Toddler First Trip Must Dos

[TuneDisney]

We are taking our 2-year-old son for his first Disney trip this June! My husband and I honeymooned in Disney and were annual passholders while living in Florida (we moved the year before our son was born). We have always done Disney for adults - never through the eyes of a child, but are SO excited to take him.

So, the questions are - what are the absolute must-dos for each park?

We are staying at AKL - any recommendations on activities that are toddler friendly there?

Overall, we have watched a ton of videos on youtube and read some forums/websites regarding trips with toddlers, but still - any advice/tips/tricks?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

We are taking our 2-year-old son for his first Disney trip this June! My husband and I honeymooned in Disney and were annual passholders while living in Florida (we moved the year before our son was born). We have always done Disney for adults - never through the eyes of a child, but are SO excited to take him.

So, the questions are - what are the absolute must-dos for each park?

We are staying at AKL - any recommendations on activities that are toddler friendly there?

Overall, we have watched a ton of videos on youtube and read some forums/websites regarding trips with toddlers, but still - any advice/tips/tricks?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have!

the one that can upset your plans the most is a toddler afraid of characters. if you can go somewhere near your home with characters I would try before you head down. would also make any character dining ressies later in trip so you know what to expect and decide to keep. we have had grandkids go both ways some loved and others hated them

 

[ears2BWV]

Factor in a lot of pool time. Our grandkids enjoyed the parks at that age but they loved hanging out at the pool. We have a pool too, just something about going to the pool on vacation.

 

[sponica]

Everyone's kid is different so it's more about being in tune with your kiddo.

My across the board recommendations:
If you're doing sit down ADRs, schedule a time earlier than you would eat at home because the kitchens can be slow. Pack goldfish, other snacks, etc.

Both of my kids went the first time at 20 months. My oldest hated every ride we went on, so we just stopped going on rides...my youngest loved rides. They loved fur characters more than face characters.

 

[MamaMermaid]

I'd recommend pool time and playground time. The playgrounds at EPCOT are great and so is the one at AK. Go slow and take breaks. Stay cool and hydrated. Prioritize what rides matter most to you and keep expectations low!

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

My kids loved the Dumbo playground, small world, and Winnie the Pooh ride at MK. Epcot- fountains and Germany train. HS- Lightning McQueen racing academy. My son loved characters, my daughter was hit or miss at that age. The one thing they both hated at that age was the dark. Spaceship Earth was the worst.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Oh, also the horse barn at Ft. Wilderness was a big hit with my kiddos.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

Both of my girls went we they were around 18 months first. We found they could only do 4-5 attractions before falling asleep. They enjoyed MK and enjoyed the walking trails at AK. They both fell asleep during the safari. My youngest loved the little Nemo show at AK.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

A couple of things I've learned over our trips with little ones:

-The playgrounds/play spaces in the parks are definitely worthwhile. As an adult, it can be hard to "waste" time letting them play on a playground since we all have these at home, but Disney does some amazing play spaces, and the kids need the time and space to get their wiggles out.

-Splash pads are a must. I see you're staying at AKL, which has a nice splash pad. Some of the most relaxing moments we've had with little ones at WDW have been poolside (drink in hand) at the splash pads. It's nice knowing the kids are in a (relatively) safe space - obviously you need to still watch them closely, especially if the splash pad has one of those dump buckets, but it's a lot more relaxing than entertaining them in the big pool.

-If your kid isn't used to rides yet, try to work them in slowly. Don't go straight to Haunted Mansion, for instance, with a 2 year old. First try Small World and Peter Pan's Flight, then if kiddo is good with that, try Buzz. If they're still good, maybe try Pirates and Haunted Mansion. For rollercoasters start small - Barnstormer is a great starting point. Don't do what I did and take your kid on Slinky Dog right out of the gate she was a little traumatized and reluctant to try other coasters as a result, and I realize now we should have started with something tamer. This is probably beyond where your kiddo is at height-wise, but still a good rule of thumb.

-Don't assume your kids will be into characters. Before our oldest's first trip, I worried she'd be freaked out and she surprised me with her bravery. She did NOT like Goofy (too big, I think - she was 2.5 at the time) and she was nervous about meeting the Beast but gathered her courage in the end and went for it. My youngest, on the other hand, is generally fearless and a major people person - I thought he would have ZERO issue with characters, but he also surprised me - he was not into it at all. He liked Cinderella, but she was apparently the very special exception.

-Bring snacks. Yes, Disney has tons of snacks to buy, but sometimes you just need a cup of cheerios or a fruit pouch at your disposal to distract them/bribe them into the stroller/any other number of random uses.

-Bring a sound machine.

-Bring zip lock bags, especially if kiddo is still in diapers. There aren't diaper genies in the rooms or in the parks, but having ziplocks on hand to zip (or double zip) those dirty diapers into makes disposal a lot easier. I've never liked the idea of just dumping a gross diaper into a regular trash bin in the park, but sealing it up hopefully helps contain it all.

 

[Rory607]

-My kids loved the Crystal Palace character meal when they were little. The characters are so gentle and sweet with the kids.

-Small World was a huge hit with my daughter at age 2.

-The Nemo ride and the Seas building in Epcot has always been one of my kids’ favorite things at Disney, even as toddlers.

-Epcot is a great park to aim for a stroller nap so the adults can grab a drink and browse World Showcase.

-Has he ever been to fireworks? If not, bring noise cancelling headphones just in case. We learned this the hard way! I hid with a terrified, screaming toddler in the bathroom next to the fire station in MK. I felt awful. We’ve never traveled without headphones since.

 

[ArielDreams]

We took our son at just before 2 and again at 3. I learned a lot the first time around and made adjustments. The biggest being adding a non-park day in the middle to rest. On the 2 year old trip, we didn’t have that and Day 1 went great but slowly but surely by Day 5 in the parks his patience to wait was really thin and I think we ended up leaving the park at noon and just calling it a trip. He had much more stamina at 3 but 2 was tough.

On both trips, his favorite parts were the hotel and pool. At 2, his favorite rides were Triceratops Spin, Dumbo, etc.

As others suggested, pack lots of snacks. It was also helpful that a lot of kids meals at QS locations had an Uncrustables option and sides like apple sauce pouches or a fruit that we could just throw in the backpack for later. The 2 year old trip was still in the COVID times so a lot of character meals were not open yet. We did love Topolinos Terrace breakfast though! I would highly suggest it.

 

[TuneDisney]

Thank you all! I really appreciate all of the insight!

 

[Disney102015]

A first haircut at Harmony Barber shop, if he hasn’t had one already!

 

[choirbird]

A couple of things I've learned over our trips with little ones:

-The playgrounds/play spaces in the parks are definitely worthwhile. As an adult, it can be hard to "waste" time letting them play on a playground since we all have these at home, but Disney does some amazing play spaces, and the kids need the time and space to get their wiggles out.

-Splash pads are a must. I see you're staying at AKL, which has a nice splash pad. Some of the most relaxing moments we've had with little ones at WDW have been poolside (drink in hand) at the splash pads. It's nice knowing the kids are in a (relatively) safe space - obviously you need to still watch them closely, especially if the splash pad has one of those dump buckets, but it's a lot more relaxing than entertaining them in the big pool.

-If your kid isn't used to rides yet, try to work them in slowly. Don't go straight to Haunted Mansion, for instance, with a 2 year old. First try Small World and Peter Pan's Flight, then if kiddo is good with that, try Buzz. If they're still good, maybe try Pirates and Haunted Mansion. For rollercoasters start small - Barnstormer is a great starting point. Don't do what I did and take your kid on Slinky Dog right out of the gate she was a little traumatized and reluctant to try other coasters as a result, and I realize now we should have started with something tamer. This is probably beyond where your kiddo is at height-wise, but still a good rule of thumb.

-Don't assume your kids will be into characters. Before our oldest's first trip, I worried she'd be freaked out and she surprised me with her bravery. She did NOT like Goofy (too big, I think - she was 2.5 at the time) and she was nervous about meeting the Beast but gathered her courage in the end and went for it. My youngest, on the other hand, is generally fearless and a major people person - I thought he would have ZERO issue with characters, but he also surprised me - he was not into it at all. He liked Cinderella, but she was apparently the very special exception.

-Bring snacks. Yes, Disney has tons of snacks to buy, but sometimes you just need a cup of cheerios or a fruit pouch at your disposal to distract them/bribe them into the stroller/any other number of random uses.

-Bring a sound machine.

-Bring zip lock bags, especially if kiddo is still in diapers. There aren't diaper genies in the rooms or in the parks, but having ziplocks on hand to zip (or double zip) those dirty diapers into makes disposal a lot easier. I've never liked the idea of just dumping a gross diaper into a regular trash bin in the park, but sealing it up hopefully helps contain it all.

Doggie waste disposal bags are also excellent for this purpose! They’re designed to contain smells, and a roll of them doesn’t take up much space We use them for dirty diapers at home (not for wet) since we live in a small space.

 

[jtopp]

We recently took our 18 month old grandson for his first visit. We had lots of grand plans, so of course we got to do NONE of them. Of course, trips this young are more for the adults, but we had a blast experiencing things thru his eyes. Highlights included meeting Mickey at Chef Mickeys, riding Peter Pans flight, and getting his first set of ears (which he never took off). Can't wait for next time.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Doggie waste disposal bags are also excellent for this purpose! They’re designed to contain smells, and a roll of them doesn’t take up much space We use them for dirty diapers at home (not for wet) since we live in a small space.

This is such a great idea! I wish I'd known this earlier - we just returned two days ago from what BETTER be our last trip dealing with diapers

 

[GamGam]

We took twins during the week they turned two and had a good experience at Garden Grill breakfast--we only did breakfast sit-down meals since I knew they would like the food. Took a tupperware to save the extra fruit and/or bacon too. The walking characters were not too overwhelming and then we rode LwtL and saw the same 'scenery.'

 

[tee11]

We recently took our 18 month old grandson for his first visit. We had lots of grand plans, so of course we got to do NONE of them. Of course, trips this young are more for the adults, but we had a blast experiencing things thru his eyes. Highlights included meeting Mickey at Chef Mickeys, riding Peter Pans flight, and getting his first set of ears (which he never took off). Can't wait for next time.

This; you can make grand plans but don’t be disappointed if you get to do none of them. One of my kids did not like masked characters at that age. We had to shield them from view! Not easy at Disney! Toddlers will like and take interest in details that adults walk past and don’t even “see”. A flower display, a decoration on a building, a small fountain. The train display at Germany (Epcot) was a big hit, and we stayed there for a long time.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Just got back from a trip with my 3yo. One thing I learned that I'll do different next time is not make any ADRs for after nap. Her nap schedule was really different than home during the trip and one time I had to wake her from a nap for an ADR and oooo not a fun time. Also for our MK day we ate lunch at the QS in bay lake tower. It was empty, air conditioned, good toddler food options and she was excited to see the monorail pass by. It was a nice break from the park.