The Happiest Trip on Earth

That's right, this post is going to be about our second trip to Disney with a two year old.

It never ceases to amaze me how much my child changes from week to week, and even daily. The last time we went to Disney, she was 27 months old. This time she was 32 months old. While, you might not think it would make much of a difference. The whole time I was walking around the parks--I was remembering all of the baby things we still had at the last visit that we no longer are using.

The last time we were at Disney, P carried her Paci, Bunny, and Blanket into each park every day. AND she was in diapers! She was also still sleeping in a crib at home and a Pack N Play while were were in Orlando. This trip we were sans Paci and she slept in a Queen sized bed all by herself. She did ask for Bunny once or twice, but really didn't care much once we bought her a Flounder. The whole trip, if nothing else, reminded me of just how grown up my child is becoming.

During this trip she had not only matured in the the physical sense like above, but also emotionally and psychologically. On the last trip she was terrified by many of the rides, and was unable to understand that the rides could not hurt her, and that they were not scary--no matter how many times I reassured her. This time--she totally got it. She was able to go through all of the rides for kids her age. She even rode her first roller coaster! The Barnstormer.

She has also become a pro at waiting in lines. Granted, we didn't try any that were longer than 30 minutes, but she did excellent in every line we took her in.

Just like last time--she loves meeting the characters. This is why we enjoy taking her too. There is nothing like seeing your child meet Mickey. She actually believes that she met the Mickey that she watches every afternoon on Micky Mouse Clubhouse. It is real to her...the magic is real. I always get a lump in my throat watching her give Mickey and Minnie hugs and kisses. I am so thankful that I was able to take her to Disney while she is young enough to still believe in it all.

Last time we went to Disney I wrote a post about how we survived. So I thought that I would add some updates!

1. Get there 30 minutes early
I still stand by this. You want to be driving in the park (particularly Magic Kingdom) 30 minutes before it opens. This is because it takes you a ridiculous amount of time to park, ride the tram to the gates, take the monorail or ferry to the park entrance, and then go through security. The first two hours that the park is open are the shortest the rides will be all day long. You want to take advantage of that!

2. Bring in your own food
I stand by this one as well. We did not eat lunch in the park on most days. It is just too expensive. P wont eat much anyway outside of PB&J, so there is just no point. J and I packed a sandwich for each of us and plenty of different types of snacks. I mean snack overkill--just in case. It saves so much money. We did however, spring for ice cream each day. It was a welcome break that we all needed.

3. Take small breaks
This time we did not take P back for a nap mid-day. I was terrified of her missing her nap. I was sure that she would become really cranky. BUT she was fine. Yeah, I know--I always doubt her. Instead of a nap we gave P lots of mini breaks here and there. We took a long lunch each day. We would take breaks here and there where she would just sit in the shade and watch the Ipad while mommy and daddy got to ride something they wanted to ride. Then we would have our ice cream break each late afternoon.

Overall, I really think skipping the nap allowed P much more time to enjoy the park without the hassle of trying to get out of the park, eat lunch, and take a nap. Instead we went strong from 9-5 and even 9-7 the last day (although I do think that was definitely overkill for her).

4. Be flexible
This is a huge one. Since the lines were short (September is a great time to go to Disney!) we really let P lead our time at the park. If she wanted to ride something multiple times--we let her do it. There were times we bribed her away from something with ice cream or food. For the most part, we did what she wanted to do. We even pushed her to try things that I was sure she would be scared of. Turns out, she loved Pirates of the Caribbean. Who would have thought? I still stayed away from the Philharmagic--April's experience scarred me from that one.

Heading to Disney? Hit me up for more details.
Caroline