What did you around 16 month old love/hate at Disney?

[LglBlonde]

We are in the early early trip planning with our FIRST trip w/ our son. We've done two adult vacations before, but realize this will be a VERY VERY different trip!

I know all kids are different, but what is good for this age group? Suggestions?

 

[Princess Roo]

My 15 month old's favorites were honestly the boat at POR and the bus to the parks...followed closely by the monorail.

Honestly, be prepared for anything. Most likely, just about everything will fascinate him - it's so different from home and they just love taking things in at that age. At the parks, he loved just looking at everything (especially the fountains) in Epcot. At MK he loved Dumbo, Aladdin's carpets, Small World, and the carousel. He wasn't a big fan of the rides in the dark like Pooh and Peter Pan, though he didn't get upset either. At AK he fell asleep on the Safari the first time and then loved it the second. He liked just looking at the animals. He liked seeing the characters from a distance, but didn't want to get too close. He really liked all the action at DTD. He loved the hotel room and sitting at the table to eat his breakfast! The ducks and bridges and horses and waterwheel on the resort. It was just a blast watching him enthralled by everything new. It was definitely a "stop and smell the roses" kind of trip.

Just follow your son's cues...Hopefully unlike us you'll have a happy-to-nap-in-the-stroller sort, but if not, you and DH can always take some turns going back to the resort during naptime/bedtime while the other enjoys the coasters/fireworks.

 

[laughinplace199]

DS was 15 months on his first trip to WDW. He loved IASW, the carousel, Dumbo, the Playhouse Disney show, and Triceratop Spin. He went on plenty of other rides as well, but those were the ones that got the biggest reaction from him.

He also loved any mode of transportation , whether he was riding on it or just watching something drive by. One morning I put him in the stroller at OKW and walked around the resort trying to get him to fall asleep for his AM nap. He would just about nod off and a bus would drive by and he'd be all excited to watch the bus. Then he'd relax and be almost asleep and a golf cart would go by. You get the picture. No nap that morning!

He was very nervous around the characters at first, but he warmed up to them after a few days and even let Mickey hold him at CM.

Have a great trip with your little guy!

 

[disneyworldmama]

My dd was 18 months when we went in November. She has sensory integration dysfunction and I was terrified she wouldn't have a good time. She doesn't handle new situations well. To my surprise she loved it! She had a great time and didn't really hate anything about it.

I would just watch for signs of your child getting tired or whatnot so you can make sure to take him to the hotel for a nap. I think he will really enjoy it! Don't be stressed or worried b/c the child will pick up on that! It will go fine!

 

[mom2alix]

We took both our kids at 18 months and it is a GREAT age. They are so cute and everything is magic to them.

Go over to the WL to see the decorations. Every toddler in the area LOVES running over the little bridge over the stream in the lobby. At that age I swear my kids could have spent hours just going back and forth over that bridge!

My kids also loved the Winnie the Pooh ride, It's a Small World, the carousel, and Playhouse Disney Live! On Stage. DS really enjoyed the Motorcars show at MGM too. DD's favorite thing at that age was watching the Trolley performers on Main Street.

Just be prepared that every child is different. DD was terrified of the characters except the Princesses where she could see their faces and know they were a person. OTOH, DS was terrified of the people and thought the other characters were just HUGE teddy bears. I had to drag him off them because he wanted to hug on them forever.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[LglBlonde]

Yes, I've heard it's good to expose your kids to local "characters" prior to going to gage their reaction, such as the Chick Fila Cow, or local ball teams mascots and things. LOL.

Thanks guys, you are really helping! We had planned to go with another family, but they may back out and I want to convince myself it's still worth it for us to go as just the 3 of us!

 

[Princess Roo]

DEFINITELY still worth it to go.

If you enjoy traveling with either your or DH's parents, you may want to consider inviting them. I completely understand this isn't for everyone, but we took my parents on that first trip and I'll never be able to top that gift to them!! My mom still can't talk about it without tearing up. Plus, it gave DH and I the opportunity to have a "date" one afternoon during naptime and one evening after DS went to bed. (We got 2 connecting rooms.)

 

[LglBlonde]

Princess:

We are considering inviting my mom to go, especially if our friends back out! I don't think she'd be much up for all the walking and the parks, but she'd love to be there to be with DS! and to babysit!

 

[bellarella]

DS went at 16 mos and loved the following:

Buzz Lightyear
Dumbo
Aladdin
Pooh ride
Playhouse Disney show
People Mover
Small World
Peter Pan

He didn't like:
Little Mermaid Show
Lion King Show

We didn't do anything too fast or too long with him (we walked out of the two shows we did try).

He did, however, like Philharmagic and I was even able to hold up the glasses for him once in a while and he tried grabbing at stuff

 

[penguincrazie]

My DD went at 9.5m and again at 17.5m, she loved everything. All the rides, the characters, and just walking around. She did not like having to hold our hands and not run free or being in her stroller too long. We are going back next week and I imagine we'll face the same challenges as we did last time and do anywhere. Just her not wanting to be in one place for any length of time (restaurants, lines, etc.). We just let her dictate what we do. If something has a crazy line and no FP we just skip it. We've been there before and will be there again. To me, its worth it just to be there and all the great pics we get.

 

[mom2alix]

Oh! I almost forgot the Pooh soft playground across from the ride, the kids LOVE that place - we could be there for an hour easily. Really nice area for a little one and only the one exit so a good place to let them run.

 

[ssferguson79@yahoo.c]

Our DS are very close in age! Elijah was born 8/25. We are taking him for his first trip in September. We are putting all expectations behind and letting him set the pace. We are going to the princess storybook dinner. I think it will great pictures of him with the princess'. And He probably will not want to go next time.

 

[tjmw2727]

Our first WDW family trip was when my youngest was 15 mos, my oldest 2 1/2 and it was so magical.

My youngest rode everything without a height restriction and loved it all, during that trip her language really just exploded. She referred to most of the rides as boats (many of them are she would ask for "more boats" or "boats again". She loved the haunted mansion for some reason liked the pop up ghosts - asking for "more funny men".

I would recommend a fully reclining stroller for the occasional nap at the park and a snugli or sling for lines and pavillions where strollers aren't allowed. A break from the parks for nap and pool time also does wonders for the entire family.

When my dd's were small we always did a nice bath after a swim and headed out to a park for the evening with pjs in the backpack. This way, after dinner we could change the girls, give them a sippy cup of milk and put them into the stroller for the evening. This worked great at Ecpot where a leisurly stroll around WS had them asleep in no time so DH and I could enjoy some of the live entertainment and have some time "to ourselves" withouht even leaving the kids.

If your going during the warmer months consider an extra clip on umbrella for shade and maybe a clip on fan. My kids liked the fan for breeze and also when sleeping it was a bit of white noise.

allears has a great section on traveling with toddlers you may find helpful as well. You can find it here:
http://allearsnet.com/pl/infant.htm

TJ

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Our 18 month old son enjoyed climbing on the park benches and checking all the trash cans (pat them on the side and give the flap a push). Then he'd stop at every little thing embedded in the walkways. We had to carry him or push him in the stroller if we wanted to get anywhere.

He didn't seem nervous on any rides except the teacups.

We went during free dining last fall. Very hot. We had an extra big shade on the stroller, and clip on stroller fan, and a mister fan. Our original plan was to let him nap in the stroller in the afternoons, but it was too hot. We went back to our room after lunch to cool off.

He was good in all the restaurants, but he particularly liked the Coral Reef.

We bought a half gallon of milk at CBR gift shop and kept it in our frig for his bedtime snack. Took disposable everything . . . sippy cups, spoons, bibs, etc. Packed some indv. applesauces. The gift shop also had bread & peanut butter.

My favorite character interaction was at the Garden Grill. He kissed Mickey on the nose. Also at the toystore at the UK in Epcot. In there you can meet pooh, tigger, & euyore. They visit often. We didn't have the camera with us so they just surrounded us giving kisses to our son. It was a special visit. We went back with a camera.

Also we got his first official hair cut at MK. That was fun.

 

[LglBlonde]

Thanks for the tips. The Allearsnet site is great too. I'd forgotten about that.

Fortunately, we are going in December. We've only been in the summer before. This is good b/c it will be cooler; and I'm excited about seeing everything decorated for Christmas. We got the 40% room from back in January; and we added Free Dining.

I'm such a "planner" that I know we can start w/ ADR's in a couple of weeks, so I'd like to start working on a game plan for which parks which day/ which restaurants, etc.

I know our son is only 10 months old (officially tomorrow!), but so far, he is a very laid back, very happy baby. We took him for a long weekend over Memorial Day, and he did great. He's pretty go with the flow. I'm sure we'll do a few more long weekend trips between now & then. We may also go to Texas to see my brother. We've also taken him to Florida to see my grandparents. Oddly, as he's gotten older, it's actually seemed easier to travel with him. This past weekend was the first trip where he has napped and slept REALLY well (normal schedule) in a pack-n-play.

 

[ehrn]

my son loved any fountain anywhere--esp the one in DDD to the side of once upon a toy and the stitch that sprays water at world of disney. he loved the soft playgrounds--pooh and the one in toontown. for as long as i live i hope i always remember the sight of him scampering off to go down the slide!!! he LOVED breakfast at crystal palace too. we are going back and he'll be 2.5 and i think much more timid and "scared" of things this time.
enjoy your trip!!