Trip itinerary for 2 year old

[Reese'smom]

We will be taking our daughter for her first disney trip in Sept. She will be a little over 2 then. We will be going Monday through Friday. Can anyone suggest the best plan of how to use our days? We havent done Disney in YEARS so I dont know if there are better days to go to a certain park. thanks!

 

[wdw71]

We took our 18 month old and 4yo in April. This was our first trip with our kids and it was a GREAT trip. My best advice is just don't expect to see everything. If you go with this mind set you will not be disappointed. You will have extra bathroom breaks and more drink/snack stops and then there are the characters stops which all take more time than you think. There will be a melt down or two you will need to deal with and this may require doing something not in the plan (like waiting in line for Dumbo again in the middle if the crowded afternoon).
We decided before we left which attractions were absolutely the most important to see in each park and the rest was just icing on the cake for us. Take advantage of the small play areas in the MK (pooh's playful spot in FL and Donalds Boat in TT) so the little one can get out of the stroller and run off some steam. Oh- Take your own lightweight stroller and disposable sippy cups
We did not take the "afternoon break" that so many people recommend but we never saw any fireworks because of it and that was ok with us. This next trip we are going to try the break on several days so that we can see Fanstasmic and some fireworks.
I was also surprised at some of the attractions my kids really liked. For example we rode Spaceship Earth and Carousel of Progress like 3 or 4 times across our trip. Both kids loved those rides.
Try the UG book it is a great resource and touringplans.com will help with the best days for each park and crowd levels
All that said, there is nothing like seeing WDW through the eyes of a small child, it is THE BEST!

 

[arielmomma]

I agree with the post above. Just relax and don't plan on doing everything. At 2, my son had to ride "Its a small world" about a dozen times - it was his favorite! He was so fascinated by it - It was fun to watch his face.

We also never take afternoon breaks. We allow our daughter (who is getting ready to turn 2 and last went at 1 1/2) to take naps in her stroller. Just pace yourself accordingly. We generally only do one park per day. It is plenty to keep up busy!

I do recommend on hot days that you plan on a TS meal in the middle part of the day. It gives the kids a chance to cool off, fill their bellies, and they tend to nap more comfortably. At least that is what we found.

Have a great trip with your 2 year old! We will be going in 3 days with my DS5 and DD2. I'm sure we'll both have great trips!

 

[tpettie]

We too just went this past Dec with a 2.5yr she was the life of our party excited to see everything loved the charater dinner we would do. She had no fears at all and would ride anything we could get her onto. We also didn't do the afternoon breaks except for one day in the middle of our trip and that was more for the big kids who were wanting time at the resort other than to sleep. We went early to the parks for rope drop. Stayed for fire works as it was low season the parks closed early. We had the best time and are now planning trip two to take the kids who we didn't take with us the first time of course they two year old is comeing back we need he smiles. I have an excel file with what ride to do when my plan was for a wide age group mostly 9-adult with a two year old in the mix. if you would like a cope PM me.

 

[Wendybird55]

I took my son for the first time last September about 3 weeks before his 2nd birthday. As PPs said - don't stress over it and take the trip at your own pace. Your daughter will let you know what she likes and doesn't.

September can be hot so I made sure I had sun screen, water/juice, a change of clothes and some of his favorite snacks with me when we were in the park.

He LOVED the play areas in the different parks. Pooh's Playful spot, Donald's Boat, Dinoland. It was great. The areas are pretty much enclosed with one entrance / exit so you can let your kid run around while keeping a watchful eye on them. They get to play with other kids their age and for an active child like my son it was a great way for him to let off energy.

I had a very basic itinerary for our trip. Simply what parks we planned to go on which days. I gave the most time to MK and none to EPCOT except for some dinners and Nemo ride. I also went to allears.net and reviewed the various menus so I knew which places would be best for my son. We were on the dining plan so the only other planning I did was make our dining reservations. I tried to pick restaurants that offered food that my son would like as well as a fun atmosphere for him.

Most of my planning was not in what to do each day, but what to bring and how to pack the stroller so I had what we needed and it was easy to lug on and off the busses!

As far as afternoon breaks - again, your daughter will be the judge. Some kids can sleep in their stroller. Some can go all day and then you head in a bit earlier. Some days my son took a nap in the afternoon and others he didn't. It will be a fun learning experience for all of you. Just familiarize yourself with the parks and different attractions and such and then go and have fun. We're going again this year in September and I'm really looking forward to it.