WDW with a 3 and 2 year old

[Alice_on_WONDERland]

Hello All!

My husband and I are tossing around the idea of taking our toddlers, one is 2 and the other 3. Please help us settle our "argument"... are they too young to go?

If we take them, what are some of your favorite things to do with littles?

We would only be visiting Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom this trip.

Thanks in advance!

 

[wallskm]

We took our two at 3 and 16 months, so it's not too young to me! I guess it might be if it was a once in a lifetime trip, but if you know you will be back then I say go for it! There is so much they can enjoy. Most of the rides don't have height requirements so there is plenty they can ride, characters they can meet, etc. Mine also loved the Dig Site playground at AK and Tom Sawyer island at MK.

 

[vcoots]

I'm in no place to give advice, but we went for the first time when our daughters were 1 and 2. They had a wonderful time and we are headed back this year with them (ages 3 and 4), plus my 1yo son.

They enjoyed almost every ride and attraction we went on (there were just a couple that were dark and loud and scared them).

So I say go for it!

 

[Holly Quinlan]

Our son was 3 when we went in October and I think it was the perfect age. We did several character meals and we did the Pirates and pals firework cruise and the Halloween party and he loved everything. We did all 4 parks and rode just about everything except the big rides. Now he brings it up daily and asks when we are going back he is watching the Disney parks documentary right now and is pretending like he is there

 

[nugov2]

Hello All!

My husband and I are tossing around the idea of taking our toddlers, one is 2 and the other 3. Please help us settle our "argument"... are they too young to go?

If we take them, what are some of your favorite things to do with littles?

We would only be visiting Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom this trip.

Thanks in advance!

I think it is hard to say. Do you live close? I personally wouldn't fly and spend the money it costs at WDW if I wasn't just paying tickets entrance price. We did bring my 2yr old with my older two and he wanted to be out of the park by 1-2. Had very little interest in most of the rides(my poor mom had to ride small word 999 times and sit in Mickey's Philharmonic way too many times at MK) He wanted nothing to do with the characters(weird cause he loved sitting with Santa and the EB). Overall he had fun he wasn't miserable, but if the trip would have been just for him and I didn't have my older two...I would have thought it was a little early to drop thousands of dollars for that.

 

[Alice_on_WONDERland]

Thanks for your input! I truly value it. This is definitely not our last trip (or first for that matter). We have gone before with our oldest son, but he has always been school age when we've visited.

Since you're veterans of traveling with littles, do you have any good tips for me? Such as things to do and/or not miss, items to bring, etc?

 

[Gillyrose779]

We went in sept with our 2 and turned 4 on the trip year old boys. I thought it was great. I will say we spent most of our time at HS and Epcot. If they are Disney Jr fans then HS is a must with their Disney Jr show and character meet greet meal at Hollywood Vine Dine. We liked Epcot bc it wasn't over stimulating for them and they loved the "big ball" ride, figment, nemo, and all the world showcase rides.

 

[SamSam]

This past year we took our twin grandsons, they were 2 1/2 the first trip and almost 3 the second trip. They loved Animal Kingdom; the Safari, looking at the animals, The Lion King show, playing the drums, etc. at different locations through the park, AND the parade. Absolutely loved the parade both times. Their absolute favorite thing to do was the splash pool at Kidani (where we were staying), we did it every day and it was the absolute hightlight of their trip.

At Magic Kingdom, it was the train, the paddle boat, It's a small world, caught some of the shows, which they enjoyed.

They also love the characters, but I think that was because we showed them video's of kids interacting with characters before we left.

When you take young kids I think it's very helpful to go with a laid back attitude. If they need to rest, you rest. Just take things slow and easy and be prepared to change your plans if your little ones are having trouble. We loved going with our grandsons and were amazed that we didn't miss our usual touring style.

 

[Sparkly]

Just take them! I'm sure they'll have plenty of fun!

 

[tourguide81]

We don't let the ages of our kids dictate our traveling too much. I'm not worried about what they'll remember at all. Our first disney trip they were 3 and 4 months. This next trip they'll be 6, 3 and 6 months. We still went to all 4 parks and had plenty to do at all of them. Epcot is fine for little ones and I can't imagine not going to my favorite park while there! We do a decent amount of traveling and what makes it more doable is free flights (southwest or british airways) and other credit card points. Can't argue w/ free flights and free nights at the Swan! I suppose if I was paying full rack rate we'd do less in general.

 

[Woodmnky]

I think that is a wonderful age for WDW. We just got back with our son who was almost 3. He loved every minute of the vacation (well except for a couple of dark and/or loud rides, but he handled those pretty well).

The best advice I can give is to know your kids and your family and don't press everyone to keep going if they need a break. I know that it can be hard for some people to imagine not staying in the park open to close because they have paid a lot to be there, but depending upon your kid's & family this can result in complete meltdowns that ruin a lot of your memories.

You have already said that this will not be a once in a lifetime trip, so use this as a stepping stone for future trips and to create wonderful memories of your kids that you will have for years to come.

 

[ktlm]

DD's 2 and 3 year old trips are my favorites. Everything was real and magical. It was so fun watching her on those trips, and she absolutely loved WDW. By kindergarten, they have clued in to reality- and if they haven't, their kindergarten friends will be sure to clue them in.

We did one week long trip when she was 2 and we went for 2 separate week long trips when she was 3 (the year of big discounts). They are definitely not too young to go. It doesn't matter if they remember it because YOU will remember it - and those photos will last a lifetime. I don't get the whole won't remember thing. By that standard, they probably won't remember their first few Christmases or Birthdays either, but you don't just say- oh we won't buy them presents or celebrate because they aren't going to remember it anyway. DD(7) does still remember quite a bit from that first trip. She's been every year, so you would think it would all run together by now, but she is still pretty good at telling us what happened on which trip even when DH and I can't remember.

Our school age trips are fun, but they aren't totally magical and awe-filled like when she was small and everything was real to her.

That said- I only had one that age, not 2, so I can't speak on that! Ours was actually better behaved at WDW than she was at home. She was an extremely high energy kid so the pace of WDW worked great for her.

I will say though that at age 2 and 3, DD didn't care for AK at all. Her absolute favorites at that age were (and still are), MK And EPCOT. The reason she didn't like AK is probably because we have a really good zoo at home and she really didn't see the difference and didn't want to waste her time at the "zoo" when she could be riding rides and visiting Princesses. She was begging to leave AK and go back to MK or EPCOT by noon those 1st 2 years. If you don't have a great zoo at home, your toddlers might love AK.

 

[mrsdaly]

While I can't say from experience, YET, we are taking my 18 month old in 2 weeks. One of the reasons we decided to go now, is because it doesn't cost anything for him- free flight and no ticket, so what's there to lose? We figure we'll pace ourselves and just let him enjoy it - I'm planning but with the understanding that our plans may go out the window at any given time. I think that with him it may be the little things that he enjoys the most, but I'm so excited to experience it through his eyes.

 

[Lisa0806]

just got back from our trip with our 2 and 5 year old. I was not sure going into it about the younger one, but he absolutely loved it! We just got back Sunday and he keeps saying he wants to go on nemo ride and doesnt quite understand that its not that easy to just hop back on plan and go back to ride nemo ride He loved the characters and all the rides. At MK his favorites were Winnie the Pooh and dumbo, at animal kingdom he enjoyed the fining nemo show and the tricertops spin ride, and the safari ride, at Epcot he absolutely loved the nemo ride and kept asking to go back on it (and he's still asking) (and funny thing is he had no idea who nemo was before our trip but he just loved all the nemo related stuff), we also spent a few days at universal as well and he loved the Suess area at Islands of Adventure. Also keep in mind that any rides that your kids are too little for, you can do a parent swap where they give you a ticket to come back for the other parent and you get to go in fastpass line so you dont wait in long line. We took advantage of this alot! Great to be able to still enjoy the rides even when our kids couldn't. This didnt really seem advertised but I had read that on these boards, just ask at the front of the line and if available they will give you a rider switch pass. Enjoy.

 

[Alice_on_WONDERland]

DD's 2 and 3 year old trips are my favorites. Everything was real and magical. It was so fun watching her on those trips, and she absolutely loved WDW. By kindergarten, they have clued in to reality- and if they haven't, their kindergarten friends will be sure to clue them in.

Fantastic point! I didn't even think of this since our oldest son was past this age when he first went. Our 3 year old daughter will be facinated!

They are definitely not too young to go. It doesn't matter if they remember it because YOU will remember it - and those photos will last a lifetime. I don't get the whole won't remember thing. By that standard, they probably won't remember their first few Christmases or Birthdays either, but you don't just say- oh we won't buy them presents or celebrate because they aren't going to remember it anyway. DD(7) does still remember quite a bit from that first trip. She's been every year, so you would think it would all run together by now, but she is still pretty good at telling us what happened on which trip even when DH and I can't remember.

I agree with you completely! My husband is of the "they won't remember anything" persuasion. I on the other hand want to experience the memories of taking my ONLY daughter to WDW and making those lifelong memories of her very first trip.

Our school age trips are fun, but they aren't totally magical and awe-filled like when she was small and everything was real to her.

That said- I only had one that age, not 2, so I can't speak on that! Ours was actually better behaved at WDW than she was at home. She was an extremely high energy kid so the pace of WDW worked great for her.

I truly appreciate your input. You have brought up MANY valuable points. I read this whole reply OUT LOUD to my husband

 

[dsnymomof4]

Another vote for taking them! There is something truly magical about seeing Disney through a toddler's eyes. Watching their eyes light up when they see a character they like, or riding on Dumbo for the first time - while they might not remember those moments, I bet that you will.

One suggestion I would have is to take it slow and let them roam around. One of DS6's favorite spots when he was 2-3 was the Winnie the Pooh play area (that has since been removed). However, even last month, he enjoyed going into Pooh's house outside of the ride. They have other play areas around - like the one by Splash mountain - and in AK the boneyard. The younger kids seem to really enjoy these areas.

Hope you go - and have a wonderful and memorable trip!

 

[nyybball2]

I went when my triplet boys were 2 yrs old and they loved and remember things that I would never thought they would. Even if they remember nothing I would of done over because our memories of watching them react to things were priceless. Just make sure they get naps. We would find a quiet shady spot in their strollers and my mom sat with them and let them sleep while me a DW went on the bigger rides.