WDW "Training" for DD2 in Dec.

[LWatson]

I do agree w/ Sara and Allison on this. I think its a bit excessive. No matter how much you "train" a toddler there are always surprises and such. I was afraid of having one of those kids that freaked out when they saw santa and the easter bunny so I introduced pics of Santa and the Easter bunny b4 hand every year...what do you know...THEY FREAKED OUT. BUT, took them to Disney expecting the worst and got the best. They both did very well and loved seeing the characters...no crying or screaming at all.

 

[Picabo]

We are going back in December and we are already in training...TO WALK!...Believe me, those girls were pooped every night, and it was pretty tough walking and carrying a sleeping tot when you are about to fall asleep too! So, we started walking the neighborhood this week, and will continue at least 5x per week (we are only at 1/2 mile right now) until it gets too cold here to walk, then we will walk with the seniors at the mall in the morning That is the only thing it looks like you are missing...

THIS is the best advice I think I've heard. Didn't occur to me (DUH!) to build up their walking stamina - mostly b/c we are going to have a double stroller along. But I also envision (at least the first few days) protests to sitting in the stroller so building up that stamina is a GREAT idea! Not just for the kids, but us big kids too!!!

 

[alexb]

When we took our youngest daughter a couple of years ago and she was just over 2 y.o. we showed her videos on youtube. If you go to youtube and search on "disney world" and whatever you want you'll find a bunch of videos. We showed her videos of characters, rides and everything.

 

[RMulieri]

We took our 4 yr old to Dutch Wonderland and Hershey Park ALOT to get her used to it. We also made her walk and walk and walk every night with us. She never used a stroller.

 

[javamoma]

The first time we took DD she was 2 1/2 and we did all the mentioned above things. She still loves the DL Sing along and we still watch all the rides on you tube. She would get so excited when she saw a ride she recoginized from you tube! She couldn't wait to ride them.

Taking it too seriously? Who cares! Your training is all fun stuff anyway!

 

[AmyBWV99]

Have fun with the 'training' but don't take it too seriously. 2 years old is a completely unpredictable age, kids who have never before had issue with something can suddenly decide it's scary for no reason at all. Just being relaxed and going with the flow will make it a sucess. A 2 year old will totally feed off you're being stressed out over missing the perfect Mickey picture or not getting on Peter Pan on your only MK day.

We've been taking our babies since they were weeks old and I'd never go commando because worrying about what you're not getting to due to the melt down or poo issues, etc sometimes ruins what you're already experiencing. A 2 year old can find following a duck around world showcase for 20 minutes far more interesting than making Maelstrom.

The recommendations on sleeping in a pack n play or with other people in the room are good if she's used to sleeping in her own room alone that could cause some trouble. Some kids need practice at that, and napping in a stroller. I'd also make sure she's walked comfortably in all the shoes you're bringing. Extra set of clothes in your stroller each day is also really handy. Taking her to meals where she'll have to sit in a high chair for periods is good too and figuring out what it takes to entertain her thru the meal, does it take 4 books or maybe jsut 1 if it's a sticker book. That'll be good knowledge if you're flying too!

 

[hopeis]

We are planning on running a mini bootcamp ourselves... we are lucky enough to have a great University with lots of tunnels and skywalk that we can walk through. Building up my 6 year old's walking. We will have a sit and stand stroller too. AND we plan on taking a few mini trips to the mall to walk through crowds while it is busy... and not the most pleasant people. That is more training for my hubby and me!