Those with toddlers- HELP!

[maxsdaddy]

We just returned on 11/6 from 6 sometimes great, sometimes horrible days in WDW. DS is 2 1/2 and not high maintanance. He is very independant. He knows what he wants (usually a ball) doesn't want something from every store we go in, which is very good for the wallet.

The problem is, his favorite ride is Dumbo, of course, and the carousel followed closely by the hotel elevator, and he would rather be at the hotel pool than anywhere else. He doesn't like the characters, especially in the beginning of the trip. Later in the trip he warms up to them, but still not enough to even get a so-so picture.

I'm sure some of you have had similar problems and would like to know what you did to change things. Hopefully, as he gets older, he will overcome his fears enjoy Disney as much as his mom and dad.

 

[Colinsmom]

We just returned on 11/6 from 6 sometimes great, sometimes horrible days in WDW. DS is 2 1/2 and not high maintanance. He is very independant. He knows what he wants (usually a ball) doesn't want something from every store we go in, which is very good for the wallet.

The problem is, his favorite ride is Dumbo, of course, and the carousel followed closely by the hotel elevator, and he would rather be at the hotel pool than anywhere else. He doesn't like the characters, especially in the beginning of the trip. Later in the trip he warms up to them, but still not enough to even get a so-so picture.

I'm sure some of you have had similar problems and would like to know what you did to change things. Hopefully, as he gets older, he will overcome his fears enjoy Disney as much as his mom and dad.

I think that time makes a huge difference - we just took DS for his third birthday, and it was a very different experience than traveling with a 27 month old who doesn't have the same communication skills, understanding of rides, etc. So I wouldn't recommend doing anything, just go again when he is a little older!

 

[brymolmom]

Hi - We got back a month ago. It was me, dh, ds(3 and VERY laid-back), and dd (22 months- self proclaimed 'queen of the house' and very high maintenance). First of all, I think personality comes a lot from nature, not nurture, so in other words - it isn't necessarily discipline, or lack thereof, that causes this high needs type of behavior. My dd was high maintenance and showed her true colors from the time she was about a month old.

WDW was wonderful for us all. Let me first tell you to expect to get dirty looks - it WILL happen. Look all over this board and you will see that everyone parents differently and if your child is 'acting up' no doubt there will be adult eyes rolling thinking they know exactly how to handle it and that you're not doing your job. Ignore it! You know what's best for your family and even if you do everything perfectly, there will be bad scenes to be sure.

We got in line for MK on the first night we were there - ds and dd had just taken a 2 hour nap and still dd decided to have a tantrum. And it was a lot longer than her usual ones - seems she liked the crowd looking on so she gave them her best show. I saw some sympathetic smiles and other annoyed looks. We basically ignored her, our way of handling this type of tantrum she was having, and I knew that some didn't agree with this.

Another word of advice is not to be too discouraged if she doesn't like all the rides you have planned for her. I tried not to be but was somewhat upset because I thought dd would really 'get into' some of the rides. She really only ended up liking the carousel and dumbo - plus the play area in Toontown. Most rides she tolerated but would occasionally whine and say 'all done now'. So that was sad. Next time she'll be old enough to enjoy more!

If you're taking WDW buses, and she's anything like my princess, expect every ride to be long. The bus rides were the worst part of the trip. She loved the freedom of not being belted into her carseat and took advantage. She'd want to go back and forth between daddy's and mommy's laps, try climbing up to look out the windows, and basically be difficult to control. Even the short rides weren't short enough.

We kept mostly in our usual routine which my kids love. Although we did do really late naps two days and it worked out okay. Go with a plan but play it by ear depending how the days go for you.

Best of luck. You'll have a blast I'm sure.

 

[shruley]

Thanks. I just got the "your child won't enjoy Disney til their older" speech here at work followed by the "I expected my 2 year old to sit quietly through a hour and a half dinner" so was feeling a little bad. I needed to reread your responses to feel better! And yes, DD has been "high maintence" since day 1. She had colic and has never been a mellow kind of kid. I like to think it's not because I'm a horrible parent!

 

[Sleeping~Beauty]

My DS 2.5 is high maintainance, as someone mentioned about their self -proclaimed queen daughter, he is the self-proclaimed little king.

No matter what, as everyone has noted, tantrums happen with all children. Parents are lying if they say it never happened.

I found a great way to release any frustrations, heat, excitement, etc, in the young children is to go to the different playground/spraygrounds available at WDW.

We went to the Pooh play/sprayground at Magic Kingdom, and it was a life saver. It's made for the little ones, and they can cool off and run free in the 100 Acre Woods. In MGM, they had a huge Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playset with a section for the new walkers, and more advanced climbing for bigger kids.

Also, if you are there on a busy day, fastpass is a lifesaver. And the Pooh park is in Fantasyland so you can hang out and play if you have to wait.

Also, I found Magic Carpets a much less wait than Dumbo the couple of times we went on it. It's the same type ride. (But if they really love Dumbo, that seems to always have the line).

It's ok to leave the park early and do it again the next day. Just keep the little ones pace.

And ice cream is a great calmer.

 

[Banshee]

whew!! I am feeling a little better my youngest DS who is 3, has become "high maintenance" His first time to WDW he was 18 months and an angel he enjoyed everything!! Except for developing a raging ear infection the last day we were there! But even through the doctor visit with an unfamiliar Dr. he was great! We made it almost to his 3rd birthday with no sign of the terrible two's, and then it hit him he is now experiencing the terrible three's!! I have been contemplating our trip (we leave Nov.1st) and wondering what to do with him. I am hoping that since he is older that he will really enjoy it. He has been telling everyone "yeah I go Disnee world" Thanks to the original poster for asking the question and everyone else for the advice.

 

[estherhead]

I think you'll be surprised. If you follow all this great advice, you'll have a fab time. I've been with many different toddlers with dif. temperments and always had a great time. This year I am going with the bossiest 2 year old I've ever met and I know we'll have a great time. Disney is just so overwhelming in sensory stuff that they don't have time to be demanding. My two words are: Food & sleep. Give them constant food and don't skrimp on sleep and the Disney magic will take care of everything else.

 

[iliketoby]

The way to make her behave in WDW is to make her behave at home.

The best way to stop tantrums is to ignore them. When she starts, ignore her until she quits. Don't offer choices or bargain or back down. Don't try to calm her, or distract her. Let her have her tantrum. She'll quit having them when she figures out they don't work. It won't happen immediately, but it'll happen in about a week.

Don't reward her or thank her for stopping the tantrum. It gives the impression that behaving properly is something she should be thanked for, and not something that is expected.

Don't ever, ever change your mind because she is unhappy with your decision.

And for goodness sake, don't threaten with punishments and then not follow through.

A kid who is well-behaved at home (and well rested, hydrated, etc.) will be well behaved other places, too.

 

[summersfam4]

I just wanted to jump in to help reassure you that you guys will have fun. Don't sweat the small stuff. We took a trip in September with our 2.5 yr old and I have to say that if anyone is high maintenance, she is. A good example would have to be last week when I was in my bedroom sewing and the girls (ages 2.5 and 6) were up front with Daddy, I suddenly heard screaming and jumped up worried only to realize what she was screaming about. My DD was screaming, "I want to flush it", but of course DH already had flushed the potty for her, so now she was mad, red face, tears, and yelling about flushing the potty She calmed down after a bit and had a snack before bed At Disney though, she was great, if we had to stand in any lines we would just look at the scenery, blow bubbles, or talk about the characters that she had just seen or was going to meet! It was perfect, she had one meltdown the whole trip and that was when she just got to tired and needed a good nap! Disney is wonderful at this age, our older DD went at this age too. Go, have fun, and just relax!

Kelly

 

[JoyG]

We took our 2.5 year old to Disney this summer.

Meal Time WAS THE WORST! In a week at Disney, he didn't sit or eat at any meal except for the last one at Hoop De Doo...go figure.

If he was going to have a tantrum, it happened at the restaurant! I wish I could have predicted that before I made all those PS's for sit down meals on the dining plan!

The ASMo food court worked out really well for us b/c they have cartoons playing in the dining area. We would choose a booth near the TV and let him play in that area while we ate.

He hardly ate anything the whole trip and we didn't fight with him, one week living off the stray animal cracker won't kill anyone.

We got up early and did the parks as soon as they opened. We didn't wait in any lines at all thanks to Tour Guide Mike so I don't know how he would have done with those.

He loved the characters, that was his favorite part.

Have fun, it can be done!

 

[BlondeAlligator]

I haven't read all of this thread, but I have been to WDW and back since my last post here. This is what I learned...

1. They will eat & drink when they get hungry. I thought my DD would starve, but she was fine. It's OK if they eat pancakes every day & Cheerios for dinner...just keep 'em going while you're there & catch up on nutrition when you get home.
2. Nap, nap, nap...every single day we went back to the hotel to nap. DD would sleep & we would, too, most of the time. This kept all of us refreshed. (We needed it, too, because doing WDW with a kid is a whole different animal than doing it as a couple).
3. Be prepared that your first day might suck. My DD had to kind of "learn" how to "do" Disney. I think the whole thing was overwhelming to her that first day...she'd never been anywhere like it & kind of freaked out in the Animal Kingdom. She needed to learn that there was more than one fun thing to do, that we would do something and that it would end and that was OK because something else fun was right around the corner...she finally "got it" that waiting in line always meant a good payoff...eventually we got a rythym down & she was so easy going by the third day she was waiting in line like a trooper, taking turns well, getting on & off the rides nicely & just generaly going with the flow. It occurred to us that we know what WDW and theme parks are all about, but she did not until we showed her...
4. Take juice and snacks into the parks with you. My DD would always ask for something to eat /drink at the worst times.
5. Character meals are the BEST! No waiting in line to meet Mickey...he comes to you! Our favorite...Chef Mickey's. Plus, DD was so engaged by watching the characters, even while they were at other tables, that she was really well-behaved. Plus, for sit-down dining, the meals really do go by pretty fast.
6. Pooh Playground...use it. We liked to get fast passes for Fantasyland rised & then kill the time in Pooh's playground. She loved it!!
7. When my DD would have a tantrum (and she did...if anyone here saw a little girl in Camp Minnie Mickey on 10/28 screaming her head off in front of the Daisy/Huey/Dewey/Louie statues, that was us) I just ignored it, same as home. I let her kick & scream on the ground until she started to calm down & then I calmly talked to her. Sure, I got nasty looks, but I refused to give her the satisfaction of reacting to her tantrum just because we were in public. Just stay calm and happy...
8. Know your child...dont force them to do anything. I saw so many folks dragging their kids onto scary rides & then scolding them for crying. I didn't get to do any of my favorite rides this trip, but I did ride the Pooh ride, like, 20 times. That was fine by me...this was my DD's first trip & I wanted it to be all about her. By going in with that frame of mind, we were cool with letting her chose what we did & we had a blast!

I hope my experiences will help you have a great trip. We had the best Disney trip of our lives because we finally had a child to share the World with. There's nothing like it! Just remember that, and you & yours will have a trip to remember! Don't sweat the small stuff...shake off any ickiness quickly & the memories you'll be left with will be all good!

Safe travels to you,

Allison

 

[Lauralee131]

What great words of wisdom! Thanks for sharing! We'll be going down at the end of January with our DS who is 4. I too am trying to tell myself that the tantrums will be pretty much unavoidable and am hoping that we'll be able to convince him to take daily naps, etc. He's just so excited to go that he actually ASKS to watch the vacation planning video and the trip is all he talks about.

Did you stay in the park? I really wanted to stay at the Contemporary because of it's location and the monorail but it's just TOO expensive! So hopefully I've got the next best thing - we're staying at the WL. I just wanted to be close to the hotel due to the small size of Michael's "meltdown window" when he's "had enough".

Thanks again for sharing...you've made some good points and I certainly will keep them in mind!

Lauralee131

 

[BlondeAlligator]

Glad to be a help! We stayed at the Poly, which was great. I've stayed at WL before, though, and I think yuou will really be happy there. The boat ride to/from the MK can be long, but at the same time, kids love boats and it's verey relaxing. The whole WL vibe is, in fact, very laid back, so it might help to ease the little one into naps, calm down time, etc.

I also forgot to mention that we brought a personal DVD player for the plane...we also used it at the end of the day leaving the parks. She would sit in her stroller with it & be calm & happy while we fought the crowds exiting. It took us 1 hour to get back to the Poly one night after fireworks, and she was perfectly happy the whole time. Other parents were jealous! Take one if you can!

Have a great trip & let me know if you have any other questions!