Fun Things to do with a 2 year old

[faberj]

Hello Everyone. Our next trip will be our first trip traveling with our son (he will have just turned 2 years old) at the time of our trip. Any tips, tricks, and fun things to do with him. Also what rides to take him on.

We will be staying at the Swan/Dolpin Resort (only because my DH's convention is there) and will have park hopper tickets to all 4 parks.

I am planning on bringing our stoller from home for his comfort.

Thanks!

[RBrooksC]

Our daughter was two when we went in May. She rode every ride she could when we were there.

We also took time each day to swim in the hotel pool.

We did two character meals. The costume characters my daughter did not like. The Princess meal she loves because they were face characters. On the reverse, when we went when my son was two, he loved the costume characters.

[Jillirose]

You'll be very close to Cape May at BC for a character meal My kids loved everything at 2. We usually did one park in the a.m. and one at p.m., lunch and swim at pool midday and then nap!!

[Cara121078]

I would suggest a character meal at the beginning of your trip. Your son will be able to slowly warm up to the characters. They can be quite overwhelming for a little one. He will be able to go on any ride that does not have a height restriction. Have a wonderful time!

[faline]

We went with a rather shy 2 year old a couple of years ago. Surprisingly, he loved the costumed characters! He was indifferent to the face characters - one never knows as each kid is different and can also vary from trip to trip.

I'd be prepared to take it slow and go at the child's pace. We didn't cover as much ground with him as we thought we would but he enjoyed what he did do!

[Joannelet]

At age 1 we were able to take my son on everything....at age 2 that all changed.
He suddenly became scared of stuff...so here is the best advice I can give.
Don't plan on a character breakfast till the end or mid week. You have no idea how he is going to handle the characters and instead of him screaming throughout the entire meal wait and see how he handles the characters in the beginning of the week. If he likes it go to the character meal...if not cancel. Be willing to change plans as much as possible if necessary. Avoid It's a Bugs Life-my biggest regret at age 2.
You may want to start off in Magic Kindgom and hit Fantasyland first...as to set the mood for the rest of the week. It will be much easier to get him on darker rides like POTC if you take him on the VERY mild ones first. Because I listened to other people instead of following my own instincts I set a tone for the entire trip the first day and I knew I was in trouble. He never showed fear before this trip...so just take it sloooowwwww

Some areas he will like are:
IN ANIMAL KINGDOM
The dino play area in Dinoland, USA
Kilamanjari safari
The Lion King Show
the dino ride that is like Dumbo (sorry I even worked in the park and forget the name LOL
My 2 year old enjoyed Flights of Wonder show as well.
Camp Minnie and Mickey for the characters
Train ride to Rafiki's planet watch and the petting zoo there.

Magic Kingdom
All of Fantasyland of course (my son's fav was Dumbo and It's a small world!)
POTC (my son wasn't a fan of dark rides at 2 so I skipped this at 2 with him)
Carousel of Progress
Country Bears Jamboree (he loved!!!)
Magic Carpets
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Grand Prix Raceway

Epcot
Innoventions....my son loved these events even if he didn't "get" what we were doing
Spaceship Earth (just a little freaked out in the dark areas) I had to talk him through some of it
Nemo Ride-can be a little scary for some kids as it is a dark ride and none of the kids I know usually don't like Bruce...so if your child is okay with that then take him on it. Other than that the area outside the ride where the aquarium is was an area my son loved.
Living with the Land
The Mexico ride-loved it!
My son loved the Kidcot Stops in Epcot...he did his duffy the bear and went around getting it stamped at each country I highly recommend that. Gives them something to be proud of

Hollywood Studios
Disney Junior LIVE ONSTAGE! (MUST DO!)
Toy Story Mania
Meet Buzz and/or Woody or both
Cars characters
Honey I shrunk the kids play area
Hollywood and Vine has a character breakfast with Special Agent Oso, Handy Manny, Leo and June from the Little Einsteins...my son loved this or you can always meet them outside of Disney Junior Live on Stage.
the parade-my son really liked this one Pixar Parade
Took him into Lights Motor Action as he loves cars-but we had to take him out....freaked out by the explosions and the shootings....didn't like it at all!

Downtown Disney
the lego tables at the lego store!!!

Hope this helps!

[teambricker04]

My advice with 2 year olds is not to over plan your days. We still tend to do things a bit last minute and end up still having a blast (and eating at most of the places we wanted to). I am always surprised at how HUNGRY my boys get at the parks... I am always sure to bring extra snacks with me and keep munchies in the room as well.

I agree with Faline... the characters are so up to the indivdual child. I have one son who ALWAYS loved them and the other that ALWAYS disliked them. We just don't force them or make a big deal at meals. If you are at a meal and you realize that your child doesn't like the characters, you can tell the staff and the characters will skip your table or not approach the scared child. This is really great for my sons as the older can still see them and my younger is content in his seat eating.

Also... the baby changing stations are still really handy when kids are young! Make sure to use them

Good luck planning!

[disneycutie165]

Not sure if Swan & Dolphin does this, but the other resorts offer vouchers for a free game of put-put golf or a free pass for either Blizzard beach or Typhoon Lagoon. Not sure this is something that you would be interested in since your son is very young, but its just an idea. You shouldn't necessarily plan your days with a 2 year old- they tend to have their own schedule which may be far different from yours- while you may want to do something with him, well, he may not feel the same way. It's all about his mood and how he is feeling at the time. The weather is also a key factor in that category.

[disneycutie165]

*** Sorry forgot 1 point- schedules always change when it comes to Disney anyway. Even my mom & I , who are very schedule oriented people, tend to go off schedule. We've made several reservations to different restaurants and shown up hours late to them (p.s.- it's always to good to make reservations just in case because if they aren't seating walk-ins when you happen to show up late, since you are down for a reservation sometimes they will be able to seat you anyway). As I said before, it all depends on what you're doing when you're doing it.

Hope you have a great trip with your little boy!

[magicalmom]

When DD2 was 1, we made our first trip to WDW. She didn't mind Pirates or the Haunted Mansion; I guess she didn't know they were supposed to be scary. On the other hand, Winnie the Pooh at the character lunch made her nervous, but she looooved Small World - every time we'd go by, she'd point, and yell until we went in. She like riding stuff, like the train and the monorail; she liked the fireworks, she was mostly just mellow. She napped in the stroller (we brought our own that time.)

Your boy will be a little older - probably he'll love the pool, anything with animals, anything with slowish vehicles, anything with boats. He'll probably love the boat from your hotel to HS and Epcot. He might really groove on the Sword in the Stone, or he might be sad because he's too little to be chosen to try. Parades, all the playgrounds. If he likes dinosaurs, take him through Ellen's energy pavilion - he might nod off during the movie part at the end

Does Belle still do the story time at MK? Also story time at the AKL, and checking out the animals there -

I've got to second the advice about the baby changing stations -

I envy you - that part of our WDW lives is over, but it was wonderful!!! Have fun -