What is there for 2 yr olds?

[Wish_I'd_known_Walt]

We have booked our first Disney Cruise for December. I'm nervous about what there is to do for my 2 yr old boy. Will we need to be with him the whole time or will we get to do something else while he is doing kiddo activities?

 

[MSPeeler]

We have booked our first Disney Cruise for December. I'm nervous about what there is to do for my 2 yr old boy. Will we need to be with him the whole time or will we get to do something else while he is doing kiddo activities?

We just returned with our 20 month old. He was able to do the meet and greets, nemo's reef and the small world nursery ($9/hr) so Me and my husband could enjoy a movie together. He enjoyed the shows each night, but because we went to the late showing, he was kind of cranky by the end of it.

Other than the nursery, he will be with you at all times.

Honestly, because of that reason, we won't be cruising again till he is over 3 and potty trained and can enjoy the kids clubs!!!

Edit to add: my kid is a runner, so I was not able to enjoy any of the sit him down and watch him play activities. He just runs...

 

[aidtrismommy]

I have been with a toddler and it is just like any other vacation. I didn't use the nursery at all, I had extended family to help with naps. All the adults would sort of take turns going to the stateroom for nap time. We used the kids clubs during open house time. He loved the splash pads designated for the non-potty trained. He enjoyed everything that we enjoyed.

 

[michellekcm]

There are also activities that you can take him to - Wake Up With Disney Junior is a dance party early in the morning on (most?) sea days, there is Toddler Time every day on all the cruises I've been on, where a cruise staff member brings out toys and things for the toddlers to play with, at that age my son LOVED the shows and would cry each time one finished as he wanted to see them again, the Club has Open House every day, including some with character activities so he can interact with the characters, etc.

The Magic (and I'm assuming the others) now have a toddler play area where they can have fun while you sit and talk (on the Magic it's in the Promenade Lounge, so you can buy a drink, partake in trivia, etc while you're there).

My kids always loved the live music at that age, and would dance to the bands. Especially in the Promenade Lounge or atrium before emails.

I'm not sure what they do for Christmas, but I'm sure there will be activities for that he can participate in too.

Just make sure you pre-book any nursery time you want. We book the nursery for any adult activities first - eg Palo, spa, etc., then after that we book a few dinner times. Eg if our dinner seating is at 5:45 then we book nursery for 6:45/7:00-ish for an hour. That allows him to eat, then one of us would run him up there so we can eat the rest of the meal in peace without him running around or wanting to go. That hour at dinner gives him his appetiser, entree, and dessert. We can then pick him up for the show.

 

[Wish_I'd_known_Walt]

Thank you all. Those are some good insights.

 

[ayz75]

My daughter took her first DCL trip at 2 years old. Like above posters said, she enjoyed the Nemo's Reef, Toddler Time (parents can sit and watch them and have coffee and cookies), night time shows, all the dancing events. We used the nursery once when we went to Remy's, and overall we had an amazing time. It's true they can't go to the kids club at that age but we don't plan to send her until she asks for it because she's extremely shy so putting her there wouldn't be a nice vacation for her. We enjoy spending time just watching her goof around, and if we really need some adult times, we use the nursery (or will have extended family this time to help)

 

[Wish_I'd_known_Walt]

Does anyone have any pictures of the toddler play area?

 

[FamilyHolidayPlanner]

The Magic (and I'm assuming the others) now have a toddler play area where they can have fun while you sit and talk (on the Magic it's in the Promenade Lounge, so you can buy a drink, partake in trivia, etc while you're there).

I didn't know this. Sounds very handy. Does anyone have a photo?

 

[MSPeeler]

Does anyone have any pictures of the toddler play area?

If you google image search Small World Nursery, I found lots of pictures of it. I don't know about the other toddler play areas. I have Nemo's Reef images in my cruise report.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/4-night-disney-dream-with-young-kids-5-23-5-27-2016.3517802/

 

[laceltris3]

We did our first Disney cruise with a 2 year old and did not utilize the nursery at all. He enjoyed the shows and movies, though he may have fallen asleep halfway through. He loved the special toddler times and the character dance parties. We split up on excursions so one of us would take the older kids to do something like swim with dolphins while the other did a relaxing beach break or butterfly center with the younger one(s). Disney cruises are still the little guy's favorite vacations.

 

[FamilyHolidayPlanner]

He loved the special toddler times and the character dance parties.

Are the dance parties reserved for little people, or do adults attempt to gate crash?

 

[laceltris3]

Are the dance parties reserved for little people, or do adults attempt to gate crash?

Mostly for kids, in our experience, adults hung around the perimeter watching. Once they got all the kids to hold hands in a circle, but the 2 year old stole the show by doing somersaults over and over in the middle. They have one on Castaway Cay as well.

 

[hnthomps]

Our 2 year old is pretty scheduled, and goes to bed early. There was no way we could have gone to any of the shows or done anything after about 8pm. So one of us was always stuck in the room with the sleeping children. We still had a fabulous time, but I wouldn't cruise with a kid that little again without extra grownups. She found "wake up with Disney Jr" really really loud, etc.
Trip report: http://www.disboards.com/threads/ca...ers-fantasy-swdas-march-2016-finished.3498981

But he will be with you any time you don't have him in the nursery, which, as noted above, is an extra $9/hour.

 

[bbel]

You can use the 'Open House' times in the kids clubs. Just remember an adult has to stay with kids during OH times, but you can use the slide, craft areas, computers, games, or just the floor space to run around (and the kids can too ) They're often pretty quiet (at least on the wonder and magic) so you might even get the space to yourself. There is at least one every day and sometimes there's programmes going on in them too, so you can go and make cookies or flubber, or go to mouseketeer training...