Two year old's first time/tips and tricks

[YoJDew]

Our daughter is and has always been a CHAMPION non-sleeper. Never had a consistent nap schedule, has always been a nightmare to get to sleep at night. She is now 3.5 and we've been going to Disney since she was 18 months. We've tried different nap/sleep strategies, with varying degrees of success:

Disneyland @ 18 months: Napped in the Ergo, strapped to mommy, on a quiet rock on Tom Sawyer Island. About 45 minutes. Passed out for the night at 8pm.

WDW @ 22 months: Stayed at CBR. Slept in Pack & Play. Learned how to climb out for the first time. Day 1: Attempted to repeat nap at Sawyer Island. Failed. Too noisy. Day 2: Attempted nap on MK railroad-- failed. Terrible idea, way too noisy. Day 3: Attempted nap in baby center -- failed. Day 4: Returned to CBR for nap after lunch -- fell asleep on bus. Attempted transfer from bus to bed -- failed. Day 5: Returned to CBR for nap after lunch and kept her awake enough to pass out in Pack & Play for 2.5 hour nap. SUCCESS! Returned to Epcot for dinner and stayed up to watch Illuminations, cried at the expression of absolute awe on her face.

WDW @ age 3: Stayed at Poly. Returned to resort every day after lunch. Slept in a bed. Took 2-hr nap (or more) every single day. Returned to hotel around 9 every night and passed out, after watching fireworks from the resort. SUCCESS (BTW she rarely naps at home)

Next trip planned for August, when she will be 3.75. Planning our days around a 3-to-4-hour break every day for naps, including travel time to/from WL. Will see how it goes...

 

[Wags14]

I echo what everyone has said in this thread. We have taken two different sets of 2 year olds, five years apart and just got back from our most recent trip with our youngest two year old and the biggest piece of advice is; it all depends on the kid. Sometimes the bus rides can be down right brutal. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and the transportation was awful, since we are going back in October and staying somewhere else I am hoping this may change. So near the end of our trip we just gave up on the afternoon nap idea and it worked far better. He tended to just nap better in his stroller while being rolled around the parks lol.

Side Note: His big brother taught him to put his hands up for the rides he can go on and people really got a kick out of that

There is quite a bit that they can do at two...

A few things that he absolutely loved:
Magic Kingdom: It's a Small World, Peter Pan, Philhar, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, Speedway, Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear, Parades, Wishes
Epcot: Nemo, Living w/ the Land, Illuminations
Studios: The Great Movie Ride, Toy Story Midway, Disney Junior, Frozen stuff, fireworks
Animal Kingdom: Safari, TriceaTop Spin, The Boneyard

 

[PrincessVic]

Our daughters first trip was when she was 18months old, it was a fab time to take her. Thankfully she always slept in her pushchair, but we took a full sun cover that did close up at the front - when she was tired but too distracted, pulling this down worked wonders and she fell asleep almost instantly. Also, once she was asleep, it kept it a bit quieter and darker in there for her. As we were staying offsite, popping back for a nap wasn't really practical.
Day 1 she was having a bit of a cry, and a CM gave her a sticker. Tears stopped instantly. So we bought some stickers at Walmart. Many a crises avoided by a few stickers!
And the odd treat worked well. As a rule, we've never given her a huge amount of junk food - but mid afternoon a bit of cookie or icecream really cheered her up for hours (sugar rush perhaps?!). In fact, thats one rule we have stuck to now she is 7 - icecream around 3pm!!!!

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

My baby boy is turning 2 in less than 2 weeks. His first ever trip to WDW was last year when he was 1 years old. The main thing I suggest is rest breaks, rest breaks, and rest breaks. This will allow you to make it through the evening Fireworks and Parades with minimal melt downs. Also sunscreen is very important and a hat for the child is a must. Also do a ton of things that will keep them occupied and interested even if it is not you top favorite things. It will make your vacation must better. Characters meals are also a lot of fun. At least my baby boy enjoyed meeting the characters. That I guess could be hit or miss according to how your child reacts. If they scream when they see a character then the Character Meals should be eliminated.

 

[PrincessVic]

Characters meals are also a lot of fun. At least my baby boy enjoyed meeting the characters. That I guess could be hit or miss according to how your child reacts. If they scream when they see a character then the Character Meals should be eliminated.

She loved them in the parade, but would cry if held near a character. Yet if she sat on the floor and they came down to her (she wasn't quite walking), it wasn't a problem and she loved them - made for some great pictures. Sometimes it's just down to trial and error as to how they will react

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

She loved them in the parade, but would cry if held near a character. Yet if she sat on the floor and they came down to her (she wasn't quite walking), it wasn't a problem and she loved them - made for some great pictures. Sometimes it's just down to trial and error as to how they will react

So true, before we went on our trip I made a big deal to my baby boy about all the characters and showed him pictures on videos, books, and pictures. He seemed to warm up well to that.

 

[LIMA TIME]

All the advise on here is spot on. I would add the following:
-slow down. There is no way to do and see everything. Please look at it from a 2 years perspective. This is all new to them, which can lead to sensory overload. (Which is a greater cause of a melt down then being tired)
-dragging your kid all over the park to make fast pass times is hard on kids. They are good to have, if you miss a FP time, the world will keep spinning. I promis.
-be prepared to do the same rides over and over. (Try and remember this trip is for them) if they want to ride dumbo or the carrousel 5 times in role. So be it.
-most dark rides will likely scare the crap out of them. Be prepared and act accordingly.
-take a million pictures, they will never be that size again. You can only capture the initial "wonderment" once.
-show the little one YouTube videos are the caricatures. So they have a idea of how big they. (My son was two when we took him the first time. He has terrified of mascots but loved Mickey and the gang) so we showed him the parade video a few time the weeks before we got there, and we had zero problems)

Most of all have fun and don't take yourself too seriously, it is Disney after all.

 

[Noellikechristmas]

I went when my daughter was 14 months and she would never sleep when we wanted her to. She would just pass out when she was tired and we just went with it. She naps for like 4 hours at daycare, but only 1 or 2 with me...never mind in a whole new place. It's hard to stick to a schedule, so just go with it. If you have a younger kid, I would make sure you have a stroller that reclines and is comfortable to nap in.

 

[DisneyDaver]

I stayed at CBR so we did naps in the stroller and I made a little cover to go over her to block the sun for when she was sleeping.
- Don't rush
- My dd was 16 months we did every thing she could do and she loved it all
- Try to do a character meal those were awesome with her!
- Bring snacks and Juice boxes I forgot them one day and ended up spending 40.00 on snacks and drinks
- I bought a really nice stroller it was 40.00 called Jeep Cherokee It folded up perfect and fit on the trams etc
- They do provide pack and plays but I SUGGEST you bring your own sheet for it and a blanket to put under the sheet it was very hard compared to the one I have at home.
- Things that were must dos- Dumbo play area in the ride line, MK water area, The kids area in AK (bone yard)
I am going again in September and my dd will be 2 1/2 I truly
believe these are great ages to take kids unlike a lot of other people! Here's some pics of things my daughter loved! Hope it helps!

If you have any questions!~ Feel Free to ask~~!

Seeing your pics got me very excited about my upcoming WDW trip this November with my daughter (who will be 18 months)!