To go to Disney seems impossible

[alicenwonder99]

When my 3rd child was 2 1/2, he was afraid of EVERY ride at DL, except Its a Small World. We all took turns going on that ride with him...must have been about 30 times in a few days. This boy even cried on the Winnie the Pooh ride...lol. (see, I'm laughing about it now)

So, be prepared for anything with a 2 year old. I would also plan on you and dh splitting up for part of the trip. The other children can enjoy the parks with one parent, while the other parent rides IASW over and over (lol), or stays at one of the play areas for a couple of hours.

Have fun.

 

[poohfriend]

HE too is a HANDFUL (both hands)!

He was great. Now I won't say there were moments, but for the most part he was so happy to be there. He liked riding in the stroller. (We went ahead and got a double and my 7yo and 5 yo rode with him some.)

Have a plan. Follow it. Include rest breaks.

I suggest: get up early, be at the parks at opening -- concentrate on rides, eat an early lunch, go to hotel room (get rest if you are 2, 42 or 92), and then enjoy a park in the evening with dinner and shows (combined with a few fast passes). Take the toddler back to the hotel before fireworks when possible. You can't do early mornings and late nights, no plan one late night and sleep in the next morning!

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

First things first, I strongly agree with what a pp said about arranging for a sitter for at least a few hours. You need a break. I tended to be a bit of a martyr when it came to taking care of my very high maintenance princess. She was just such a handful, I always felt bad about asking other people to do it. I then got some very good advice. My best friend looked at me and asked me if I thought my kids deserved the best. I answered "of course". She then asked if I thought I was usually the best person to care for them, I again answered "of course". She then smiled and said "well, I guess you had better take better care of the person caring for them!" It gave me the emotional "permission" I needed to say I needed a break once in a while.

Secondly, with my DD, I found myself making so many adjustments to accommodate her temperment. We were planning a trip to the beach just before she turned two and I wasn't sure I really wanted to face it. I was sharing my feelings with my mother one day and she said something that sort of changed my perspective. She reminded me that when our children are born, they join us in OUR lives. We are the parents and we decide how our lives as a family will be. It gave me just the boost I needed to say, yes, we are a family that likes to go to the beach. And she will have to learn to make some adjustments. I didn't have very high expectations of a two year old (and still wouldn't) and I'm not sure if it was the fact that she just matured a few more months or if it was the slight change in my outlook, but the trip went fine.

Good Luck! I'm sure your trip will be wonderful.

 

[PeachesDoesHair]

In September we went with my dd3 and ds1. Ds1 is very attatched to mamma. He always wants to be held. I found that when we are Disney he was much more managable. He got excited when we put him in the stroller (he hates the stroller) because we were leaving and doing something all day everyday. For him and my daughter simply getting out and doing stuff really seemed to keep them happy. I think if you guys just stay flexible then you will be fine.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

My youngest will be almost 3 on our upcoming trip. I think she will do well.
We went to Orlando and visited Mk for a day when she was 1. She was and still is alot more difficult than any of my other kids were, but she did great there, she loved the stroller and the characters. For this trip we'll plan on taking pool breaks after lunch, and a nap if any of the kids will take one. I recommend splitting up too for a little bit if neccesary, I know my dh would love to take a nap in the nice cool room with dd2 while I bring the other kids to the pool. Good Luck, you'll do fine. You'll Be In Disney World.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Thankyou to everyone for your experiences and advice. We definitely will get an early start and make sure we get a break after lunch. I was also thinking and many of you mentioned it was one parent take DD1 to room and rest and then the other continue on with the other two if they want to do more rides although I would try to convince them to go for a swim and rest a little bit.

I think we'll do ok and I'm probably not giving DD1 enough credit. She actually doesn't do that bad - its just shes not as laid back and easy going as the others. She will not stay in her stroller very long - she sees the others walking around and she wants to too. Right now she hates her stroller so I need to work on that too!

Thanks again!

 

[KristiKelly]

You are describing our 3rd to a "t". We have a DS9, DD6(almost 7), and DD 17 mo. She is much more of a handful than the 1st 2 ever were. She is so defiant and into EVERYTHING!!!

We were really worried when we took her to WDW in Sept. (14-1/2 mo. at the time), we thought she would do awful but she did GREAT!!! She loved the characters, the rides, everything about it. All the activity kept her occupied. You may be very surprised at how well she will do, as long as you keep her routine as consistent as possible.

I tried to make ADRs the same time we would normally eat at home. DD loves Pooh so we ate at Crystal Palace with Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, & Piglet - she loved it!!!

Just be sure to take it slow and remember - naps, naps, naps!!!

I am now in the planning stage for next years trip, she will be almost 2-1/2, I'm hoping she will be half as good.

 

[srgibbs]

My DD was 14 months the first time we went and my DS4. My DD came into this world with a mind of her own! She cried constantly, had colic, screamed if anyone but me picked her up. We couldn't let Grandparents babysit due to the pure torture she put them thru. We usually got paged at church because they could do nothing to make the child happy. All of the sudden when she turned 2 she became a lot happier person. She is still a handful but nothing compared to the early days. I was really worried about our trip but at the same time decided she was no longer going to control our family and keep us from doing fun things with our DS who is so easy going and happy. I was so surprised at how well she did. She rode all of the kiddie rides with us and hardly ever cried! I did pack lots of little snacks for times Ds was riding Splash mountain or Big ThunderMountain. We went back again this past Sept. and had a blast again. I would go and enjoy! She will be fine as there is so much she will be able to see and do. My only caution is the Restaurants. Try to do things that are quick and easy. Both trips the Restaurants that we ate at that were nicer took to long and she was bored so therefore we could not enjoy our meals and one of us would have to take her to the Lobby. Have a great time!

 

[disneymomto5]

I have a stubborn, handful daughter myself who just turned 3. We've actually been to Disney 3 times with her, and I'm planning on taking her without Dad's help in January (gulp) along with 2 of my other children. You've gotten lots of good advice. Don't expect your child to be angelic and plan on going slow. We've never stayed for a really long time (our max is about 1 week), and we just do what we can. And sometimes we split up if necessary. She did get worn out and slept some in the stroller, so I think that's a necessity. Good luck, and keep a positive attitude, it will be fine!

 

[trypnotic]

i feel that the only way for a child to know the proper way to act in public is to be exposed to different social situations.. restaurants, stores, parties etc...

I agree with this poster. As red in the face and embarassed as I am sometimes after taking DD2 & DS1 to a restaurant, I feel as though the only way they'll learn is from actual experiences.
As far as the OP goes, I wish you luck! For our next trip, we'll be taking DS1 and DD2, transitioning to 3.

 

[susykt4]

I haven't read all the other posts, but by my experiences, you could get lucky!!!! We took DS now 4 to WDW for the first time when he was a little over 2. My husband and I were so completely convinced that he would be awful that we planned out ahead of time who would take him back to the resort every day so that DD then 4 1/2 could have fun without little brat brother ruining her trip. DS SHOCKED us!!!! He absolutely loved Disney World and was the best behaved he's ever been in his life. We didn't have to take him back to the resort one time! The kid loved all the rides, all the characters (HATED "other" characters at home) and didn't even have one major tantrum all week. Truly the most magical place on earth!

We returned a year later and the ONLY problem we had with him was on the Family Magic Tour. He couldn't stand walking past all the rides and the scavenger hunt and games were above his level. Otherwise, he was amazing once again!

 

[shelly3girls]

You have already received some great advice but I just wanted to add that my middle DD is also quite a handful but honestly she is actually easier at WDW. We make sure she gets good naps and plenty of snacks and she is so busy that she is actually better behaved than at home where she can get in trouble.