Toddler Tips?

[disneykidsince1970]

Hi all - Hubby and I will be bringing our just-turning 4 daughter and our just-turned 2 son to the World in early May. My sister (the other poster on this ID) will be joining us as well!! Before kids, sis and I stayed at GF (after saving for months) but this time...we are booked at Wilderness cabins so that sis can stay with us (w/o renting two rooms)and we can take advantage of the kitchen and... I am hoping the cabins are a bit more subdued in the "Disney" dpt as hubby isn't a full convert yet. :)

Goals of this trip are to give the 4 yo a bday she will never forget, having breakfast with Cindy and the girls in the castle on her bday - as well as letting our 2 yr old experience as much as he can w/o breaking his neck (he is a bit of a monkey). AND... to make it as relaxing and flexible as possible (needs to be a stated goal as I am totally typeA) so that Hubby won't balk when I want to go back every 12 months. :)

So... I am looking for TIPS!? :fingers:

Ithink we've decided on 2 single umbrella strollers. Other than that... I am open for it all!

Many many thanks to all of you in advance...I am SO STOKED! :mickey: :cloud9:

[Sam&Alex&Josh'sMOM]

Went last September with a 2 and 4 year old DD's. We took a sit stand stroller and it was great! Older DD Could walk, or stand or sit and be pushed. We took time to let them enjoy the little " water areas" and brought extra clothes.

Just a warning about the "boneyard"play area in AK.. DD4 we nt in and turned one way, I went the other... and we lost each other for a few moments... it was the worst few moments of my life. Fortunatly a "Mommy" found her crying and made her sit still on the ground in one place until I found them. I could have given that Mommy a million bucks for taking the time to sit with my girl!... It is a play area with a lot of hide holes and it is difficult to follow your child UP the playscape net area if you dont want to go down the slide yourself! There is one CM monitoring the in and out gates... and while I was there, that one CM was chatting away withsomeone and not paying attention or even LOOKING at the exit gate... any of the kids could have run out without a parent... and that CM would have not known a thing!

Ok that being said, 2 & 4 are great ages... DD4 was scared of the snow white ride... so we skipped it. We didnt do the "mid day nap thing" we just let the girls sleep as long as they wantd. got going,,, did an early ADR for dinner each night ( like 4:30/5pm)and stayed as long as they could handle and left at the sign of cranks. We made it to Wishes 1 night an Spectromagic parade another night. The day that we had tx for MNSSHP we relaxed during the day and swam... and got to the park for 6 ish.

You will have a GREAT time!!!

[BamaJenn]

We've been taking DS since he was 10 months old. He'll be 3 the day we arrive for this next trip.

Probably the biggest question to consider is what time of year are you going? Are you going during a time of year that is especially hot and humid? If so there are definitely some very specific tips for that time of year. Are you going during a holiday? Etc.

For me, it seems the younger they are, the less "scared" of the stuff that just looks like it'll be scary they are. DS was never afraid of HM or SWSA but on this last trip in January he refused to do them out of fear. They go through phases. He was also never afraid of characters but was this time around. Based on that I'd say the best tip is to take it slow. Don't push them to do things they don't want to do or you'll just frustrate yourself and them.

[wire0monkey]

Just a warning about the "boneyard"play area in AK.. DD4 we nt in and turned one way, I went the other... and we lost each other for a few moments...

The same thing happened to us. My four year old son left the playground, though, and went out to look for me. I found him over by the ice cream stand.

Here's my best tip for little kids. We get up early and do a sit-down meal at a breakfast buffet, sometimes with characters. (Boma, Cape May Cafe, Crystal Palace, etc.) The sit down breakfast lets us get our coffee and food and fuel up for the day. We go to buffets because we can give the kids their food as soon as we have a table. When my youngest was under 3, he ate as much as he liked at the buffet for free.

We don't stress lunch, too much. If the kids have a good breakfast, we can afford to be more flexible and what and when they eat while we're in the parks. We usually get counter-service a little later than we would eat at home, and it works out very well.

We don't make plans for sit-down dinners because by the end of the day, the kids are tired and just not able to sit still for dinner. I've tried it a few times and it just didn't work for us. One of the adults always has to take one or more kids out, and the adults end up tired and frustrated, as well.

If we don't do afternoon naps, but we do afternoon breaks. We swim and then go back to touring.

We also let the kids lead the way on touring. If they want to do the Nemo ride at Epcot half a dozen times in a row, we do that. If they want to take 30 minutes to watch the model trains between Germany and Italy, we do that. If they want to play with the drums in Harambe, we do that.

We also try to key in on what our particular kids like, rather than what they're supposed to like. Example: my kids aren't that big on most of the rides in Fantasyland, but they love the Jungle Cruise. They don't care about Dumbo, but will ride Magic Carpets of Aladdin ten times in a row. My youngest counts riding the WDW railroad as an E-ticket ride. It's one of his favorite things.

Because we try to do kid-led touring, I don't do touring plans. It's too tough to keep the kids on a schedule that requires jumping around. I do create a "plan of attack" that starts with our #1 attraction and works out from there.

[Luv Eeyore]

Just a quick observation on dark rides with younger kids - as a general rule (which not every child will fit), most kids will key off their parents words and emotions. My sister is uber concerned about whether or not her kids will be afraid on certain rides, and they key off of that emotion and typically are afraid of those rides. I've seen this with other parents as well. But those kids whose parents are excited and happy to go on those rides usually end up enjoying them, too (maybe this is why my kids love the same rides I do:blush:). All that being said, I agree not to push them, and parents do know their children the best - if there is a possibility they will be afraid, based upon experiences at home, don't do the ride, try again when they are older.

[Keasmom]

Sounds like a fun trip. I took small bottles of bubbles for my DD to play with the first trip, she could blow them waiting in line. It helped with boredom. Pack along a 3x5 notebook and either you or your sissy write down highlights, dates, special things so you have good notes. Get an oversized sharpie for character sigs and buy a great autograph book, also, show them pictures of the characters online and make favorable noises and happy sounds while calling the names, this introduces the kids a little more and your happy tone makes it an okay experience rather then them seeing the characters for the first time in the parks and screaming. It worked well for our DD.

Also, you could take a small magnetic drawing board for the two year old that keeps the hands busy and lets him "do" something while sissy blows bubbles. I use a fish oil supplement to keep my DD from going at warp speed all day, it was recommended by her pediatrician and it has worked really well for us.

[Keasmom]

The same thing happened to us. My four year old son left the playground, though, and went out to look for me. I found him over by the ice cream stand.

Here's my best tip for little kids. We get up early and do a sit-down meal at a breakfast buffet, sometimes with characters. (Boma, Cape May Cafe, Crystal Palace, etc.) The sit down breakfast lets us get our coffee and food and fuel up for the day. We go to buffets because we can give the kids their food as soon as we have a table. When my youngest was under 3, he ate as much as he liked at the buffet for free.

We don't stress lunch, too much. If the kids have a good breakfast, we can afford to be more flexible and what and when they eat while we're in the parks. We usually get counter-service a little later than we would eat at home, and it works out very well.

We don't make plans for sit-down dinners because by the end of the day, the kids are tired and just not able to sit still for dinner. I've tried it a few times and it just didn't work for us. One of the adults always has to take one or more kids out, and the adults end up tired and frustrated, as well.

If we don't do afternoon naps, but we do afternoon breaks. We swim and then go back to touring.

We also let the kids lead the way on touring. If they want to do the Nemo ride at Epcot half a dozen times in a row, we do that. If they want to take 30 minutes to watch the model trains between Germany and Italy, we do that. If they want to play with the drums in Harambe, we do that.

We also try to key in on what our particular kids like, rather than what they're supposed to like. Example: my kids aren't that big on most of the rides in Fantasyland, but they love the Jungle Cruise. They don't care about Dumbo, but will ride Magic Carpets of Aladdin ten times in a row. My youngest counts riding the WDW railroad as an E-ticket ride. It's one of his favorite things.

Because we try to do kid-led touring, I don't do touring plans. It's too tough to keep the kids on a schedule that requires jumping around. I do create a "plan of attack" that starts with our #1 attraction and works out from there.

This is a great plan of attack. I let my DD do this as well, I allow her to pick all of hers and I tell her what i would like to do as well, then she "directs".

My sticking points are we just that MK has to be a first stop, and I like to do the MK fireworks on the last night, it is like my last kiss goodnight. But she leads, and we did 7 back to backs on star tours for that reason. She has never ridden any of the coasters or even HM, but she has told me that on the next trip, we will be doing ALL of them. I hate coasters and fear a heart attack if I get on one, but I will do it and puke later, that will crack her up.

[disneykidsince1970]

thanks for the tips everyone...

any other opinions on the Bubbles thing? While my kids love bubbles and I think it could check off the boredom box...wonder if we might annoy some people?

I think i can entertain the 4 yr old with I Spy (GREAT idea!!) but what about the 2 yr old?? I can hardly get him to stand still - how is he going to stand in a line for more than 5 min??

[jensantuit]

When we went last September our boys were 4 and 2. We went to the Disney Store and found some great little toys on clearance that I put away for our trip to Disney. We picked up a Peter Pan toy camera, a Mickey Mouse toy cell phone, I also picked up a small coloring book on a clip with crayons that were attached to it. I also brought a ton of stickers which also helped in lines.
Have a great time :mickey:

[disneykidsince1970]

...

The sit down breakfast lets us get our coffee and food and fuel up for the day. We go to buffets because we can give the kids their food as soon as we have a table. When my youngest was under 3, he ate as much as he liked at the buffet for free.

We don't stress lunch, too much. If the kids have a good breakfast, we can afford to be more flexible and what and when they eat while we're in the parks. We usually get counter-service a little later than we would eat at home, and it works out very well.

We don't make plans for sit-down dinners because by the end of the day, the kids are tired and just not able to sit still for dinner. I've tried it a few times and it just didn't work for us. One of the adults always has to take one or more kids out, and the adults end up tired and frustrated, as well.

If we don't do afternoon naps, but we do afternoon breaks. We swim and then go back to touring.

We also let the kids lead the way on touring. If they want to do the Nemo ride at Epcot half a dozen times in a row, we do that. If they want to take 30 minutes to watch the model trains between Germany and Italy, we do that. If they want to play with the drums in Harambe, we do that...



Hello - The sister here, you are like an old pro! I love it! You have some great tips. I especially love the idea about letting the kids lead the way. My sister told me last night that she found an old MK map and now her 4-year-old likes to look at it during breakfast so she's starting to introduce the kids to the parks already. :hug:

[disneykidsince1970]

...
I think i can entertain the 4 yr old with I Spy (GREAT idea!!) but what about the 2 yr old?? I can hardly get him to stand still - how is he going to stand in a line for more than 5 min??

Carolyn you crack me up! I love all the ideas here about being prepared with fun little "distractables". Also I think you should give some thought to the stand/sit stroller. That sounds cool! :waycool:

I'm SO excited about our trip!! xoxo

[Belster]

I agree with a pp that kids will be more likely to have problems on rides and such if it is presented to them as such. I have three kids DD11 DS4 AND DS1. They have all been going to the world since they were 8 months old...that being said we have always been as relaxed as possible so that we can really enjoy our trip. My DS4 went on TOT and it is still all he talks about he was not scared because we did not make it scary for him, same with all of the other rides. Make them all a family experience and enjoy everything. Do not limit yourself!!! This is my word of advice, try not to think everything is going to go as planned, with kids it never does.

The only plan we ever stick to are our ADR's. If we park hop 3 times in 1 day then we do and we enjoy every minutes of it.

Take your time, relax and enjoy. Each stage in your childrens' travels to Disney will be like no other. In all of my years of going, each time has been unique.

Your husband will love it when he sees the amazement in your childrens' eyes.

Enjoy!

[momof3+twins]

Do it all! Kids adapt quickly to the rides and shows. Well... skip bugs life and honey I shrunk the audience and the dinosaur ride. But, everything else is good for little ones. My two year olds want to go back already. Naps are a must. And use the busses.
Get up early, go to the park and at lunch leave, nap and go back at dinner!!
Have fun.

[tcmorano]

We went with our 2.5 year old last October and were worried about her waiting in line as well b/c she NEVER sits still. We were greatly surprised that she was fine - I think she was so enterained by all the excitment around her. I also agree with the olther poster about the buffets. It is so easy to just get your table and be able to get your food right away.