Tips for trip with a two year old?

My youngest was terrified of characters at 2. She’d seen the characters before. She also only liked small world. She’s 4 now and we haven’t returned since the last horrendous trip. 🤣 But every day she still prays “thank you for small world”. Only thing we rode multiple times.

We stick to home schedule including naps and bedtime. With 5 adults that would be easy for you! We average 5 hours per day in the parks.
 
My son at 23 months loved characters and rides...Though he was inconsolable in some lines. He didn't understand why he could see the ride but not get on it immediately. We tried different things to distract him in lines, and sometimes it would work in the beginning, but as soon as he could see the ride vehicles he wanted to go on and didn't know why we had to wait. Be ready for meltdowns and always stay flexible. A toddler will almost never do things "according to plan" so take it slow. The best times we had during this last trip was letting him play in Goofy's house and Doanld's boat in Toon Town and riding the train around the park.
 
If they still nap as you are leaving the hotel each morning call and ask if they can make up your room early.

This is actually good advice for everyone who likes to get to the parks for early entry or rope drop. Housekeeping is happy to put your room on the list to be cleaned first, because it saves them from having to knock on doors trying to find empty rooms at the beginning of the shift.

We usually stay at DLH, and call housekeeping before leaving for early entry every day. The rooms are always cleaned and ready when we return around 10:30 or 11:00.
 
My son at 23 months loved characters and rides...Though he was inconsolable in some lines. He didn't understand why he could see the ride but not get on it immediately. We tried different things to distract him in lines, and sometimes it would work in the beginning, but as soon as he could see the ride vehicles he wanted to go on and didn't know why we had to wait. Be ready for meltdowns and always stay flexible. A toddler will almost never do things "according to plan" so take it slow. The best times we had during this last trip was letting him play in Goofy's house and Doanld's boat in Toon Town and riding the train around the park.

we are taking our two year old on Tuesday and these in-line-meltdowns are what have me the most nervous!! Since we have to park the stroller, I’m not sure how to handle her impatience.
 


we are taking our two year old on Tuesday and these in-line-meltdowns are what have me the most nervous!! Since we have to park the stroller, I’m not sure how to handle her impatience.
Baby carrier helped us. We’ve used a Tula, toddler Lenny lamb, & ergo.
 
I would agree with the snacks, lots of snacks!! We always packed a few new small surprises, too (Like a disney blind bag that had a small character figure in it) that served as good distractions in line and would last for awhile since it was a new toy to play with.

If you're not sure how they will do with characters,you can show them videos/pictures of other kids meeting the characters and see if that it something that looks fun to them. We always start with a character meal at Chef Mickey's in WDW and are planning to do the same at Chef Goofy's when we arrive at disney. People complain about the buffet food, but we find it a great way to start the trip and get the kids excited about characters with less pressure than a character meet line.
 


Another idea for characters is finding somewhere local with some type of character. My 4 yo is terrified of the creature at Texas Roadhouse.

Prior to one trip there was an Easter bunny at Walmart. That was a good coincidence for us to test!
 
Oldest didn't like meeting characters, but really enjoyed watching other kids do M&Gs. We would find a nearby bench or someplace to sit, then watch all the other kids hug the characters and take photos. (This works well with Mickey in Town Square!) Oldest would laugh and laugh. We got great photos of him that way and he had a really fun time without any stress. Youngest liked M&Gs as long as they weren't princesses. LOL.
 
My kids are 8, 6, 4, and 1 and we've had toddlers there since we took my oldest at around age 3. It 100% depends on the kid - some are going to be overstimulated and crazy, mine have always been big sleepers and were ready for stroller naps by 10am in addition to the regular afternoon nap at 2. We are militant about nap schedules, but did not go back to the hotel room for naps. too much FOMO, and they ended up falling asleep for an hour or two in the stroller anyway. Get grocery delivery/go somewhere and bring tons of toddler snacks. For big rides, we always left an adult with the toddler buckled in the stroller, because once they start running around it's game over and frankly they'll just get run over by a person or an ECV anyway. The toon town playground is the only place I felt ok having a small kid walking around.

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but basically we just did what we wanted to do, and there were enough "everybody" rides sprinkled in that the little kids don't get bored. Kids never like the things you think they will, and then they throw a tantrum and everyone is pissed because "we spent $200 for this and why don't you like mickey in real life when you love him at home???." So my advice would be don't plan your day around the baby, plan it around what you want to do and know it might just take a little longer than normal. there was always so much people watching my kids didn't care about being in the stroller most of the time.
 
Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but basically we just did what we wanted to do, and there were enough "everybody" rides sprinkled in that the little kids don't get bored. Kids never like the things you think they will, and then they throw a tantrum and everyone is pissed because "we spent $200 for this and why don't you like mickey in real life when you love him at home???." So my advice would be don't plan your day around the baby, plan it around what you want to do and know it might just take a little longer than normal. there was always so much people watching my kids didn't care about being in the stroller most of the time.

It's really weird. Our kid loved Mickey from watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at the grandparents. Before we went we on our kid's first DL visit at 2, we said were were going on vacation to "Mickey's house". But my kid was kind of freaked out with costumed mascots. Freaked out at a baseball game and was scared of Oski the bear. But at Disneyland that just sort of melted away. We've got photos with all sorts of costumed characters including Mickey, Pluto, and Donald.

Cut to now (9) and my kid is asking how bad it must smell inside a Mickey costume. But it's still fun even if there's a realization that it's not really Mickey Mouse but some CM in a hot, sweaty suit.
 
We just got back and I wanted to update everyone on how it went! Despite some difficulties with bedtime we had an awesome time. She LOVED Dumbo, the teacups, the Disneyland railroad and especially Mater’s tractor ride. She also had fun wandering around toontown. She was a little afraid of dark rides so I gave her a small glow cube to hold during those. We stuck to nap times in the hotel room and that worked well for us. She was not afraid of the characters and loved pointing them out (altho she called them all Mickey Mouse). My husband and I got to ride a ton of rides (including rise of the resistance!!!) while the 3 grandparents took turns with her (either in the park or sleeping in the hotel room). All in all a very successful trip! Two year olds can definitely have a great time in Disneyland!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top