Prepping for a trip with a toddler (18 months?)

[katie1290]

My husband and I are currently planning to go to Disney with our daughter in September 9-13, 2019. I haven't been to Disney since I was about 11 and my husband has never been. Any advice on how to prepare for the trip? We are planning on staying at Polynesian so we can take the monorail to MK. Our budget is between 6-8k and we'll be flying in from Detroit.

 

[PollyannaMom]

My favorite advice for that age is: "Research options, but don't get attached to plans."

Read about what's available, looks over park maps ahead of time (know where the baby care stations are, try not to crisscross the parks over and over...) but don't worry too much if you don't stick to the plan because she loves the fountains more than the rides.

 

[sponica]

I went with an almost 21 month old a few months ago. Honestly I find MK overwhelming for that age group. I understand why we take little kids to MK, but don't feel compelled to spend ALL your time there. My daughter LOVED Epcot the most (especially the breakfast at the Garden Grill).

If you're at the Poly, the stitch breakfast is fun (although it's a one and done for me)

Our lifesavers:

We have a smock type bib.
We brought take and toss sippy cups with us.
We had snacks delivered from PrimeNow: goldfish, teddy grahams, applesauce pouches, apple juice

We were park commandos. Doing just after RD to about 7 PM at night, she stroller napped. No meltdowns. But everyone is different.

 

[Magical2017]

This board is a terrific resource. So is WDWprep

For books, The Unofficial Guide to WDW, put out by the Touring Plan people, has a lot of information.

 

[Here for Moana]

This board is a terrific resource. So is WDWprep

For books, The Unofficial Guide to WDW, put out by the Touring Plan people, has a lot of information.

I would agree about the book. We are going this fall and our daughter will be 2 then and the book has been very helpful.

 

[NYCgrrl]

My husband and I are currently planning to go to Disney with our daughter in September 9-13, 2019. I haven't been to Disney since I was about 11 and my husband has never been. Any advice on how to prepare for the trip? We are planning on staying at Polynesian so we can take the monorail to MK. Our budget is between 6-8k and we'll be flying in from Detroit.

Stay glued to the board, reading and asking questions. Keep your eyes open for when the various room promotions open up and pounce accordingly.
Poly is a great hotel for children of all ages.

 

[YesterDark]

My husband and I are currently planning to go to Disney with our daughter in September 9-13, 2019. I haven't been to Disney since I was about 11 and my husband has never been. Any advice on how to prepare for the trip? We are planning on staying at Polynesian so we can take the monorail to MK. Our budget is between 6-8k and we'll be flying in from Detroit.

All the information is on the internet so you just have to learn what sites you like and go from there. This site is wonderful to look through to find out what other people are doing, and how other people are planning. Everyone has their own style that'll vary depending on how intense or laid back they like their vacations.

That being said, a good place to start is to simple google "Disney Blog" and you'll find a ton of popular websites. Find those that you like and browse through their archives. You'll find a lot of them linked here. These should be your go-to reference to search for information. There are plenty of sites out there that give the same advice with things like 1) packing lists 2) gadgets to bring 3) storage devices 4) ways to stay cool etc.

The way I plan things are is pretty logically, and if you don't mind my rambling, I'll give you a rundown of my thought process:

1. Once I figure out when I'm going and where I'm staying and my travel is booked I set up a spreadsheet or calendar as a way to organize my trip.
2. I book end the trip so I set up my my days of travel. Flight in and flight out. What you do that day depends on when you're arriving. A lot of people like to arrive a day early and stay at a cheap hotel so they get a full day at the resort even though you may have a late check in. Then I set up the day I'm leaving. I know when I have to start getting to the buses to head to the airport.
3. Then I figure out what parks I'm going to and how many times I want to go to them.
4. This is important, especially if you have young kids, PLAN YOUR DOWNTIME! I like to alternate park days with resort days. Resort days is a day out of the parks where we go swimming and shopping etc. I typically never do more than 2 days in a row without a break. For reference my last visit I had a 4 and a 2 yo. My next trip will add my 6 month old whenever that may be (next year at some point).
5. Once you get what parks you want to do start filling them in to your spreadsheet/calendar. If you're doing 2x MK days and 1 AK day, with one day off for example, how do you want the rhythm of the trip to go? Then figure out what you want to do. Are you a rope dropper? Are you a morning park person, hotel for lunch/nap, back to the park at night? Are you an all day person? Decide how you want to treat each day and be mindful of #4.
6. Set up your daily boundaries, i.e. fill out that day with 8am Park Arrival, 10:30pm Back to the Hotel. If you're an all day kind of family and you're rope dropping show up at the parks an hour before the park opens to take care of pictures and stores on main street and hit up those first few rides quickly.
7. Set up your fastpasses for early in the day and take advantage of being able to set up your 4th and 5th and beyond fast pass on the fly. Learn about the MDE app.
8. If you plan on eating on property set up your advanced dining reservations (ADRs).
9. Sign up for touringplans.com and use their tools to find ADRs and give you the appropriate count downs to when you can set fast passes and even send in fax requests if you have a specific room you'd like. TP.com can give you views of individual rooms that you can browse. This was very helpful when I was at Coronado Springs last summer.
10. Once your fast passes, meals, and parks are all set up along with your travel plans, then you're basically done. From there you can get as detailed as you want setting up a plan to view the parks. Some people wing it, some people run an exact touring plan down to the minute. Your style is up to you.

 

[tlmadden73]

I've gone to WDW my son was 2 and then when my daughter was only 5 mo.

Both had its challenges, but both trips were fun.

My general advice while there:
1) Manage expectations - just plan on going slow and plan on doing stuff only they can go on. Yep .. you'll have to skip some fun rides unless you want to go solo.
Know you can't do it "all".
2) Plan on going early (rope drop) and napping in the park in the early afternoon (or going back to the hotel since you are so close)
3) Plan on ending your day early (not later than normal bedtime) . it's tempting to want to see Fireworks with the kids, but that is a late night for ones that little, especially if you want to get up early the next day. We've enjoyed them just fine from our hotel as we are tucking them into bed.
4) Fast Pass whatever you can .. even if it "planners" or guides tell you not to because it is traditionally a short wait time. ANY line skipped is a good thing with a toddler.
5) Get your Fast Passes ALL for the morning and all in the same general area of the park (don't criss-cross the park trying to use Fast Passes). This leaves your afternoon flexible (key for a child that may be wiped out by 1:00 PM) and let's you get Fast Passes "on the fly" for a ride nearby potentially.
6) Avoid "scary" rides (and be aware that what you don't consider scary . they may find frightening) .. We avoided rides like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, etc to avoid crying on the ride and/or nightmares later.
7) Stop and smell the roses .. get pictures at photo spots, go shopping, stop and see street shows .. let them dance at dance parties. if they vocalize their favorite ride .. go on it again and again!
8) Do a character meal - a great way for a little one to see characters without waiting in line .. and it doesn't cost any extra for them (since eat free at buffets).
9) Don't let friends/family inevitable "guilt trip" (You are taking them that young . they won't even remember) bother you

Other tips:
1) Take plenty of snacks, water, etc.
2) Bring a good backpack to be the diaper bag.
3) To lighten the load, bring a bag of emergency stuff (like a change of clothes, extra diapers) and rent a locker.
4) Rent (since you are flying) (via 3rd party sites) a good stroller that reclines all the way flat and has good shade/coverage. It's easier than bringing your own on a plane. They deliver it right to your hotel.
5) Prep your child - show them Disney videos/shorts (maybe even whole movies) of Disney characters the would see in the parks so they "recognize" them in the parks. It will make it way more fun for you and them. Disney Junior shows, Winnie the Pooh, etc. A lot of age-appropriate things for children that age.

And most of all .. Disney World is MAGICAL for kids .. even THAT young .. enjoy them enjoying seeing things.

 

[sponica]

FYI: My daughter HATED dumbo. Liked looking at it, liked sitting in it. The minute that elephant started flying, pure terror. She hated Winnie the Pooh. It's A Small World. Basically anything inside and dark. She tolerated jungle cruise. She was ok on the safari in AK, except when the jeep jostled.

Literally the only rides she liked were the nemo ride at Epcot and Frozen Ever after (until she got wet on the drop). If she could have, she would have sat through the country bears a million times.

She loved the Irish Step Dancers at Raglan Road in Disney Springs.

Her other goals on this trip, climbing on every park bench she saw.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I've gone to WDW my son was 2 and then when my daughter was only 5 mo.

Both had its challenges, but both trips were fun.

My general advice while there:
1) Manage expectations - just plan on going slow and plan on doing stuff only they can go on. Yep .. you'll have to skip some fun rides unless you want to go solo.
Know you can't do it "all".
2) Plan on going early (rope drop) and napping in the park in the early afternoon (or going back to the hotel since you are so close)
3) Plan on ending your day early (not later than normal bedtime) . it's tempting to want to see Fireworks with the kids, but that is a late night for ones that little, especially if you want to get up early the next day. We've enjoyed them just fine from our hotel as we are tucking them into bed.
4) Fast Pass whatever you can .. even if it "planners" or guides tell you not to because it is traditionally a short wait time. ANY line skipped is a good thing with a toddler.
5) Get your Fast Passes ALL for the morning and all in the same general area of the park (don't criss-cross the park trying to use Fast Passes). This leaves your afternoon flexible (key for a child that may be wiped out by 1:00 PM) and let's you get Fast Passes "on the fly" for a ride nearby potentially.
6) Avoid "scary" rides (and be aware that what you don't consider scary . they may find frightening) .. We avoided rides like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, etc to avoid crying on the ride and/or nightmares later.
7) Stop and smell the roses .. get pictures at photo spots, go shopping, stop and see street shows .. let them dance at dance parties. if they vocalize their favorite ride .. go on it again and again!
8) Do a character meal - a great way for a little one to see characters without waiting in line .. and it doesn't cost any extra for them (since eat free at buffets).
9) Don't let friends/family inevitable "guilt trip" (You are taking them that young . they won't even remember) bother you

Other tips:
1) Take plenty of snacks, water, etc.
2) Bring a good backpack to be the diaper bag.
3) To lighten the load, bring a bag of emergency stuff (like a change of clothes, extra diapers) and rent a locker.
4) Rent (since you are flying) (via 3rd party sites) a good stroller that reclines all the way flat and has good shade/coverage. It's easier than bringing your own on a plane. They deliver it right to your hotel.
5) Prep your child - show them Disney videos/shorts (maybe even whole movies) of Disney characters the would see in the parks so they "recognize" them in the parks. It will make it way more fun for you and them. Disney Junior shows, Winnie the Pooh, etc. A lot of age-appropriate things for children that age.

And most of all .. Disney World is MAGICAL for kids .. even THAT young .. enjoy them enjoying seeing things.

Thanks for typing all of that so I didn’t have to do it.