I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but here is my summary of the Disney experience with a 1 and 3 year old:
1) Rather physically challenging
2) On a moment-to-moment level, a bit stressful (it seems like someone always needed to eat / take care of bathroom needs / nap / run around to get his/her energy out)
3) Still really lovely and magical despite #1 and #2.
So, it was an exhausting weekend, but one filled with bright memories and many smiles. We took a little time to find our groove, but it turned out that the best strategies were using FastPass+ to avoid lines, choosing rides with very short lines only (1 year olds do not do well in line — at least not mine!), and going for a lot of character-centric activities.
Also important: stopping for regular meals, building in a nap on our long day at Magic Kingdom, staying in a resort that allowed easy back-and-forth access (Bay Lake Tower @ the Contemporary) and that came with FastPass+. Having an adult:child ratio of >1 helped, too.
I would definitely do it again, and want to! However, I think we may wait until C is 3 and A is 5. Annabel was a great age to enjoy it, but C was a little tough and I think a 2 year old just might be even harder than a 1 year old (less portable but still not ready to wait in lines/etc).
(not shown but very much present: bebe & poppy)
Life has been a little crazy ever since the loss of Josh’s grandfather, an insane week of call, and our trip. I think (hope?) things are finally starting to slow down again, so I should be back to regular posts!
Have you done Disney with little ones? Any tips/thoughts to add?
PS: On the quasi-minimalism front, we came home with just one Elsa dress (her old one is in tatters) and a set of 4 mini Frozen dolls (gift from Bebe). Not too bad!
2 Comments
This is so interesting. From this post, and those of several friends who have taken their kids recently, it appears that one of the primary attractions is visiting with characters from various Disney movies. However, every time Dyl sees a character of any kind (at the zoo, at the museum), she has absolutely no interest, and if anything, actively avoids interacting with them (I usually have to tell them to stop bothering my her). We’re also still waiting on the princess phase — it still has not emerged. Ergo, skipping the Disney vacation sounds like a fantastic idea. At least for now.
Not exact Disney related, but how does the city mini double compares size wise to the double Bob? It looks like it is obviously smaller, but I’m wondering if it is a noticeable difference in terms of maneuvering around and in and out of buildings. No stores carry them here, otherwise I would check one out 🙂