First Time with a Toddler

[kpcarrier]

I am considering taking my son to WDW in September to celebrate his 2nd birthday. I have been several times as an adult with out kids but never with kids.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips to help prevent the meltdowns that are so common. I don't want to push him too hard so that he doesn't enjoy the trip.

Also can anyone point me to a place where the height requirements are posted for the various attractions? One last thing what are your little ones favorite attractions?

Thanks so much.

[HauntedGabe]

I took my children from the time DS was 14 months and DD was 2 months.
My best advice is to forget about touring the parks like an adult and view from a childs point. They do not have any real fear at that age so it is a perfect time for the haunted mansion. We took them on all the family rides, they loved the boat rides and dumbo type attractions along with the carousel. AK and Epcot work as long as you stick to the slow moving attractions. Some of the dark ones in the parks are a perfect speed and darkness to put them down for a nap. Ellen in Epcot, HM in MK.

Evenings we always to them to the pool and hot tub for some down time.
We never hit "our" favorite attractions again for about 4 years until my DS was ready to graduate up to some bigger attractions. We would do 6 or 7 hours in the park and done. It really is a great place to spend some family time with little kids.

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

We just kept our normal "schedule" in terms of naps, meals, etc... It meant leaving the parks before fireworks or evening parades to make a normal bed time, but no melt downs.

[BamaJenn]

I've been taking DS since he was 10 months old... at least once a year if not more. We have yet to have a meltdown... well... at least not one that was related to wanting/not wanting to ride something.

The biggest thing I can tell you is to make sure you have a comfortable stroller. Lots of folks go back to the room etc. for naps and we did as well but over half the time, DS conked out in his stroller and took his nap without us having to leave the park.

Another important thing... regardless of how often you plan to eat or where, bring your child's favorite snacks and a cup with their favorite drink.

If you find there is a particular attraction that your child likes, don't be afraid to do it over and over again. DS's was the TTA. Can't tell you how many times we've ridden it since he was born. It was a great way to bring him down a bit too after a lot of craziness.

As far as the height requirements, they are actually posted in lots of places, on lots of sites, but the official WDW site has them as well (and that's what I always use because some have changed over time). Really though, the majority of the rides, at least at the Magic Kingdom, can be ridden by little ones with the exception of ones that are "obvious" like Space Mountain, Big Thunder, etc.

One other note, and this depends a lot on your individual child, definitely get some ADRs for character meals... if your child isn't terrified of them. It's a fantastic way for kids to get to meet their favorite characters without having to stand in the lines to do so. Plus, the "sit down" meal is a great time to chill out and bring kids back down to earth for a bit.

You'll fall into a rhythm pretty fast. I had lots of questions when we first started taking DS but after the first day, we had gotten our own list of "do's" and "don'ts" for our DS.