What we should make sure we pack with a 2 year old

[MrsJ Henry]

We have gone to Disney a few times but never with a little one.
OK moms...........
What are the most important (and even not so important ) items we should think about making sure we take with us.

Our daughter is 2 1/2 years old.

Also any tips would be great........

 

[cab0ad]

A straightjacket!

Just kidding. We're taking our DD who is 2 this June. I'd like some advice too!

 

[aheape1979]

We went last year when our youngest was 17 months old and are going back this year when she is 2 1/2. The things we could not have done without are:

1. Zip lock bags with an extra change of clothes in the park bag.
2. Sippy cups if still used
3. Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Bandaids, Cortizone, Neosporine. . . pack a FULL medicine kit! You never know what you're going to need and don't want to have to go offsite or pay an arm and a leg at WDW.
4. Definately pack or rent a stroller. If you can bring one, have one that reclines so that your little one can nap in the parks if needed.
5. Juice boxes! We packed a 9-pack of apple juice boxes for the 4 days we were there. We used them all in the first 3 days. It was still hot in September, and we gave her a snack of goldfish crackers and/or cheerios and a juice box every 1 1/2 to 2 hours between meals. It will save you a fortune! I paid about $2.50 for the 9-pack. They are over a dollar each in the parks!
6. Collapsible cooler (I used my breast milk pump cooler. You could use a cooler the size of a 6 pack. We put the juice boxes in the fridge at the resort, then in the cooler every morning. THe cooler went in our park backpack.
7. Hat/ Sunscreen/ Sunshade

I'm sure there's more. I will reply when I think of them.

 

[PeterPanLover06]

I don't have kids and have never been to WDW with a 2 year old. However, this summer I am going with my family, and one of the people going is my 2 year old niece.
My sister has already started planning what to take for the 2 year old--she also has a 7 year old daughter and a 5 year old son. So, she has a lot of things to take for the kids since they're all young. Her and I are both going to have small backpacks on, so it'll make it easier for all of us.

Some of the definites on her list:
camera (DUH hehe)
Dora the Explorer gummie snacks (they are the 2 year old's favorite)
sun screen
handi wipes (for those sticky foods/snacks when a napkin just doesn't cut it)
miniature fan

I know there's a lot more on her list for all of them, but those are the ones that come to mind off of the top of my head.

 

[DISNEYNV]

First of all make sure you have lots of battery backup and muliple memory cards for your camera because you will need it! Two is a great age to take the little ones but expect to pack like you are going on a month long safari

Pack clothes for every occassion. Short sleeves and shorts plus a few pair of jeans and a sweatshirt or light coat for nightime. Sandals and sneakers. Water shoes for the parks and pool, swim attire, water wings or swim vest and lots of swim diapers and sunscreen! Stroller rain cover for wet weather too.

A few favorite snacks, comfort item(s), disposable sippy cups, little juice boxes, backpack for you for all toddler items for parks, sunglasses, travel wipes and antibac hand gels, changing pad (if needed still), toddler harness (if your lido is a wondered), a few Disney tshirts or pajamas (buy ahead of time at Walmart or Disney Store, a few diversions for the plane ride ( such as coloring book, stickers, or mini packs of playdough), any childrens Tylenol or small thermometer from home in case of illness(hopegully won't have to use it while on vacation) and also... Uuuummm, that is all I can think of that we pack all the time for our kids.

 

[Keegansmommy]

Snacks, snacks, and more snacks! They're a lifesaver!

Our little guy likes to throw plates/bowls off the table, so we found some placemats that stick right to the table. I hate setting his food right on the table, so these are great! He loves Elmo and we found Elmo ones at Wal-Mart!

 

[tlh0726]

diaper rash cream

Went on vacation last year, used the indoor pool at our hotel which had way to much chemicals in it. Poor DS2 got so red and irrated. Could not find diaper cream in any the convience stores that were still open. It was a long long night. Never will leave home without it again.

 

[Stasieki]

When we went, we made sure to have some Gerber Graduates that you don't really need to heat up. I think those pasta pick ups and meat sticks (my DD loved the meat sticks - yuk). Also, the little diced up carrots. They were a great way for her to eat a good meal when she was ready and not have to wait if the reservations were late.

 

[brie182]

ear plugs (if scared of loud noises, my daughter wears them at the fireworks)
outlet plugs
some dish soap/sponge to clean out sippy cups

 

[brockash]

One thing that I hadn't thought of until someone mentioned it on one of these boards was a soft cooler pack (I can't remember what it's actually called, but it's insulated to keep bottles/sippy cups cool.) I'm so glad someone mentioned that, and I got it. I ended up getting the larger version (to fit 4 bottles/cups) because that's all they had left, but I was very glad that's what I got. It worked great last Sept. for my DD (then 17 months) bottles. We plan on taking it again this Sept. (DD will be about 2 1/2.) We use it all the time at home too, for trips to the zoo, or road trips. I highly recomend taking one. You can just throw ice packs in it in the morning with the cups and you're good to go.

 

[debdebdebby13]

Great thread! My DD will be 2 years 9 months when we go next month and I've been wondering the same thing!

 

[MrsJ Henry]

These are great!!! Keep them coming!!!

 

[DISNEYNV]

Disposable bibs. I used these with DS and it was so mug nicer than carrying a yucky bib around. I will get the placemats as well for this next trip

 

[brie182]

Disposable bibs. I used these with DS and it was so mug nicer than carrying a yucky bib around. I will get the placemats as well for this next trip

Disposable wash clothes work great too. They come with the soap on them and everything!

 

[Disneychix]

Last year we went with DS who was 19 months. We are going again in 2 weeks

We will be bringing back:
1. light up toys purchased at TDS or Walmart/Target. Ours is a light-up fan with Mickey and Buzz. This worked great as DS used them to keep occupied on the HM and POTC when otherwise he might have been a bit afraid.

2. Mini Misters. Little hand pump water misters. Really cooled down the whole family in the heat. (got a 3 pack at BJs)
3. Cheerios, gold fish, pop tarts, granola bars for room snacks.
4. Sunscreen, hat, stroller shade.
5. Swim shoes, those pool areas are hot and scratchy!
6. easy to fold stroller with a snack tray. I find the snack tray really important for my DS. He likes to sit back and relax and EAT. Plus, with the tray he could just stay in his stroller at many of the CS places.

7. many outfits, more than you'd think you'll need. They get wet, they get dirty, they get sweaty!
8. Small bottle of dish soap for cleaning cups, plates and utensils.
9. I did try the hanging shoe rack for organization and it worked really well for me. I was able to put all the odds and ends (sunscreens, hats, brushes, makeup, cups) in one place but off the sink counter area.

 

[Fall1]

I'm subcribing to this thread for some tips too.....we are taking our 2 1/2 old twins in either October or November...thanks!

 

[cj1019]

We have been going to Disney with my 5yr old since she was 2. I always took a box of the zoo pals kids cutery. They are kids sized plastic forks and spoons. It was much easier for her to feed herself with these then using the big silverware at dinner. Then I just left them at the table to be thrown away.

Also if you are taking a sippy cup don't forget a little bottle of dish liquid so you can clean it out. I found some Dawn dish liquid cloths that worked really well.

 

[PrincessMickey]

Pack a few water toys for the bath and the pool. And anything special your child needs for both. DS hates getting water in his eyes and face so I make sure to pack his bath visor thing. Also a few toys for in the room. And a toy or two in your park bag for at the table.

 

[ktlm]

1. If you are flying in, you might check out Gardengrocer.com. We used them to avoid having to pack a ton of things. We had pull-ups; wipes; milk; orange juice; bottled water; fruit; fruit cups; and other snack items ordered and delivered to the resort (WL). It was great. It got there at the same time we did. No dragging the stuff or overloading the suitcases, and she had some of her normal/favorite things handy.

2. I would recommend some type of small snack items for standing in line. DD would decide after being in line for 15 minutes that she was suddenly hungry. Little boxes of raisins worked great.
3. I'm not a big hand sanitizer person and don't usually carry it, but we brought little bottles to the parks and used a ton of it because she was touching everything. Nobody got sick so I guess it didn't hurt.
4. We went through lots of wipes in the parks too. We ran out in the park and I had to go to the baby center and get more one day.
5. Disposable bibs-- those Mickey Ice Cream bars drip and stain (I know because she had a bib on and her clothes are fine- I didn't and mine aren't)
6. We also brought a sippy cup and a bottle of water into the park for her every day. The sippy cup worked well when the WDW drinks were too big for her to handle in her stroller or walking around, we could just pour some in her sippy cup.
7. Another lifesaver was a fold up potty seat (they are about $8 and fold into 1/4 and come with their own ziplock bag). DD won't sit on an adult potty seat, but would go as long as we had the fold up. Because I'm a bit of a germaphobe I got one to stay in the hotel room and a separate one to drag around for the airport and the parks. She had no accidents the entire time we were there, and had just potty trained herself 3 weeks before the trip.
8. One change of clothes just in case.
9. Sunscreen.
10. Obviously camera and video camera.
11. I used Body Glide on both our feet every morning before we left for the parks to avoid blisters. We each had our own stick. It worked.
12. You definitely want a stroller. DD will hardly ever get in a stroller at home not even at the zoo- we rarely take it anywhere. At WDW, she got in the stroller a lot. She had no problem with us pushing her around. She napped in it too. Also the stroller basket made it easy to carry some stuff. You should think about decorating your stroller(ribbons; bows; etc), so you can spot it easily and so others will not be as likely to mistake it for theirs and take it. I thought our stroller was unusual and didn't think we would see any like it, but we did. Once another was parked so close to ours that they or I could have easily grabbed the wrong one, but for the giant lime green bows on mine. I would reccommend only bringing things that you don't care if you lose if you plan to leave them in the stroller when you park it. We left some stuff in the stroller because we didn't want to have to carry it everywhere.
13. If you are flying- something to keep her occupied on the plane. Little books worked great for us. She got to pack her own little carry on of toys/things that she wanted in the hotel room and on the plane.

 

[PebblesMom]

We were at Baby's R Us the other day and found pouches of applesauce. I was going to use them next week when we are out, so not sure how they are, but I thought they were a great idea of something to take to Disney for a snack!