Disney with a 2 year old?

[starflyer59]

I have always wanted to wake up at Disney on Christmas morning. We will be at Disney Dec 21-26th. This will be the first time that we have taken our son who will be 2 years old in sept. Any tips on doing disney with a 2 year old?

We did not take our daughter to Disney for hte first time until she was 5 and then she did great.

[teambricker04]

I have a two and a half year old and a two month old and I think it is never to early to travel to anyplace... especially Disney!

My 2 year old will be going for his 5th time this November. We went last Christmas and had a blast... He was nearly two and did GREAT.

I just recommend bringing your own stroller that he can sleep easily in (the Disney ones aren't condusive to sleeping). Be prepared to lift him up onto rides and be flexible with your schedule. Bring snacks... you'll never know when he'll need one. Use the child swap.

My biggest tips are: Go slowly and eat often.

Good luck!

[tiaramom]

I can tell you this...
At age 2 , children live in a fantasty world and pretend is all they live for. So that being said ,
I took my daughter starting at age 8 months or so.. Now 2 1/2. She enjoys The Carosel at Fantastyland Mk and almost all the rides there.
Tiki room- Bear Jamboree- and The crystal palace is fab. for dinner( pooh and friends)
In MGM- Breakfast with jojo ( hollywood and vine) Kids love it at this age. Dont forget Playhouse disney live on stage- The kids dance about. My daughter loves to play in the sand too- and build- so depending on resorts chosen.
Think compact unbrella stroller for the buses.
Think Pop century resort - its a 2 yr. olds dream.
I hope this helps

[krose78]

We are going Dec 19-27th. We will have a three year old who has been to disney three times. When he was two he was excited about it but this year he is really excited about it. I would say before you go get him used to the characters, watch movies, etc.
I think with the lights, decorations and christmas feel he should have no problem having fun.
Just remember to go at a slow pace you don't want to overwhelm him.

[jonah'smom]

My DS's first trip was when he was 2 1/2. He talked about it for the whole year until we went back! Definitely take your own stroller, and you should be fine. He was very tired, and he slept through some things, but otherwise he did very well. Have a great Christmas trip!

[Trev&Ev Mom]

Disney is so child friendly!!! My 2 year old has already been once and is going again in October! My suggestions:
1.STROLLER!!! Can't stress that enough.
2.Go slow, not a race. Remember little feet have to work harder to keep up with adults!
3. Characters are scary to 2 year olds. They are much bigger in real life than on TV. Limit character breakfasts until you see just how they react to bigger than life characters.
4. Snacks and juice from home or store. EXPENSIVE if you have to keep buying disney snacks (even if on DDP)
5. Don't plan too much, just wing it as the day goes on and how your child does each day.
6.- CHILD SWAP - best thing Disney ever did!!!
7. Take tons of pictures!

Have fun!:mickey:

[Cozfamilyof6]

We took our 2 year and 2 months old twin girls last year and they had a blast. It helped of course that theie 5 year old brother was very familiar with ALL of the Disney movies/characters and was happy to share his 'expertise' with his sisters.

We stayed at the BWV and the girls loved the baby pool, and the atmosphere of the BW. They loved just about every ride at MK that they could go on. We must have done Small World, Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo about 5 times each.

There was less for them to do at Epcot and Disney-MGM, but they enjoyed the sights and sounds none the less (the gift shops in the parks were especially fun for them).

I recommend bringing your own stroller, snacks and definitely a few favorite toys from home so at the end of the day your son has something familiar to play with. Try to do at least one character meal - we loved lunch at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and friends.

And do try to take a nap in the afternoon or a swim, kids do get burnt out easily.

Go and enjoy!

[diznee_buzz]

We took our DS to MK when he was 21 months. He rode the Carousel, IASW, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, and loved Mickey's Philharmagic and the Country Bear Jamboree. Then we headed to Toontown and let him play at Donald's Boat and on the playground there. It was pretty crowded and we only stayed in the park for about 5 hours. He would walk right up to characters and say "Hi" - I have a picture of him hanging out with King Louie.

We went for 1/2 day at AK when he was 2 1/2 and he loved Affection Section, KS, Festival of the Lion King, and meeting the characters in Camp Minnie-Mickey. What was funny is that we ran into King Louis walking into the park and he ran back to me and wanted nothing to do with him. It was our first character run-in and we thought "Oh no! Things have changed!" But once he saw Goofy, Donald, Mickey, etc. then he had no fear (he loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). We took him to Chef Mickey's that night. Best $90 for bad food I've ever spent. :thumbsup:

The next day we went to MK again and we did all the attractions we did the year before. He seemed a little more skiddish at Mickey's Philharmagic, but then asked to do it again once we got outside. He also loved the Tiki Room and Buzz Space Ranger Spin this time around. Oh, and seeing Woody, Jessie & Bullseye in Frontierland! And Pooh's playground provided a nice break for us all.

He is now 3 and we are going for a 5-day trip in September (41 days - but who's counting?!) -can't wait to see how he enjoys MGM and Epcot.

Ditto what everyone else says - though we were fine with the Disney stroller - he took naps in it both days we were there (though the kid can sleep anywhere and through anything - thank goodness). I brought grapes, watermelon, raisins, crackers, etc. for snacks.

Have a great time!!:mickey:

[mickey&missy]

I can't really add anything to what the others said. You've gotten a lot of good info and advice so far.

I just wanted to say we took our son on his first trip when he was 2. He had a blast! We made a lifelong Disney fan that trip I think. Enjoy!!!

[starflyer59]

Thanks for all the tips. We are looking foward to his first trip to the world. We live about 2 hours away and go to Disney several times a year but have always left him with family or a baby sitter in the past. I think he is going to do good since his "sissy" will be there also. He loves his sister to death and if she walks away for anything...it is a total meltdown.

[jsdt]

Since your son loves his sissy so much see if they can sit together on some of the rides when possible. My son will be 2 in September and he also adores his big sister. When we were at Disney in June he takes his cues from her and when she is smiling and laughing he also does.

I know some small kids are afraid of the characters, but for him he loved them. He especially loved ones where he could grab their noses. Once again when he saw his sister going up and hugging them, that made them "safe" to him and he wanted to go there as well.