WDW with a 2-year old?

[gusgoose]

So my son is about to turn 1, and my wife and I have started debating when to take our first family WDW trip. His is our first, and we would like to add a little sister or brother right around when he turns 3. We'd also like to try and take a family WDW trip just the three of us. So we've starting considering going when he would be about 2 years and 3 months old (late fall / early winter of 2013).

How realistic is this? Has anyone on here ever taken a child that age to WDW? My wife and I have both been together a couple times as adults, so we know the parks relatively well. We were planning on a short trip, 4 days total with 1 full day each in MK and AK, a day at TL split with DD, and a half-day between Epcot and DHS. We know he'll enjoy most of Fantasyland, plus some other scattered rides at MK and DHS. And we expect he'll love the animals at AK and the countries at Epcot.

So should we go for it, or is it a better idea to wait for baby #2 to come along and then leave him/her with the grandparents while the three of us enjoy WDW?

 

[meyeet]

On our first trip with kids, our son was a few months short of 3 and our daughter was 11 months old. It was a blast! At these ages you obviously can't ride all the rides but we did get to ride most rides at MK. I don't think we even went back to Frontierland.

Our second trip last year, our son was 4.5, daughter 2.5, and our youngest daughter was 1. Again it was lots of fun. We were able to ride the same rides again but our son was tall enough and brave enough to ride BTMRR and SM. We learned this trip that it is hard to navigate back to the resort with just 2 adults and 3 sleeping children.

Our upcoming trip, son will be almost 6, daughter 4, daughter 2.5, and youngest son 10 months. Were taking my mother in law to help during the trip and honestly really looking forward to running around the parks with the 4 kids.

For you I think it depends on how you and your wife handle vacations. My wife and I don't let the crowds, kiddie melt downs, and what ever else might go wrong stand in our way of having fun and enjoying our family time.

 

[bethymouse]

I'd wait until he was 3, but that's just MHO. If you're expanding your family, then maybe just visit MK, but all parks except Epcot have parades ( the little ones love them). Mornings are best, then pools/nap time/resort time in the afternoon. Character dinner and parks at night. Stay at a monorail resort if you can (most convenient). Don't try to do everything. Hang loose and enjoy the ride!

 

[tracyandalex]

We first took DD3 when she was 5 months old and had a blast and she has been about 5 times since and we always have fun. The key for us is to realize that we won't be able to see everything we want to see and to just enjoy DD having fun. When she was little like that her favorite things were IASW and Spectromagic, she slept through Wishes. We brought formula and a giant diaper bag and changes of clothes and baby food and went slow as anything and had to stop a hundred times and it was crazy, but we were at WDW so it was all good. Also, we love to travel so we wanted DD to be a good traveler so we always bring her with us if we can and now at almost 4 we can take her pretty much anywhere.
So in conclusion I say go for it! It is a whole new experience when you see it through a child's eyes. I often find myself watching DD more then watching the actual show.

 

[gccgrad1996]

We took my oldest daughter when she was just 3, by 3 weeks. The second time we went she was almost five and we had our second daughter now and she had just turned 13 months. We had an awesome time. Like others have said pace yourself and don't expect to do everything. I would highly recommend staying on property so that you can easily get back to your room and nap in the afternoons. We are now going in 2 weeks with our daughters and our new addition our son, who will be 15 months. I am hoping it will be as amazing as it was with our daughter on her first trip.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

DD3 was 2 yrs and 1 month old on her first trip to WDW. She was 2 yrs and about 9.5 mos old on her second trip. While it was great b/c she was free, it was also nice b/c she bought every bit of the magic. The stroller was a must as were mid afternoon breaks (actually, those still are needed). She wasn't potty trained on trip 1 but she was on trip 2 and I can tell you- it really didn't make much of a difference. Either way, we had to go to the bathroom a bit more than avg and diapers and wipes were replaced by extra changes of clothes for trip two.

What caught me off guard was her reaction to sensory overload. She was great with the character and the rides, but about 3 days into each trip she started having meltdown issues. Not ruin the trip kind of issues...just a few each day over crazy things. She also wanted to be carried a lot- something that's never an issue at home. In fact, she's our easy going one at home.

We also got our $s worth. We let her take a really solid nap each day, so she was totally up for fireworks,e tc. at night. So, I say go for it!

 

[gusgoose]

Thanks to everybody for the responses. Those of you that have taken kids under 1 to Disney are incredible, I have no idea how you did it. Our son does really well on trips, he's not even 1 yet and he's already had two cross-country flights and three different car trips that were 6+ hours long each way. So I'm not too concerned, and we'll definitely take it easy as everyone is suggesting. We're trying to stay at a monorail hotel, depending on if we can afford it. We will definitely stay on property somewhere for ease of transportation.

 

[SugarMagnolia]

In 2011, my husband and I (just the two of us) took our grandson to WDW when he was 10 months old (and already walking). In May of 2012, we took him again (this time at 22 months). I've been to Disney a bunch of times, but taking him and seeing it through his eyes made those two trips the best so far!

 

[OswaldTheRabbit]

For my son's first trip he was 2 yrs 1 month. He loved it. I would HIGHLY suggest you do a little preplanning and look up each kiddie part of each park. Since he was it he stroller quite a bit during the day (while our 7 yr old was doing his thing) we took an hour or two to make sure he got to do the kiddie stuff and get his energy out. He just loved to people watch and see all the craziness (ie the characters and talking trashcans ).

I say as long as you stay flexible and don't expect to hit every ride then you will have the most amazing time! There is nothing like seeing the wonder in your child's eyes!

 

[tare]

2 yrs will be a great time--and your son should be potty trained by then!!! Our daughter was and it was fun--but it does get better and better each time you go as they get older!!!