

You spelt it right
I think just go with the flow but go prepared. Have extra clothes (in case it rains), water, snacks, toys, etc. Have fun!!!!

 

[Atrain13]

Thank you!

 

[ssmurphy28]

We took our 2.5yo during the last week of January 2015. One thing I'll point out right away is that the end of January is a great time to take a little one! The park hours are usually shorter, so it kind of forces you to make sure that the little ones get to bed at a reasonable time every night.

Here are some things that I learned on our trip:

1. Like others have said, be prepared to let her take the lead. Attractions that you may have never thought much of, may be her favorite. This may give you the opportunity to really appreciate all that Disney offers. For example, we rode Living with the Land at least 5 times when we went. Our son was obsessed with vegetables, so he thought it was the coolest ride ever. We didn't mind because there was never a line and enjoyed it because he was having such a great time. The other ride our son loved was Barnstromer in MK. He was just a little to short for 7DMT.

2. Plan, but don't overplan. We planned to go back to our resort for a break every afternoon, but after two days we realized that our son was doing fine powering through during the afternoon, so we decided to as well. Part of the reason this worked for us is that we are a family of late sleepers. Rope drop wasn't for us. Once your there find out what works well for your family and adjust some of your plans from there if possible. (For example, when I could, I switched our FP choices for later in the morning so that we could utilize them.)

3. Take some time to enjoy the parades and fireworks. We saved Wishes and the MSEP for the last night and the kids had such a great time. In retrospect I wish we had set aside some time for the daytime parades. Our son was a little scared of Fantasmic, but Illuminations would be a good choice for little ones, and it happens earlier at that time of year.

Lastly, I'll put in a good word for Crystal Palace. We did an early lunch there with the Pooh characters and had lots of fun! We also really enjoyed Chef Mickey's, so that's a good choice! The kids also really liked Sanaa at AKL Kidani. We had a window seat and were inches from animals during our meal! It was also the best food I had the whole trip.

 

[Atrain13]

Not over planning is going to be hard for me.
Are there lots of loud noises at the parades? She likes watching them, but she doesn't do so good with loud noises..........which makes me nervous about the firework shows.

On spaceship earth, have kids had a hard time sitting for that long, or going backwards on the ride? That'll likely be our first ride that we do and I just hope she does alright with it.