Planning Trip December 2009 with 2 year old

[Lamping3]

Hello to all! This is my first post and I need some advice from some seasoned Disney visitors. :xmas: I am currently in preplanning mode for our December 2009 Trip. I want to go either the first or second week in December. My DD will have just turned 2 at that time. This will be my first trip planning myself....I have been 4 times before....DH has been 1 time before. We are very excited to see all of the Christmas decorations up and to take in all off the festivities.

I am looking into WL... :shrug:I have not stayed there. Is it the best place to stay with a 2 year old? The last 2 times we went we stayed a POR....last in '06 and I did not like the distance our room was from everything.

We were planning on driving from St Louis, MO. Am I crazy to do this? I am very nervous to fly with my DD and carrying all of her stuff.

Any advice/tips from anyone that has taken a 2 year old or has been during that time in December would be helpful. I would love to hear about your trip to help me plan mine!:sohappy:

 

[DisneyJoe]

If you want WL in December book ASAP - it is the most popular resort in December and books fast.

My son loved WL when he was 3.

 

[figment88]

Planning is so much fun...WL is the best ambiance for December, but with a 2 year old you might want to consider staying at a monorail resort. You can wheel a stroller right onto the monorail...this alone makes traveling with young ones much eaiser. The only problem is that it only goes to MK and Epcot...all other parks require buses. Sometimes you can wheel a stroller onto the boats, but not always.

Good Luck!!!

 

[Kelsybelle]

We took our daughter to WDW this past April on her first Disney trip (she was 20 months old) and we stayed at the WL. We loved it! We chose it mostly because the location to the Magic Kingdom and it was so easy to get back and forth by taking the boat to the MK there! The bus service everywhere else was great.
We also thought the food choices at the Roaring Fork (quick service) appealed to all of us and the Whispering Canyon Cafe was a fun, lively restuarant and she could be as loud as she wanted in there!

The best advise I could offer you when traveling with a little one to WDW, is make sure you pace yourself and take afternoon breaks! We would head out in the morning, have lunch then go back to the resort for a break and we would either swim, then let her nap or just play with her new toys (we bought her everything in sight of course!) and then we (she) was ready to head out in the evening and was able to enjoy herself (and us) without being exhausted.

Good luck! :wave:

 

[coltow]

WL is great, but as DisneyJoe pointed out it fills up fast in December. We have stayed there a couple of times. The last time DS was 2 1/2 he absolutely loved it. The rooms are great, food choices are plentiful, WCC is one of the best places to take kids (the staff are loud so you tend not to care if kids are being a little rowdy) and the pool is great too. The best is the proximity to MK without paying the monorail resort price. With a little one you'll probably spend most of your time at MK any how, so you will be plenty hapy here. Keep us posted.

 

[SAV]

We drove down from Northern Illinois with our 2yo DD 5 years ago and it was fine. We just made sure we had plenty of movies and shows taped from TV for her to watch the entire drive. It's actually not a bad age for driving because you won't have to make "potty stops" since they are still in diapers. You will have to make a couple of extra stops for a diaper change and a little break to get out of the car and blow off some steam. At 2, they will probably still nap along the way too. Extra bonus.

I am not sure about your child, but I thought the "Leave really early and she will sleep for the first 3 or 4 hours of the trip" would work...It didn't. As soon as we got in, she was up. And her afternoon nap wasn't any longer than normal. Just keep a bunch of snacks and drinks in a cooler in the vehicle and you will be fine. We also got a portable desk for her to use for coloring and stickers, etc.

Instead of driving straight thru, we drove until about 8pm and shut down for the nite. It was needed by all.

The nice thing was we could over pack her stuff and not worry about bag limits on planes. We brought extra toys and what not to keep her occupied.

Good Luck and have a Magical trip.

 

[princessmommy]

We drove with our two year old and left about midnight and he slept until about 7:30, with one short wake up in between. That worked out great except my husband was so tired when we got there! Better husband than toddler I always say! For the awake times we sang songs, colred, and also watched dvds on a portable player. They have those movies that are about each park, we had Animal kingdom and Magic Kingdom, they got me and him excited to go!

 

[George]

Actually, driving is easier than flying. You have complete control. Of course, the pain is over faster when you fly so it's 6 to one and 1/4 of 24 to the other.

WL is great with a two year old. Lots of activities in the den area and the pool often times has little duckies and the like swimming in it. My only critique is that I like the zero entry pool at DAK a bit better for a two year old, but alas you can only have almost everything at WDW. :lol:

 

[LuxeMama]

I SO agree that driving is easier than flying! Granted, our ride is about 3.5 hrs, but even when we flew from Baltimore to go to WDW, I found I enjoyed the ride so much more.

Definitely stay at a monorail resort. You will thank yourself every single day that you did. I stayed at the Poly and just booked our 09 trip for the Contemporary. I have three kids (and my "baby" will be 2 in '09, too), and they loved the monorail-- especially being able to catch it from our hotel.