someone’s little one here packed the foyer rug if I remember correctly!
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I agree that minimizing the number of hotels would be best. If you are sure you want to do two locations, I love the idea of BW and Poly/Contemporary.
I admire that! I am the opposite, I’m afraid, so take this with a handful of salt. Here are some things that we brought when DD was 3.
- stroller rain cover
- battery powered lights for stroller (superfluous but fun and it does make it easier to find at night)
- Hook on baby toys for stroller
- Kid specific toiletries: kid nail clippers, kid’s toothpaste, toothbrush cup, Aquaphor, baby Tylenol/motrin, baby (rectal) thermometer and water based lubricant, kids vitamins
- safety door handle covers (so the kiddo can’t open the door while the adults sleep)
- Folding step stool so that they can reach the sink more easily
- Glow sticks, necklaces (again, superfluous but fun!)
- Kids’ headphones (for plane ride)
- disposable toilet bowl covers (made perching on public toilets cleaner / easier for my potty training kiddo)
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I agree about cutting the 3rd stay. Ours (admittedly it included an off-property in the middle) was way more stress than I’d ever want to do again.
If he’s not in a pack and play you might need a bed rail. You can get from the hotel but it can often take a while to get them to the room. Something to consider.
On the packing list topic, we found a battery powered clip on fan for the stroller really helpful. Especially since our kiddos were more stroller nappers.
For character breakfast timing, it might depend on how early he gets up and usually eats. My kiddos are usually up pretty early and need to eat pronto. So restaurant breakfasts were more like second breakfast. 
We also enjoyed Storybook Dining for an early dinner.
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This will be a big challenge bc the adults don’t eat first thing. So my plan is to get some fruit cups and vegi puffs if GS is an earlier riser/ eater. Then we can do breakfast closer to 8:45- 9 and possibly push later to 9:30- 10:00 if we forgo mornings in the park, light lunch, snack after nap and make dinner the “heavier” meal of the day…
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When DD was 18m, we did two things
- Stayed in a poly studio. The second bathroom is thr perfect pack n play cave. Add a white noise machine and a baby monitor (so i could make sure she wasnt trying to climb) and she slept like a charm.
- Saved points and shortened our trip to bring along a nanny. She stayed w the nanny entirely while we were at UOR (we found her a week at a 2 br at the westgate 5m from ak for 650!) And then at wdw we would park for a few hours doing DD friendly rides and then meet the nanny outside the park and go back in with DSthen7.
When she was 2.5, we tried 2 different things
- Renting a car and staying at AKL. we rented points so no parking fees. I actually loved having the car. We got a 2 br lock off thinking she would sleep better in a separate space. HA. one of us ended up in the king w her and the other in the studio w DS. 1 br or 2q wouldve been fine because neither of them slept a wink the first 2n. Plan on DGS NOT sleeping the first night. It may not happen but i had to change around our entire plan for the week bkz we were so beat.
- A sitter, a local gal we know who is in DCP. She was amazing and way cheaper than the nanny option, but we also got wayyyyyyyy less sleep because we didnt have a couple of nights w DD staying w the nanny
If i can dig up my old TRs for these trips i will link them!
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I didn’t have a chance to read all of the responses but here is my hot take on 2 year olds at WDW. When we went to WDW when DS had just turned 2 a month prior, we stayed at AKL. Pros: the animals of course! All of the kiddos and adults loved hanging out on the balcony every morning— not much more magical than that! Here is a pic from that trip:
Con- having to bus everywhere but…. We decided to make it an AK centric trip and the bus ride there is a breeze!
As far as what to bring, we brought pouches (he was still a fairly picky eater), diapers- day, night, and swim, plenty of outfit changes, soppy cup, stroller fan, hat, sunglasses, puddle jumper, and a baby carrier. We rented a stroller from Kingdom Strollers which included a rain cover. DS was an easy breezy napper so he would sleep in the stroller in the parks (why it was extra important to rent a nice one with a recline feature and sunshade). When he was napping, we would take turns doing other rides. I think 2 is a great time to go because most 2 year olds still nap pretty well. 3/4 years old gets a big trickier imo! I think you’ll have a great time!
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Book marked! Thank you! Will read your TRs.
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Its YOUR vacation to. Young and old (er) are always raring to go in the morning, use that energy. Rope drop, maximize ride/experience times and reduce line time. Crowds busiest early afternoon so back to hotel for nap/rest/cocktail/swim if weather permits. Most importantly, plan for unplannable, when its lunch time and you don’t want to spoil kids lunch with an ice cream to cool them down and give then a second wind, think again. Ice cream! Or Dole whip
I have let my own kids spoil a dinner or two with churros and ice cream, lol. They eat more junk food on vacay but I’m ok with that. If were not super hungry sometimes we would just do appetizers and desert.
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It has been many years since we’ve been at Disney with one under 5, but here were a few of our tips to keep ourselves sane:
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Divide and conquer - the more people along, the better. 2 year olds can be finicky and fussy, and want certain people at certain times. Nice to have flexibility and the ability to pass off when its too much for one person.
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No consecutive park days - for our group, there was always a day of rest (day of fun!) for kids in-between park days, where little walking/movement was expected and the schedule was close to normal for them.
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Shop avoidance, meal extensions - We found that a stressful time for toddlers were going into stores where there were SO many things they wanted, but so little they could actually take home. Stores became adult-only exercises. Instead, indoor time was planned around meals, with food doled out a little at a time to them both to extend the time indoors and keep them occupied with what was next. Other members of the group could even drop in / drop out to the table to eat and catch up on the day.
The final thing we took away from our cavalcade of kids is to keep in mind that we’ve never had a child who could remember any amusement park trip before the age of 4 (most of them don’t remember until around 5-6). This trip is about making memories for everyone else, and getting to experience some magic through a child’s eyes.
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This is a brilliant idea! I took my boys solo when they were 2 & 4 and we stayed at ASSports. It terrified me that they could just walk out the door and be outside. Even with flipping the security handle at the top of the door didn’t alleviate my fear.
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The room we just had at YC was an ADA room. It had a button that you could push to open the door to the room. DD16mo figured it out real quick. I was terrified she was going to escape and just be roaming the halls completely lost. Not cool.
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We’ve been lucky I guess. We’ve had 3 toddlers at WDW over the years and none had trouble sleeping - I was wondering “white noise machine?”
I think they all slept in their strollers - especially at suppers. One would even miss lunches.
Asleep in the stroller is when we’d go in the stores.
We were also lucky that they were not picky eaters. At 2, I don’t think we were bringing special foods for them. At least one toddler would have been insulted if we expected him to not eat adult food.
They weren’t any of them actually out of diapers, tho we were able to go several hours without diaper changes.
We had one toddler who would absolutely not poop unless he was at “home”. On a recent trip, during a bus ride, we saw another toddler in distress, refusing to sit on a lap. Finally dawned on me, she’s not wanting to poop in public. When I somewhat delicately asked the mom about that possibility she said of course! That’s exactly what’s going on! So then several of us previously strangers are exchanging baby bathroom tales.
Since the toddlers were not needing changes much, for park touring we ditched the diaper bag to carry in the stroller basket a gallon ziploc with a travel case of wipes, a diaper and a change of clothes, and extra ziploc bag for wet clothes. Which also comes in handy with those water areas.
One toddler would not sleep unless Mary Poppins was playing on the tv.
We quickly learned that buffets are great for convincing kids that they are indeed hungry. Maybe not terribly cost effective but good at persuading kids they really are hungry. Buffets are definitely easier with several adults per kid. We always carried the plate and had the kid pick what they wanted. Calories are calories.
We had one toddler that didn’t love the characters at all except for Miss Minnie - she got a great big hug. The rest got a shy smile.
We didn’t change up our touring schedule much at all with toddlers. We’ve never been commando. We like rope drop. We like afternoons off. When you tour with multiple generations, the older folk are often ready to call it a night, early. Sometimes another adult goes along, sometimes a toddler.
On really big trips, we’ve had the grandkids eat with us one meal while the parents all ate at their own table.
The thing I’ve liked best about toddlers at WDW are the photo ops. Kids are so cute, and curious, and generally colorful. I’m really glad we had the opportunities to bring toddlers. They’ve changed how we enjoy the parks.
I will say that the adults may appreciate a stroller almost more than the toddlers. As I believe @QwertySC has already noted.
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Haven’t read thru everything, but I’ll just share a few thoughts. The split stays are tough with a toddler. I wouldn’t do more than 2 hotels because it can really suck if they need a nap, won’t nap in the stroller, but you’ve got nowhere to go. My preference is to do a few nights at contemporary (because it’s so easy to get back for nap time) and then move to an Epcot resort (that’s our plan for December with our youngest who will be 3). I wouldn’t do AK, unless you’re planning resort days.
I know people differ on how they handle naps…and it’s a bit tricky since you don’t know what kind of napper your kiddo will be. But personally, getting back to the room was pretty essential for my kid. They just get more and more tired (and thus cranky) as the trip goes on. It doesn’t have to be on the same schedule as home, but a nap in the room was always better than a stroller nap. So we’d do park in the morning, hotel nap, then usually park hop. We like doing dinners at Epcot!
With my oldest, when he was younger, he would sometimes fall asleep in the stroller before we got back for a nap. In these cases, we’d adjust our plans, stay in the park, and head back for an early bedtime. (Plus an unexpected stroller nap is a great time to grab cocktails, lol).
Toddlers at Disney are so cute…it’s just all magic to them! A couple random tips. If your kid is anything like mine, they’ll be very into the characters and want to do all the meetings. Maybe don’t kick off with their favorite. warm them up with other characters. On my oldest’s first trip, we did Mickey first (and back then, it was talking Mickey) and he was just stunned! The pictures are just hilarious and he wouldn’t talk to Mickey at all. By the end of the trip, he had the hang of it though.
Also, bring a pack of glow sticks! Hugely entertaining at night.
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I would be so worried the whole time!!!
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This is so key. With young-ish kids of any age. One of the [previously] toddlers was excited to be going to WDW at 5. 3rd trip. Main Street completely caused sensory overload. It was almost comical.
We’ve always gone to Adventureland and Aladdin’s Magic Carpets on the first visit to MK. Any trip. As with any sport, warm ups are crucial. We’re still doing the traditional Adventureland first MK morning.
In 2019 we had 3 newbies - 4, 7 and 8. They were screaming on their Magic Carpets. That ride scared them so much. They were never going again. Subsequently they did Pirates, Splash, BTMRR, and the next day Tower of Terror and RnRC (except the 4 yo) and then the next day EE and Dino (again, not the 4 yo).
At the end of the week, they were still terrified of the Carpets, tho declined Slinky as too tame looking.
So, @drvillarejos, don’t do Dumbo first. 
Save Fantasyland for a second morning. FL photos seem better, early.
@aeh157 , after our first terrifying morning at Adventureland, we had a wonderful evening - and awesome dancing photos - at Marrakesh, followed by France, UK and Canada. Another great evening at Norway (ate at Akershus), China and Mexico.
I do love bringing kids to WDW. 
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Not sure if it has been mentioned yet in the other responses, but have you thought of just making it a mom, DD, and DGS trip, shorter (4-5 nights) at one hotel? Makes cost more manageable, eliminates need for second room, and you get to truly focus on your DGS. I took my mom on our first trip when my son was 15mo and daughter was 4, but left my husband at home. My kids had traveled before but it is still stressful and was honestly nice not to have to manage another adult’s expectations and get time alone with my mom (and that was with me as the planner). If your DGS will not have been away from home much before this trip, this will new for both DGS and your DD as well and trying to pack too much too long into a first trip might be less stressful to her if it’s just you guys, especially if she feels like she is along for your ride without control (but obvi you know her personality better if that will be an undercurrent). You can always go back with the whole crew if it works.
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Awesome report! Thank you. So far he’s a good eater and I’m looking at places that have kid friendly foods. With my kids, they generally ate what we ate once they were past baby foods. And even then, if we ate something they could eat, we gave it to then, mushed vegis or mashed potatoes, etc. So hoping it will help not just for Disney but about eating in general.
I’ve always brought a back pack unless it’s just DH and I so we’re used to it. I don’t bring a whole lot to the parks, will buy it there if it’s something needed out of the ordinary.
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Thinking this will the plan. But also, every other morning do character breakfast with a low key resort morning till after nap. Don’t want to go,go,go so this gives some down time throughout the trip vs taking a whole resort day.
Since I’m not sure, I’m planning character breakfasts. If he does well can do a few meets or save those for a couple years down the line. We usually do Disney ever other year.
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