Need Advice: Summer Trip 2010 With 2 1/2 year old!

domarino · Post by **domarino** » Aug Wed 12, 2009 11:32 am

Hey all,

My wife and I are taking a trip to WDW next summer with our son who will be 2 1/2 years old at that point. We are not staying on property b/c my in-laws and my parents will be coming and we will be renting a house close to the property.

We are both teachers so we are looking to spend about ten days down south (with a two day trip to visit family in Jacksonville). With about six or seven days of park time.

It seems as though the Subsonic community is really knowledgeable about trips to WDW and I have only been there four times in my life but LOVE IT. Therefore I am reaching out to anyone who may have any tips to get the most out of this trip. I would be pretty upset if I felt like I didn't get my fill of THE MAGIC! LOL

Thanks guys!

Dominic

Belle of the Ball · Post by **Belle of the Ball** » Aug Wed 12, 2009 3:12 pm

Hi!
Make sure you get there at the opening of the park. You can get a lot done- especially at the Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland- in the first couple of hours.

Make sure to take breaks in the afternoon with the little one. It will be HOT.

Plan to have at least one Character meal. Breakfast at Crystal Palace in MK is good- before the park opens. There won't be anyone else around.

Chef Mickey's is also good as well as the restaurant in Norway in Epcot for the Princesses and of course Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle. It's hard to get, however. There are actually a lot of Character dining places-- just depends on what your little one would like.

WDW just changed their Dining reservations back to 180 days out. So plan on which parks you will be going to on what days and go ahead and get those reservations as soon as your 180 days is available.

Just some things to get you started----- I'm sure we all have hundreds more, LOL.
Anything in particular you want to know about?

~Belle~

boilerbabe · Post by **boilerbabe** » Aug Wed 12, 2009 5:21 pm

I have been to WDW 16 times in my lifetime so far, my parent's started me young, when I was 3!

Since you are not staying on property, I would agree with Belle, start early. Depending on how far you are from WDW property, I would recommend a break in the afternoon, especially if you have a little one. If you can't do that, I would say pace yourselves. A character breakfast would be fun! Will you have any adult time while you're there?

Post by **Len90** » Aug Wed 12, 2009 10:07 pm

Well it might be tough with a 2.5 year old and not staying on property. I usually tell people who have a young child to take a couple hours off in the afternoon at the hotel. This way you skip the brunt of the heat and can let your son rest up. However, in your case this is nearly impossible to do. If you want to try and incorporate a break from the parks, you can do it though the use of Downtown Disney. It is relatively quiet during the day and you can accomplish a lot of your shopping in the World of Disney store. I would recommend following what Belle and Boiler Babe have already posted. You should really try and get an early start at the parks. I would use this time to hit up any attractions that you really want to go on that develop long waits. However, watch the height requirements you might have to go on in shifts. Your son will really enjoy doing the character meals so I would advise you try and squeeze in as many as possible. What Belle posted is news to me with the ADR system. I still thought it was 90 days but I guess it was changed back. Make sure you book your reservations that far in advance. The restaurants will fill up and you will get closed out... especially in the summertime.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask us. We are more than happy to help you out over here!

Belle of the Ball · Post by **Belle of the Ball** » Aug Thu 13, 2009 12:02 am

Len-- sorry -- I should have been a bit more specific with that news flash, LOL.

Announced today-and effective October 27th- the ADR booking window will be extended to 180 days out.
So in essence, yes, you are in fact correct with the 90 day window as of ... right now.

Oh yeah- Park hours will be released 180 days out as well. Effective Oct 27th, of course.

~Belle~

Post by **Len90** » Aug Thu 13, 2009 12:24 am

Wow thanks a lot for the information. I had no idea that they were putting that back in place and I will stand corrected here

domarino · Post by **domarino** » Aug Thu 13, 2009 6:07 pm

Wow thanks for all of the info. Yes, I am gearing myself up for the challenge of having the little guy with me (and being off property to boot).

So as far as the breaks go, I should look for some cool, indoor areas correct? Anyt suggestions on where I could spend extended indoor time in MK, EPCOT, and MGM?

We will definitely have some adult time becuase I am sure both sets of grandparents won't mind some nighttime baby sitting.

Do you get the extra "magic" hours when you buy park hopper passes or is that only when you stay on property?

I am also assuming that I will have to settle for hitting less of the parks than I usually would get to when I go. We went on our honeymoon and were in the parks from opening to closing! lol

Thanks again guys! I really appreciate you spending the time to help out.

Dom

Post by **Len90** » Aug Thu 13, 2009 11:45 pm

The Extra Magic Hours only apply to those who are guests in a WDW resort. For air conditioned breaks inside the parks, I would recommend hitting up the longer indoor shows. You can hit up a lot of the World Showcase countries or spend some time in the main gift shops of each park. It is going to be a big challenge but it is feasible if you take it slow. For night time entertainment, there is nothing open that late anymore with PI being closed. Pretty much all of Disney is shut come 11PM unless you are in the MK for EMH.

domarino · Post by **domarino** » Aug Sun 16, 2009 9:55 am

Thanks Len, Belle, and Boiler Babe.

I will heed your advice and make the best out of this challenging situation. In the meantime I will be saving upi for the trip following next year's so we can stay on one of the great Disney Properties so it Magic 24 hours a day!

Once again I appreciate the inpiut. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Dom

yodiwan1 · Post by **yodiwan1** » Aug Sun 16, 2009 7:19 pm

You also want to check up on what deals are going on. WHo knows maybe by that time they will have anothe buy 4 nights get 3 free deal which would help you big time!

metsofny · Post by **metsofny** » Aug Mon 17, 2009 2:32 am

Leave the 2 1/2 year old at home. He won't remember. Bring home ears and a stuffed toy.

yodiwan1 · Post by **yodiwan1** » Aug Mon 17, 2009 8:20 am

I will admit, metsofny may have a point..with disney being so expensive, and all f the time you wil need to make sure your son is ok, changing, feedins, naps, you will not get your money's worth. I can honestly say, from when i worked there, the unhappiest people i saw were teh ones with babies. They were very restricted in what they could do, and even though i am not a parent yet, and no idea when the crying stage stops, I do know if you're in an attraction(show of any type) and he starts to cry(loud noises, scary sounds, etc) all eyes will be on you. Just a though. I knwo My parents took me at a young age, and no I don't remember it, but I do have great pics, and it explains who I am today with my love of Disney.

boilerbabe · Post by **boilerbabe** » Aug Mon 17, 2009 10:09 am

I think if you are able to have some adult time along with time with your child, you will have a good time. My parent's started taking me when I was 3 and I remember alot from that trip! And it's not just what's in pictures, I have real memories from that trip, they are wonderful b/c my grandparent's who are no longer alive were with us! So, accomplish what you can and make the most of it!

99Soulz · Post by **99Soulz** » Aug Mon 24, 2009 1:59 pm

Parents getting to go back to WDW, $
Child getting his first trip to WDW, $$
Parents seeing child's reactions during first trip to WDW, priceless!!!

OK, so that was a little corny, but seriously the best time time spent in WDW was seeing it through our daughter's eyes. Your 2 1/2 year old is a great age for his first trip. Our daughter was 1 1/2, 2 1/2, and 3 on her 3 trips so far (spoiled little brat!) and each trip has been a different experience. The first, I will agree she doesn't remember much but was probably the easiest trip for us since she pretty much stayed in the stroller and we could do whatever we wanted and she was along for the ride. She loved the characters, parades and just watching all of the excitement. The second and third trips are when we noticed she really got into it all. As for remembering it, whoever said they won't is dead wrong. She absolutely remembers. It really is pretty cool seeing it through a 3 year old's eyes, everything is so real to them. They will never have that reaction when they are older. I tell people that kids are never too young for WDW, but if you are only going to go once, then wait but if you plan to go a few times, start 'em early.

Ok, enough blabbering. As for suggestions, staying off property doesn't mean you can't go back to the house to rest during the afternoon (as long as the house isn't in Jacksonville). If you are close enough it will probably take you the same amount of time as staying in park with bus system. It all depends on what kind of days you want. You mentioned being "open to close" people so try that out. We are not like that, we definitely needed the break in the afternoon and it made the days and nights much more enjoyable. It also makes the days seem longer almost starting over again at night. The parks will be open late in the summer so pace the day.

Absolutely get there at opening!! Each day, mark out the top 3 for that park and do them as soon as you get there. Then, try to get another couple in before lunch. Once mid-day hits, don't count on any of the e-ticket attractions or anything in Fantasyland. During our summer trips, we would go back to resort from 1-4pm to relax by the pool and/or have little ones nap. Then, started each night out with a sit-down reservation and another park until closing. Since you have the house you can eat in, then head back to the parks as an option. MK should be open until 11pm every night in the summer (EMH until midnight-2am) and with Spectromagic sometimes running 2x per night and Wishes you can get a lot of attractions in while everyone else is watching those. Just make sure you seem them at least once!

Another good idea might be hitting a park at opening, get 4 or 5 attractions in and then head to a water park. Get some cool down time in, go back to the house to regroup and then head back to parks at night. The water parks do sometimes close due to capacity in the summer by mid-day but most mid-week days are ok.

Take advantage of the babysitters, you can get some time to yourselves to relax and do some of the other (kid at heart) attractions.

MmeLeota · Post by **MmeLeota** » Aug Mon 24, 2009 2:29 pm

My DH and I took our niece to Disneyland when she was 2. She is now 12 and doesn't remember the trip, but we do...and we tell her the stories and show her the pictures. It helped a great deal that she knew all of the characters before we went. At the time she was facinated by princesses and the first character she saw was Ariel. She was so shocked that she was speechless! Ariel kept asking her name and all she could do was stare at Ariel. so we stepped in and told Ariel her name...once she said it to our niece, that was it! She was so amazed that not only did she meet Ariel, Ariel called her by name...one of my favorite memories.

Yes the trip will be very different, but that age is precious and it will be worth it.

So my advice would be to make sure your son has a strong familiarity with the characters. This was he may not be as likely to be afraid of them. (I was a scaredy cat and jumped at my own shadow.