Touring plans with toddlers!

[etoiles]

Hi all,

I need some advice as we are new to traveling with a little one. In early December we are headed to WDW with our little guy that will be about 19-20 months at the time. Since we have been several times by ourselves as adults we won't need to go on a lot of the height requirement rides, just a few of our favorites.

Where is the best place to find a toddler focused touring plan for each park that has FP+ advice? I looked through the Unofficial Guide with Kids 2014 edition but it didn't really have FP+ suggestions yet.

 

[kmb584]

Have you checked Touring Plans?

 

[eskimopie]

I think with how different kids that age are, I would just make my own plan. We brought DD when she was 21 months for the first time. Every recommendation we got was to go back to the room mid day, but L would nap in the stroller for 2 hours every day, so we were able to stay at the park and do what we wanted. We started every day early, made a list of like 3-4 must do items, and then just played it by ear after that. We used her nap times to take turns riding the rides we couldn't do with her and it worked out great.

 

[cpburgess]

touring plans (but that is a pay site),
Kenny the pirate or easywdw.
All have good touring plans (KTP and TP both have ones specifically for little ones)

 

[quakechicago]

I love touringplans.

The other thing is to watch youtube videos of rides and meet and greets with your LO so they know what to expect and see if they can handle it. Our kiddo loved pooh, but wants nothing to do with Ursula or any pirates. She doesn't mind the dark, but she is afraid of certain voices and sounds.

She loves Doc McStuffins, but is terrified of Stuffy and Chilly's voices so seeing the Disney Junior show online let her and me know that it was a no because it not only had them, it had Captain Hook and also Cedric from Sofia.

We did do a ton of character meals (after watching the videos this and autographs is what my then 2 yo (nearly 3) wanted to do most) and meets. Our next trip we're doing it all again and adding pins and a passport for Epcot. We spend a great amount of time going around the world there and in AK.

Have fun!

 

[etoiles]

Have you checked Touring Plans?

I did try and look since I've used them in the past for just DH and I but since you have to pay I didn't want to pay unless people said the plans for kids were really worth while.

I think with how different kids that age are, I would just make my own plan. We brought DD when she was 21 months for the first time. Every recommendation we got was to go back to the room mid day, but L would nap in the stroller for 2 hours every day, so we were able to stay at the park and do what we wanted. We started every day early, made a list of like 3-4 must do items, and then just played it by ear after that. We used her nap times to take turns riding the rides we couldn't do with her and it worked out great.

Thanks. I did consider making the plans myself but I'm unfamiliar with FP+ and don't know what rides to use it for and so forth so I thought at least seeing a more experienced person's plan would be easy and then adapt it to my own needs.

touring plans (but that is a pay site),
Kenny the pirate or easywdw.
All have good touring plans (KTP and TP both have ones specifically for little ones)

Thanks, I will check them out!

I love touringplans.

The other thing is to watch youtube videos of rides and meet and greets with your LO so they know what to expect and see if they can handle it. Our kiddo loved pooh, but wants nothing to do with Ursula or any pirates. She doesn't mind the dark, but she is afraid of certain voices and sounds.

She loves Doc McStuffins, but is terrified of Stuffy and Chilly's voices so seeing the Disney Junior show online let her and me know that it was a no because it not only had them, it had Captain Hook and also Cedric from Sofia.

We did do a ton of character meals (after watching the videos this and autographs is what my then 2 yo (nearly 3) wanted to do most) and meets. Our next trip we're doing it all again and adding pins and a passport for Epcot. We spend a great amount of time going around the world there and in AK.

Have fun!

I am definitely worried about him being scared on some rides since he is a cautious kid but our first day is at Epcot so I figure we can ease into things slowly with easier attractions like Living in the Land and Turtle Talk and see how he does and go from there.

Any other suggestions are appreciated!

 

[mediadiva]

Hi all,

I need some advice as we are new to traveling with a little one. In early December we are headed to WDW with our little guy that will be about 19-20 months at the time. Since we have been several times by ourselves as adults we won't need to go on a lot of the height requirement rides, just a few of our favorites.

Always know where the baby care centers are. I prefer the bathrooms in there, a GREAT place to take a break when its hot or tired. They had cute little tables and my girls ate their cheese bunnies and watched cartoons on the tv it was perfect. They also stock some useful items for purchase if you forget something or run out of diapers.

 

[jtg2]

I went to DW last autumn when my DS was 18 months. We had a blast. I didn't go with a touring plan, so I can't speak toward that subject. What I do advice is to give yourself loooots of time. We spent an hour and a half at Tom Sawyer's Island exploring... and the only reason we left was because of lunch time. He climbed up 2/3 of the stairs in Swiss Family Robinson and that probably took us 30 minutes to get in and out. At Animal Kingdom we spent twenty minutes making mud pies near a pig (thank heavens for soap, water, and hand sanitizer). It wasn't until I went with him that I really noticed and appreciated all of the interesting details and dressings that the imagineers put near the ground (and how many fake doorknobs exist in the Magic Kingdom). It's similar stories at any attraction and park - fifteen minutes to get into Little Mermaid because we counted all of the lights and inspected all the shells in the queuing area, an hour to play in Dumbo's tent, three laps on the People Pusher, etc.

 

[Maggie at the Fort]

I really like touring plans. With the customizable ones, you can start with one of their child focused plans and then make changes. I will tell you that I think they over estimate how much a toddler can do in a day. Make sure you make time in your plans for the random little things that catch your little one's attention. At that age, my daughter loved live music. We learned to stop and let her enjoy any time we stumbled across a performance!