Disney with a 2 year old

Hi!
So we are trying to plan a vacation in may or June with out Dd. it will be dh and I with our daughter. We are trying to figure out the best way to go about it money wise. Is it worth it to do a meal plan?
Also, are there any parks that we can eliminate? Or is there something at every park for a toddler??
Any input on your Disney experiences are appreciated!!!
Thanks

Disney with a 2 year old

I wouldn't do a meal plan - DD won't be included, and you will most likely be able to share your food with her sometimes. If you book buffets then she can eat also. But you can look at the places you want to go and weigh the cot of what you would buy vs. the meal plan. If you are talking about this May or June, you might have trouble getting reservations at some restaurants.
I would skip Animal Kingdom, but that is just my opinion. I'm not a big fan of it lol! We are going w/our 2 year old in June, but we went when he was 16 months. We skipped AK. But if she is really into animals then you should go. How many days were you thinking of going?

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

Thank you for posting this. I'm thinking about taking my twins in June/July. I'm interested in hearing the feedback.

Disney with a 2 year old

I think at that age they are still to young. My twins are 17 months & wouldn't waste money on it until they can really understand. They certainly cant go on many rides. IT would be more work for the parents then enjoyable. WHy not try something local first like seseame pl or dutch wonderland?

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

Disney has a good website that shows attractions and ages. This way, you can choose for yourself!

We are planning to go with two little ones and will likely visit magic kingdom over 2 days.

I've been to the other parks. While they are nice, I think that they won't have enough for my kids (1 and 2.5).

We will be staying off site. You can stay at a great place for the same amount of $ as the budget accommodations at Disney & having been there Pre kids, it's not THAT worth it with kids my age. I've stayed at nicer places than the $200 a night Disney resorts for $60 a night. As for the monorail hotels, they sound nice, but I'm WAY too cheap to spend that amount of money. I'd rather just go twice!

Disney with a 2 year old

A 2 year old can go on almost every ride, actually, that is a big misconception And by going with little kids, it makes it easier for you to ride the bigger rides that thy can't.

Disney with a 2 year old

I still don't believe 2yr old is good age to go to Disney. That is my opinion. I just googled the height requirements. The rides that do have one the minimum is 38"

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

We went with DS one week before his second birthday. You can skip Epcot. We only went one night there. One day in animal kingdom is enough. We spent most of our time at magic kingdom and Hollywood studios. Don't do the meal plan. Google for ways to save and there are many places in the park that offer the same food at different prices. You will definitely save money that way. It was a great trip. DS napped in the park and DH and I did riders swap on the rides.

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

For us btw the kids favorite parks were MK and EPCOT followed by AK and they were eh about HS.


Don't discount EPCOT. They offer more than many realize. I find that the ones who don't like EPCOT tend to be the adults who don't enjoy it. The great part of 4 parks is tgere is something for everyone. I know a few people who skipped EPCOT or almost didn't go bc people said there wasn't anything there, who decided to go at the end of their trip or on another and were sorry they skipped or didn't allow for more time. This is why I suggest youtube to.see what appeals to your family the best. Because what I like might not be your cup of tea and vice versa. Also your DC can see what he/she might get more excited about.

Disney with a 2 year old

We took DD right before she turned 3 and it was definitely NOT a waste. She got really into the princesses a few months before we went and was so happy to have breakfast and interact with them. Watching her shriek with joy seriously brought years to my eyes I was so happy to give the experience to her. We did one day at Epcot and enjoyed it - lots of walking around and tasting food and drinks for us, exploring without crazy crowds for her. We also did a day at magic kingdom and that was great but very crowded. We stayed off site and didn't do any meal plans, we also just set one day to hang out at our hotel. It was an awesome vacation.

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

We just did MK and Epcot. My kids are 6 and 3.
My DD is not walking yet (she has Down Syndrome) and is tiny for her age.
She went on almost everything her big brother did and had a GREAT time!
We didn't do a meal plan.
We did character breakfast at Chef Mickeys which was GREAT! A nice buffet and even my picky DS found stuff to eat! So worth it!
Dutch Wonderland and Sesame are great, but, if you REALLY want to do Disney, go for it!
We've been going since DS was 2 and he loves it!
We did Islands of Adventure one year and he had a ball in the Dr. Suess area.
Next year we are going to do AK and of course MK again. MK is our favorite!

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

DS#2 went on his 2nd Disney trip at almost 2. He had so much fun! He loved going on all the rides with his big brother. He loved the shows and parades. His favorite ride was Small World. They looooooved meeting characters, esp Buzz and Woody.

We waited until DS#1 was around 3 to go on our first Disney trip. We had so much fun that we went again in the same year. It is such a short flight and a relatively inexpensive vacation (compared to international travel).

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

We always stay off site at our timeshare, and for us, we actually have no interest in ever staying on site. But that may be because we have no interest in doing more then one day in the parks on each trip. As far as ages go, my older DS was 18 months the first time and my younger one was only 6 months. We did Magic Kingdom for both of the trips. Even with a 6 month old, we were able to ride just about everything we or my older DS wanted with the exception of runaway railroad. We did Hollywood Studios when older DS was 2.5yrs and we liked it, but didn't love it. Last year we tried Animal Kingdom and thought it was great. The boys were 5.5 and 2. There are unfortunately very few rides for little ones, but the character breakfast, safari and shows more then made up for it. Our boys really enjoyed it. We are yet to do Epcot with them because although there is some stuff for kids, I know my kids and I don't think it would be a good it for them.
Like a pp said, you really need to do some planning on what may be most appealing to you, DH and DC. I think every family is different and what works for one may not work for another.

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

We just got back from Disney last week. DS is 3 and he had a blast! (and he's a shorty -- only 36" but he got to ride plenty!)

We did Animal Kingdom (I would skip this next time -- but we did do a character breakfast here and that was fun -- rest of the park for us was eh)

We did Magic Kingdom. We only got to do one section of it but DS really enjoyed it. He went on a carousel, dumbo and a few other rides and we saw some shows. He went on more rides than I did! We went back later that night for the parade and fireworks which he loved too. (A tip if you do this -- instead of buying the light up toys that they sell at Disney go to the $ store or party store and pick up glow sticks/necklaces/bracelets. Much cheaper and they get the same effect! And we could share with others b/c we had extra)

FM anytime if you need anything else! Have fun!!

We also did Hollywood Studios one day. I think this was DS fave b/c he got to meet SO many characters! He loves Disney Junior and he got to meet Handy Manny, Jake, Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc, Lightning and Mater, Phineas & Ferb and more. They also have an interactive show with the DJ characters that we enjoyed as much as he did.

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

Since we are Disney Vacation Club owners, my DD, who will turn three in July, has been to Disney twice already, and once on the Disney Dream cruise, I could not agree MORE that I think it's a great age. The first time we went, was Dec of 2011 and she was almost a year and a half. She LOVED the rides, and enjoyed looking at the pure awesomeness of Disney! She wasn't really into any characters other than Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy and LOVED seeing them! Then, we just went in September of 2012 and it was another totally, but amazing experience for her. She was totally into Tinkerbell and Mary Poppins, and we met them quite a few times and took lots and lots of pics! She loved the rides even more. Now, we are going the end of May, and we can't wait! She's into ALL the princesses and has all the costumes so she can dress like them and take pics with them. Every time we go, it's been a great and different experience! Some people might not believe this, but when we came home from our first trip (when she was 1 1/2) a few months later she named everyone we went with, our friends and their two kids! So, I don't believe when people say they won't remember, because some kids do!
If you want to go, I say go, don't let the negative opinions change your mind!

Disney with a 2 year old

Loved going with my 3 and 13 month old. We had a great time no meal plan and it worked out great. My 13 month old went on everything my 3 year old was able to go on. We did 1/2 day AK and that was plenty for us. HS was our favorite b/c DD love Beauty the beast show. Epcot was b/c we figure we did the few kid rides right before nap and then and ejoyed the countries why the napped in the stroller.

Have a great time.

Disney with a 2 year old

I can't comment on the meal plans because I never stay onsite so I have never had a meal plan.

But as far as parks I would look at the website. My DS would love animal kingdom but he is an animal freak. We took DS to Disney at 11 months and he loved Magic Kingdom. Even at that age we could take him on tons. While he might not remeber it we will and the look on his face when we were there was priceless. He loved the parade and the rides we took hiim on.

Well worth the trip.

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

Thank you so much for all of your input, it was very helpful!!

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

Message edited 4/3/2013 11:20:08 PM.

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

Disney with a 2 year old

I think 2 is a great time to go since they are still free - we took DS when he was 2 3/4.

I don't know about the meal plan since we stayed offsite.

We went to all of the main parks except for Epcot. We spent the most time at MK and did a section each time we went. We did AK and HS in half a day.

I was most surprised by HS. I had gone there and I thought it would be too grown up for DS and he had a blast. We did the Disney Jr Character breakfast, saw Mater and Lightning McQueen, Toy Story Mania, Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground and the Disney Jr show. It was fantastic.

DS is small for his age and was able to ride plenty of things, his favorite being the Barnstormer at MK. He loved all of the characters too - his whole face lit up when he saw his favorites!

He still talks about it all the time and asks when he's going back to Mickey's house.

We plan on going back next September too - DS 1 will be 4 3/4 and DS 2 will be 2 1/2.

Message edited 4/4/2013 9:01:18 AM.

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

I agree with lillykat! I think 2 is a great time to take the kids.

We took ds1 at 22m and true he won't remember it, but its something dh and i will never forget! I loved seeing his reaction to everything. And at that age it can truely be a relaxing vacation BC a 2 yo has no agenda. So you don't have to do everything, you do as little or as much as you and you DC can take.

Our first trip with DS, we took long afternoon breaks to have pool time and nap. Then we stayed at the parks til closing BC DS loves the fireworks and would be calling for them the minute it got dark out!

Our 2nd trip we went with family DS was nearly 3, but we had 3 other kids with us, the oldest being 9 and it was not as relaxing because the older kds had "list" of their must do so making sure everyone got to do what they wanted took away from the relaxing vacation feel.

We liked taking DS at 2 so much we are going again soon as my second son is turning 2!

We have always done dining plan an liked it, but you need to figure out if its best for you. Do a google search and you can read up on the pros and cons. This time we have decided to stay off site because we wanted more space (2bedroom suite) a kitchen (ds2 isn't a calm child so being able to eat breakfast while he watches TV will better suit us) and a washer/dryer ( we are doing a cruise after a few days at disney, so I want to do some laundry to minimize luggage.

As far as parks, our faves in order are mk, Epcot, AK and hs. I think he has some cool stuff, but alot of its shows so i felt we were waiting alot, and alot of its targeted at a little older kids.

Re: Disney with a 2 year old

We took my 3 yo and 16 month old. They were able to go n most rides, my 16 mo loved disney! My 3 yo loved it too, but my little one had the best time. Don't need a meal plan. If you want to save money, stay offsite and rent a car. Much cheaper than staying on disney property. If our DD doesn't love animals, I would skip AK. 2 is a great age to take kids, there are a ton of babies and toddlers @ disney. No idea why people say it's too young, not true at all. I think the parents don't want to spend the money on disney with kids that young, but the park is made for little ones.

Message edited 4/6/2013 9:11:26 AM.