Just back pregnant and with 2 yr old, any ?s

[sunnymom]

Just got back from a wonderful trip to Disney. I was 5 mos pregnant and traveled with my 2 yr old daughter and husband. would love to answer any question you might have.

 

[CarrieAP]

I am taking my 2 and 5 year old daughters next month and am curious as to how your 2 year old reacted? Were there things she was afraid of? Did you have difficulty with behavior, tantrums etc?

My daughter is on the sensitive side (i.e. holds her hands over her ears when frightened) so I am not sure how she will be with all the characters and commotion. She loves activities and takes it all in, but can be a bit unpredictable. Also, a fairly typical toddler with her behavior. She was a breeze when we took her at 8 months, but I am apprehensive about this trip. We took my older daughter when she was 2, but she is an unusually great child so I was very spoiled!

Any advice is appreciated!

'83,'84,'88 off site
3/98 CSR
6/98 Dolphin
4/99 CSR
5/99 DL
7/99 Yacht Club
5/01 CSR

 

[sunnymom]

I was also worried about my daughter's behavior in Disney. She just started exhibiting the so called "terrible twos." Amazingly, she was great! I think it helped with our first day there going to Downtown Disney and not one of the parks. We didn't get into Disney until the early afternoon so we debated on using a hopper for the rest of the day or go somewhere else. I am glad we did what we did. I think it warmed her up to all the activity that was ahead for her. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe which is really loud. She got scard at the thunder (every 18 min) and the animal noises. She held her ears but then seemed to be ok after we showed her around the place and talked her through the thunder. Don't think I would go there again. She got to ride the train and carolsol (sp?) and play at lego land. I was hoping that she would be able to run through the fountains but they are all turned off in Disney because of the drought. The only one on is the one at the entrance of Downtown Disney. We didn't find this out until our last day at disney when we went back there. They are all turned off at the parks as well (including Ariel's Grotto and Donald Duck's boat.)

I think you will be surprised how well you child does. My daughter never wants to be in a stroller and she sat in there most of the time (other times we let her "push" the stroller - this seemed to help with her not taking off). She did great in lines because there are other children to watch. She only took off twice from us and then my husband took her to a bench and put her in a "disney 2 min time-out." It seemed to work. We took a harness but didn't need to use it.

As for the characters, my daughter loved them. I didn't know what to expect. We saw the Bear in the Big Blue House our first day which warmed her up to the characters. If you go see Ariel, try to be in line by 10:15am (opens at 10:30am)because the line gets so long (>50min wait.) We did the Crystal Palace Pooh breakfast which was fantastic. The characters walk to each table and don't seem so intimidating. My daughter got so excited to see them. Every child is different but I think yours will do fine.

As for loud rides/shows, we didn't ride any that were too loud or see any shows that were known to be loud (Heard that Little Mermaid and fantasia is loud. We didn't do 3D shows either because she would never keep on the glasses). You might want to do a search because I know there is something out there that talks about loud scary rides and loud shows. We really didn't get to do or see much because of her temperment and the lines. We constantly did the pooh ride (recommend fast past.)

One word of advice..if you feel you child needs to "let go" go to toontown and let her play in the play-yard (across from Mickey's house - has 2 cool slides.) It is all enclosed in and helps to let them run free without you having to worry about them.

Sorry so long.

 

[kimartyraye@att.net]

How many days were you there and how many different parks did you visit? And, I hate to ask BUT, did you bring a stroller or rent at the parks? If you brought yours, what kind was it? If you rented, how would you rate the rentals at each park? Did you use the baby-swap at all? If so, how would you rate it? Did you take breaks? What was a typical day like, hours-wise? Sorry for all the ?'s. We're going in 61 days and I'm just counting the days! DH, myself, DS13 and DD3 (her first time)! TIA!

 

[sunnymom]

We were there for 8 days and got a 4 day hopper. We went to MK, MGM and Epcot. We brought our stroller and I am glad we did. They were $7 a day at MK and there was a very long line to rent them. We have a combi convenience stroller and love it. It has been to Disney twice and still is going strong. We didn't use the baby swap since I am pregnant and didn't feel like going on too many rides. I did ride pooh alot. As for breaks, we always took one during my daughter's nap time. Each day was different depending on where we went and what we had planned. I will tell you that it was hard with a 2 yr old to leave the park and then plan on returning later. Instead, we did Epcot countries, the boardwalk, downtown disney, international drive or the pool for dinner. I must say our best day was when we got in early at the parks because we were trying to get Cindy's breakfast ressies. We got in on early entry day for the resort guests. It turned out that they didn't have any openings for breakfast so we took advantage of the small/no lines. It seems as though the major crowds came in after 10:30am. On the day we went early, we parked at MK and just walked up to the monorail (avoided waiting for the tran.) We were able to do Pooh twice, dumbo, peter pan, small world, carolsal (3x), eat breakfast and meet Ariel before it was too crowded. We stayed until 2 that day and then went back for my daughter's nap. On most days, we would plan to be at the parks until 3 and then head home for her nap. On one day, we decide to stay for the magic moments parade at 3pm and left after 4pm. You should do a search for break places. I know I read something last april or may that talked about great places to take breaks in all of the parks so that you don't have to leave and return to the park. If you daughter loves cinderalla, I would recommend calling for ressies soon (can 60 days before-start calling at 6:58....they book up in minutes.) They say that they open up spots and that they take walk-ins but it is really hard to get in. I tried like crazy but no luck. Hope that helps.

 

[AllisonG]

Just a comment....
Was there in December 00', 7 months pregnant with twins, traveling with DH, DS-3.5yo, DS-2yo and my parents. Fun? I'm still not sure and it's April! Just glad pregnancy is over!

WDW----------73,76,78,80,82,84x2,86x2,88,89x2,90,91,92x2,93x2,
95,96,97,98,99x2,00x6
next trips
11/01 FW tent &
12/01 DVC VWL

 

[CarrieAP]

Sunnymom:

Thanks so much for your great advice. Our daughters sound similar in tempermant so I am reassured. I think she will be so entertained with all the activity around her that that will help enormously. She is almost more excited than her older sister whining to go see Minnie on a daily basis. 27 days, but who's counting?!

'83,'84,'88 off site
3/98 CSR
6/98 Dolphin
4/99 CSR
5/99 DL
7/99 Yacht Club
5/01 CSR

 

[Simba's Girl]

You were able to do WDW 5mopg w/ a 2YO! We were going to TTC this fall/winter but are moving it back a couple mos b/c we really want to go to disney again and I don't think I could do it pg w/ a 2yo. (I've done it pg, and that in itself was hard!)
WAY TO GO
Heather

Roar!