JC

Hello. We are planning a trip to Orlando this October to coincide with a business conference. Our 5 year old is all set for Disney World. Will our 2 year old have fun at Disney? Any suggestions on things to do with a 2 year old will be greatly appreciated. We are planning on visiting Universal's Barney exhibit.

Thanks.

garyt

JC - a two and five old will enjoy Disney and Universal in small, well planned doses, and of course will never remember any of it after they turn six.
You will have to forgo many of the park features that appeal to adults and older children, and concentrate on the WDW Magic Kingdom primarily. Many of the rides are made for the little ones and will keep them occupied for hours. There is also a section of the park that features Mickey's house and neighborhood, with the suited characters. There is also a Muppet attraction that may be worthwhile.

You might also consider booking one of the many theme meals, where you catch breakfast or lunch with Mickey and the Gang (Mickey's tropical luau is another dinner choice).

Universal offers a wonderful Dr. Seuss village with similar "kiddie rides" as well as Barney and friends.

The best plan is to get into the parks as early as possible, and escape before noon, when your kids begin to get cranky after three or four hours of overload.... have fun

Jo

Mickey Tropical Luau

has been cancelled since last year. They no longer hold it.

For great information on Disney check out
www.wdwig.com and
www.wdwinfo.com discussion boards
Loads and loads of info.

juli

Have good stroller, lots of snacks and whole bag full of patience.
The weather shouldnt be too hot so that is to your advantage. I agree that you should take everything in small doses.
If the lines are long there is no way anyone will have fun waiting with 2 children.
If you go to the parks plan out a route on a map of rides an attractions NOT at the front of the park where most people start. Take the extra time to walk from the back to the front. The lines wil lnot be as crowded
And again have alot of patience!!!!

Marj

don't know if this is still the case, but we were there about 8 yrs ago with our kids, 3 & 5 at the time. My 3 year would only drink apple juice at that time. It was hot and he was constantly thirsty. In the parks we couldn't find anything except soda or OJ. Needless to say, we went out to a grocery store and stocked up on juice boxes for the remainder of the trip. So bring along snacks and drinks for your kids, especially if they are picky. The food there was perfectly fine, it was just that apple juice (or lack of) the 1st day they made life a little tough. By the way, my son enjoyed the trip but remembers only what he sees in photos. My daughter, who was 5 at the time, remembers more and the highlight was dinner in cinderella's castle. We arrived early and she had the honor of walking up the stairs to the restaurant while holding hands with cinderella. The look on her face was priceless. I think most of Universal is geared for older kids (but the barney exhibit is fine, also the ET ride is great).

Ingrid

Our daughter was 3 when we went to Universal studios (she loved Barney). But ET freaked her out. Our 5 year-old loved the Nickelodeon slime show but thought the shark attack was really scary. Both liked the tubing down a water slide. They loved Sea World and a highlight for both of them was the "Wild Bill Whatever" show. You can find coupons for that everywhere.
Also, when our son was 2, we went for two full days to Sea World, where he spent hours in the ball pit and even more time digging with these little cranes. Gave his Dad and me some time to sit in the sun and talk.

Barbara

We took our 5 year old twins to Disney World this summer. One son loved all the rides, all he talks about is how much he loved the Tower of Terror. His twin brother was a little more timid but loved most of the rides and all of the shows. They could keep going all day long. My husband and I split up occasionally if one wanted to try a scary ride and one didn't. I would definitely recommend splitting up and letting the 5 year old have fun without the 2 year old, perhaps while the 2 year old is having an afternoon nap with Mom or Dad. Two way radios make it easy to hook back up again. They both will love the Buzz Lightyear ride. Be sure and use the fast past.

LeighAnn

My 3 yr old's favorite rides at WDW: Winnie-the-pooh, it's a small world, buzz lightyear, Goofy's barnstormer, the list goes on and on....Favorite attractions at MGM: Little Mermaid show, Bear and the Big blue house show, Muppet show, and the many, many characters we saw there. Epcot: not much. Animal kingdom: Safari tour.

Jeanne

Hi. Thought I would update you on our trip to Orlando. We had a wonderful time and the weather was very cooperative. We had one rain shower late in the day which only lasted one hour. On our arrival day, I took the advice of some fodorites and headed for Downtown Disney. The boys (my husband included) loved the Lego store. After about an hour, we headed towards a water area / fountain in Downtown Disney that was also recommended by a fodorite. I remembered to pack the kids bathing suits and towels and they had a blast. That night we had dinner at the Rain Forest cafe. (I know it can be over priced and the foods not terrific, but it was my son's 5th birthday and the staff made a big deal over him.)

We went to Disney's Magic Kingdom early next day. The park was was really quite that day. Our favorite rides were Jungle Cruise, Aladdin, Tom Sawyers Island (the 5 year old loved the fort), Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Buzz Light Year and the train. We did go into the Tiki Room, however it was very loud and the kids really did not like the show. We also were not enthralled with the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. I took snacks with me and we just bought soda and water periodically through the day. We did not eat any meals at Disney. Again, I took the advise of some fodorites and headed first towards Adventureland (Jungle Cruise, Aladdin, Tiki Room). Next we went to Fronteirland (Tom Sawyer's Island). I really wanted to go on Splash Mountain, however the kids we too frightend (maybe next year). After Fronteirland we headed towards Fantasyland / Mickey's Toontown. (Peter Pan, Its a small World, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White (kind of scary).) Mickey's Toontown was perfect for my 2 year old, however a little young for the 5 year old. We ended our day in Tomorrowland. We all loved Buzz Light Year. The park was so quite this day that the Fastpass system was not needed. However, we did return two days later (on a Friday) and the park was very crowded. We utilized the Fastpass sytem on our second trip for Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. We took the ferry back to the parking lot on our second trip.

We also visited Universal. Again, this park was very quiet. We split up taking the 2 year old to Barney and the 5 year old to Animal Actor's show. Both shows were marvelous. When the Barney show is over, the guests are ushered into Barney's playland which is adorable. Both the kids liked it here. Then we headed to Fievel's Playland which is an awesome waterpark just perfect for 4 - 7 year olds. We also visted Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone which had an area for small children which included a ball pit. Overall Universal was a great time. I heard that the Nickelodeon show and the ET ride are good attractions, however we were too tired to go. I would definately go back to Universal.