[BuzzLightyear]

Just wondering how anyone with a little one (ours will be 26 months) handles them in the parks. What I mean is, do you let them walk a lot or keep them in the stroller most of the time? Any advice would help.

Thanks!!

[trishb]

Buzz...you know your child best. My little boy was 21 months when we were there in January. We let him walk when the crowds were light. We made him ride when he was tired or when there was a lot of people around.

I need to say that my boy does not like to be confined and riding in the stroller was sometimes a challenge. The solution? Snacks. We kept snacks and drinks for him AT ALL TIMES. Nothing sooths the savage toddler like Disney World popcorn:whistle:

[ajbdk5]

;) I agree with Trish!! And midday brakes were our savior, an hour in the pool after a morning in the stroller (at the MK) really helped getting our little one back into the stroller for an evening in the parks. We also brought a "blankie", pacifier, and sipper cup EVERYWHERE!!! Tom Sawyer Island was another great "run yourself ragged" stop! A half hour there had our DD sleeping in her stroller for an hour while we toured the rest of the park. Good Luck, BUZZ!

AMY

[iluvwdw]

This info is great. I am going to Disney in August and my DS will be 22 months old, so I am wondering how the trip will go. He is in the stage where he has tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants...especially when he is tired! So this trip should be INTERESTING to say the least.

The last time we were there, he was 7 months old and he couldn't walk yet, so he had to be in the stroller. This year will be a different story. He will want to run all over the place, especially when he sees all the kids everywhere!

Also, does anyone have a list of what rides and attractions children at this age can and cannot do? Or that I shouldn't waste my time doing? Just wondering...any help would be GREAT....

THANKS ALL!:)

[tinkerbell]

most toddlers have more energy then thier parents (or grandparents) I remember though we use to take the girls over to tom sawyers island when they were small and let them go a bit to burn off some of it .. all the parks have little spots where kids can be active .. and that way they may tolerate stroller rides better.. over at toon town fair .. there is a nice area .. at Epcot there are several little places like in the UK and France where even at busy times there arent many people and well little ones like to explore ..one of the reasons the girls and we liked tom sawyers island for a break .. critters .. they were always seeing little rabbits and of course ducks ducks and more ducks :) of course now our granddaughters have always just loved animals .. including lizards .. and there are lots small animals like rabbits, squirrels and ..oooo yes birds birds and more birds !!!
As its been said ..you know your baby and you can make what ever adjustments as you go along that will make it easier for everyone :)

[ajbdk5]

Hi, Kim- The great thing about Disney World is that you can go on almost everything as a family. All toddlers LOVE Fantasyland rides and Mickey's Toontown Fair area, oh and don't forget the railroad!
Also, you can do the "stroller swap" for the more adult/biggie rides. You get in line altogether and then take turns, one waits with your little one and the other rides the ride-and vice versa. This is a real time saver when you want to have some fun on Space Mountain! And I can't say enough about a midday break back at the hotel, the pool or resort play area spared us!!:) AMY

[brumcg]

Our youngest - who has been 1, almost 2, and 3 on our last 3 trips - has been allowed to ride in 'strolly' or walk as she's wanted. She chooses the stoller 95% of the time - even on this last trip. That works great - since we have much more control over our pace and our target destination.

One of the reasons that we like the Disney stollers is that she can get herself in and out of it as needed.

Bruce

[ArielBelle]

Hi Buzz!
Last time we went my youngest was 19 months. He mostly rode in the stroller, but explored Toontown. It wasn't crowded and he just ran and ran. We also let him "choose" when he wanted to walk. If he saw something interesting he wanted out...we let him.

This time my youngest will be 20 months. (Is this a pattern?) We are going to follow the same procedure. It really seemed to work.

[CaribBeachNut]

I do not recommend taking a child to WDW prior to 9 or 10 years old. IMHO, it is just too much for them to handle it all and it costs too much money to spend 4 or 5 hours in a park and call that a day. Younger than 9 or 10, they wouldn't remember when they're older anyways. There are vacations better suited to little ones than massive crowds in the FL heat and sun. I wouldn't expose them to the UV of FL either. I had one pair of prescription glasses warped by the FL UV. That can not be good for a little one's health. Of course, the decision is yours, but you did ask for opinions. I didn't take my two children to WDW until the youngest was 9 years old. Even now (she's in High School), she hardly remembers that first trip. Have a good time.

[mattomouseman]

Here I go again jumping in with both feet.....

WDW is for children of ALL ages.

We took our DS's for the first time when they were 4 and a half and 2. For the first trip the little guy stayed in the stroller and the older guy was in the stroller or in a harness with a "leash" (For lack of a better word) attached to it. And when we went the next year the little guy had the harness also. Up until the big guy was 5 I think we used a harness on him. It is just to easy for a child to disappear in the throngs of people that you can encounter especially when you have two running around. Some people are taken aback by this and we've gotten some snide remarks which we usually ignore or advise the person that we'd rather have him on the leash then lose him! :)

[tiggerlover1971]

Originally posted by mattomouseman
Here I go again jumping in with both feet.....

WDW is for children of ALL ages.

We took our DS's for the first time when they were 4 and a half and 2. For the first trip the little guy stayed in the stroller and the older guy was in the stroller or in a harness with a "leash" (For lack of a better word) attached to it. And when we went the next year the little guy had the harness also. Up until the big guy was 5 I think we used a harness on him. It is just to easy for a child to disappear in the throngs of people that you can encounter especially when you have two running around. Some people are taken aback by this and we've gotten some snide remarks which we usually ignore or advise the person that we'd rather have him on the leash then lose him! :)

I agree wholeheartedly disney is for all ages not just grownups or older kids i love to see babys when they see Mickey for the first time there eyes get so big and the look that is on their face is priceless

it reminds me of this

hotel 1000 dollars
theme park tickets for families 1000
childrens faces priceless

[goofygal1975]

Originally posted by tiggerlover1971

it reminds me of this

hotel 1000 dollars
theme park tickets for families 1000
childrens faces priceless

This is a *perfect* explantion, tiggerlover1971!!! There is another thread on here about taking small children to WDW that I voiced my opinion in, so I wont do it here again...but that just about sums it up!!:D

It's been a year or so since we stopped using a stroller for my ds.(Even up until he was 5 or almost 6, sometimes we rented one, just to have if he got tired out, and we used it to lug around the back packs!) When we did use them, we kinda did half and half. Half the time he'd have to stay in the stroller, other times, depending on where we were and what we were doing, he'd be able to get out and walk around as long as it wasn't too crowded.

[buzzsmommy]

Buzz, with my two boys being 2 and 3 last time, I found that we used the stroller to get from "area to area" (like Tomorrow Land) and then parked it in one spot to get on rides. It was easier to let them walk with us within these areas and leave the stroller at on convenient place than to load and unload (x2) after each ride. That way they were out of the stroller for a while but back in when we needed to walk longer or faster. I found that even my normally active 2 yr-old want IN the stroller -- I think it felt familiar and safer in these active places. Best of Luck. We had such a good time in Nov. 02 we're going again in May -- so it can be done, even with 2 toddlers!!!!

[ohiominnie]

We took our son at 26 months and he had a blast! He loved all of Fantasyland, the train, Jungle cruise and Astroorbiters at MK. Epcot was not a great idea. MGM had Playhouse Disney, Little Mermaid, Muppets and Beauty and the Beast and DAK had the safari ride, dinosaur spin ride and and animal trails. We had a stroller with us at all times, plus snacks, juice and water - make the kid drink as much as possible! Take lots of diapers so that you can change really frequently - all that water must come out too and wet diaper have to be extra uncomfortable in the hot weather.

He loved character meals too - some kids hate them at that age so try the characters in the park before committing. Plus - buffet meals at Disney are free for kids under 3! Also, don't hesitate to schedule a PS for nice restaurants - they all have kids meals!

[trishb]

Originally posted by iluvwdw
This info is great. I am going to Disney in August and my DS will be 22 months old, so I am wondering how the trip will go. He is in the stage where he has tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants...especially when he is tired! So this trip should be INTERESTING to say the least.

Don't worry about a thing! I found that there was so much to occupy my little boy...that he was actually easier to take care of while we were at WDW. Bear in mind that we ALWAYS put his needs FIRST, and we ALWAYS took breaks. We NEVER pushed his limits, and we ALWAYS had snacks.

His favorite thing to do? Play with Mom and Dad. He loved the early morning walk around the hotel...and the early morning walk through a deserted World Showcase. These were the times when we let him walk and explore at his own pace. Very important.