Disney for an 18 Month Old

See how seaworld goes before you decide on another park. When my son was younger, orlando was a nightmare.. No strollers are allowed in the lines. He was too young to understand why the lines are 45 minutes long and wanted to climb the ropes in the line. All of the heat (florida is so hot) and the anxiety from his tears made me cry. It was more of a punishment to him than a trip to disney. His nap schedule was off and that made him so unhappy. I really hope that your trip will be better than mine. He is now 3 1/2 and we will try orlando again tomorrow. This time i hope it works out... Best of luck to you...

Hi H.. Yay...you all will have a blast. We are also taking our daughter Star (20 months) this weekend... and it will be her fourth time. She LOVES Disney. In my opinion, Magic Kingdom can't be beat. It is so entertaining for everyone. The rides there are very toddler friendly, so your son can do almost all of them. It's a small world is definitely Star's favorite ride. I jokingly refer to that ride as baby crack. Sorry if that's offensive...it doesn't look nice in type....but it just puts those little ones in such a trance. Our daughter does not get afraid too easily, so she even enjoys Pirates of the Carribean and the Haunted Mansion. If you have not been to Magic Kingdom before, it is broken up into 5 different areas...Fantasyland is definitely the #1 area for little ones. All rides are geared towards young children. We have not ever had time to check out the Mickey toontown fair, but that seems great also. I think no matter what park you choose, you will have a blast. My least favorite is actually Animal Kingdom. I guess I like all the pizazz of the other parks, so it is kind of dull to me in comparison. I think also the fact that we hold a pass to Lion Country Safari has something to do with it. We visit animals all the time. I don't know how long you are going for, but on our last trip, my favorite day didn't even include a park. If you need some downtime, here is another suggestion. We had a character breakfast at the contemporary hotel. It was AWESOME. Each character comes right up to your table for photos and hugs. It is such a blast. For the little ones, it kind of compares to the frenzy of seeing the Beatles. I think it was around $20something a person..but they also had a nice buffet. We went at around 11am..and it counted as breakfast and lunch. You definitely need reservations. After that we went to Downtown Disney..which is free. So is the boardwalk. You have all the themed stores...it is fun to walk around...and there are lots of restaurants there for dinner. We actually did this on our last day..so we still got in some Disney experience..but made it home by dark. Okay, have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh...here is a VERY important tip. Bring a backpack with you. You have to park your stroller at each ride...It is relatively safe...but I keep my wallet, camera, an extra diaper, water, etc. in my backpack and on me at all times. That way I feel safe just leaving the diaper bag in the carriage...and my backpack is much lighter than the diaper bag. Another thing I do to cut costs is pack a box of food for the road and hotel. I pack all of my daughters favorites, and include graham crackers w/ a jar of peanut butter, protein shakes for the adults, fresh fruit, etc. Food can get expensive..so having a healthy stash in the room is great! Enjoy your trip!
A. :)
Oh, ps..as mentioned by another mom, some kids do well going back to the room for a nap. I have heard that from other parents...I will say, my daughter is so happy in Disney that her schedule is basically non-existent for those days ( although I am very strict at home). Her adrenaline is so high that she really doesn't need a nap..and I think in her case, if I tried to take her back to the room she would be so worked up she wouldn't sleep. She sometimes snoozes here and there in her carriage. She is super-easy going...you know your son best...I just want you to know that in our case she does just fine with no set nap on these special days. Okay, have fun!

We took our daughter to Magic Kingdom when she was 16 months during the month of June. It really wasn't that much fun to be honest. I felt she was too young to really enjoy it. She didn't have the patience for lines, hated her stroller, and wanted to be down running around, which was not an option with how crowded the park was. Plus, it was so hot. It seemed a little pointless when she wasn't even familiar with any Disney characters at the time. A lot of that was due to her temperment too and your son might be more easy going.

I'd see how your son does at Sea World and if you think he'd be up for another theme park, then try Magic Kingdom or maybe a water park. But, if you guys would like to try something a little different...one of our days in Orlando, we went to the Green Meadows Petting Farm. It is perfect for that age. They do a walking tour of a working farm and you can bring a stroller or rent a wagon to pull him in. They get to feed and pet LOTS of animals, including milking a cow (and there are purell dispensers outside the animal pens). The tour also includes a train ride, hay ride, and pony ride. The tour lasts about 2 hours and the property is pretty well shaded, no bad crowds like at the theme parks, and it's very reasonably priced (especially if you're a Florida resident and you can print a coupon off the website. My daughter LOVED it! We stayed on Disney property and it took us about 20 minutes to get there.

Here's their website:

http://www.greenmeadowsfarm.com/

I consider those two the best for an 18 month old. Animal Kingdom is cooler (due to the amount of tree cover), and will probably be enjoyed by the adults more, but Magic Kingdom will be more enjoyable for Sebastian. If you're lucky enough to be in one of the Disney Resorts, I highly recommend a mid-day nap-break back at the room. The last few times that we went, our youngest (2 yrs) was good for 7am-1pm and then 3:30ish - park closing; a happy bundle of energy with no tantrums.

Beware of the fireworks shows. We happened to be right under the explosions, by Cinderella's Castle, last time and had to make a mad dash for "Small World" to escape the noise. Fortunately, since it was late (fewer really little ones) and the fact that there was a killer fireworks display going on (to pull the older ones) there was no line and we rode it 3 times; escaping the brunt of the onslaught.

Have fun! I'm sure that you'll *all* enjoy either park.

Scott (S.'s Hubby)

My guy went to both parks last year when he was a little younger and loved them both. I think he liked Magic Kingdom better though, because he loved the rides. There wasn't much to do at animal kingdom besides look at animals. Did you know you can do special tours at Sea World? They have a penguin encounter for $18 per adult (babies are free) that sounds awesome. We're doing it later in the month. They get to feed pengiuns! You just have to book in advance. One tip about disney....I'd bring a little cooler in the park for your little guys food. My son hated their food. The fruit there tasted like dirt, I can't blame him. Have fun!

Definetly Magic Kingdom. Other than the safari, Animal Kingdom does not offer much for a toddler. While you're in the park, be sure to use the Baby Care Center. It is a great way to break up the day. It has huge changing tables, high chairs, some toys, and little store where you can purchase any baby items that you may have forgotten. There is a fabulous website for Disney planning called "Touring Plans."
If you register, it will allow you to customize a Disney trip. It will tell you which parks are most crowded on what days and which rides to hit in what order. Have a great time!

I completely agree with your choices and would say that to choose between the Animal or Magic Kingdon- you know your son. Does he like "characters" and rides or is he more into animals? After a day at Sea World will he want more animals or something different?
Have fun!!!
: )

Absolutely Magic Kingdom, but not so much animal kingdom. If you have seasonal passes, spend a little time at Animal Kingdom but I wouldn't spend the money on the ticket by it self. It is a little bit too much for them and not enough for that age group, my son is 18 months. There are some cute character picture spots but not enough that I would buy tickets for it. Only if you have passes. Have fun bring lots of sunscreen! www.DiscoveryToysLink.com/LisaRyan LisaM- Have fun!

MAGIC KINGDOM!!! My four children all went to Disney at about 18 months -they are now ages 10, 12, 15, & 17 (graduating HS next week). Take him to Magic Kingdom - go to Mickeys House, see the characters and have a blast! Take lots of Pics. Oh we also got autograph books for our kids, I used them as scrapbooks after the trip. You can write in front of the book the dates who went with you, where you stayed etc. and then I would have the characters sign on one side and then made sure the other side was left blank (use paper clips to make it easier to flip to the next empty page). When we got our photos back I placed a photo of my child with that character on the opposing page of the signature. These are treasures that our kids still enjoy looking at. I always did a big family scrapbook but the autograph books are for them. Oh I suggest bringing a few pens - sometimes the characters would end up using them to sign other books.
After reading a few other responses I recommend that you bring snacks and drinks and have a small backpack that you can hold your wallet, snacks, water bottles, maybe a quiet toy or two, yes the lines can be long BUT we really have never had much trouble with our kids, as far as a nap - we've done both - but when we've napped it was more for us and we had 10 days of Disney. If your child can go with the flow don't worry so much about a nap. In Mickey's Toontown there is Donald's Boat which is a free play area, if there are long lines, break it up a bit - wait in line for a few rides and then let him roam - Tom Sawyer Island is also a good place to give him some running free time. I'm sure you'll be fine, remember you don't have to do it all, plan your day ahead, choose a few different things to do and be flexible!! If you can do a character breakfast or dinner It is the BEST but it does cost more than your average meal. We've enjoyed Chef Mickey's, Breakfast in the Castle, actually we have tried all the breakfast & dinners over the years and we love them all! Go online and check it all out - HAVE FUN!