Going to Disney with a 2.5 Year Old- Any Hints/tricks?

Big important things for disney with a 2 year old. 1. Stay in Disney 2. Leave before the parade starts in the afternoon and let him go back to the hotel and take a nap, go for swim, watch tv. 3.Look at the maps and the rides before you hit the park. Decide which rides you really want and get fast passes. 4. lots of water. On a side note Hollywood Studios has a some preschool shows on the right side (like little einsteins etc)

Plan time outside of Disney to just relax. Don't expect your daughter to do to much, it will really depend on her personallity. Ours (also 2.5) discovered a fear of the dark at Disney, and had no interest in actually going on the Dumbo-type flying rides, which saved us a lot of time standing on line for rides! Her favorite thing was watching people coming down off of Splash Mountain. She also liked watching the flying rides, and she liked Epcot a lot. I think it was the favorite park for all of us.

Make sure you have food and drink with you. It is easy for little ones to get hungry, and you don't want to be tracking down food.

To save money we had breakfast before we left and packed lunches, snacks and drinks to have at the park. The only meal we paid for was dinner. It worked out great.

That age is really magical. Your daughter will get so excited over everything ! Bring a princess costume for her to wear to the park. Bring a change of clothes so she can go in any water/splash pad you come across . Make sure to take a nap everyday so she doesn't get over tired. Also, I would go to a character breakfast .Maybe Akershus at Epcot . It is worth the money because you will see 4 princesses and get pictures with a princess before you enter. Otherwise you will wait in line forever . Go to allears.net and view the menus . It will tell you prices ,etc
I always plan what we are going to do each day with some wiggle room . Hollywood studios has a good breakfast Hollywood and Dine . You will see I think Oso,Little einsteins etc. We alays make our reservation for before the park opens (go to the left and tell them you have reservations). Then when the park opens my hubbie runs to Toy Story mania to get the fast passes(our fav ride). After breakfast, go see Ariel, go to Toy Story,then to the Beauty and the Beast Show. You can do Magic Kingdom everyday and she would be happy . Just have fun ,stay calm , keep her well rested and remember you can't do it all . have a great time !

Take your own stroller rather than renting one there. There are some lines you will get through quicker if you have a stroller (like for the ferry back to the parking lot.)

Take more than one pair of walking shoes and alternate them to avoid blisters.

Take as many beverages snacks as you care to carry. Not only are they more expensive in the parks, but you'll lose lots of valuable time waiting in lines for a drink.

Use FastPass as soon as you get to a park for the more popular attractions.

Make dining reservations 90 days out for character dining. I *highly* recommend the Ohana Breakfast at the Polynesian.

Don't over-plan or over-schedule. Allow time for things to just happen. It is magic, after all. :-)

I WOULD go to a ticket agent at a hotel(Hawthorne Suites on Westwood is one). We could have saved hundreds. I thought it was a sales pitch/scam and some are. He had Disney tickets 3 days for 99 and I paid 85 for one day. He also will tell you about deals.

Don't believe you can easily use the International drive buses. They are packed, late, and not a good idea. Parking costs DAILY at least $12.

We were just there a few months ago with our daughter who was 34 months at the time and it was SOOO MUCH FUN! Really, you are going at a perfect time because she wont need a ticket to get into the park (under 3) and if you eat buffets, you don't have to pay for children under 3. We had the most magical time and although she probably wont "remember" it when she's older, it was perfect timing for us and so much fun.

Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom were both awesome and my daughter still talks about shows, rides, etc! I second the character dining- it is a great experience. We did the princess breakfast at Akerhaus at Epcot, and it was fun but the little girls who were 4+ had SOOOO much more fun than we did.

We did a character dining at Hollywood Studios for lunch and it was FANTASTIC!!! We booked it online in advance for the restaurant Hollywood and Vine. Special Agent Oso, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins- it was PERFECT for her age and the food was GREAT. It was a lunch buffet with a huge variety for adults and children- and you don't have to pay for a buffet meal for a child under 3- they get to eat off your plate.

COMFY STROLLER is a must- we were able to stay in the park from about 9-5 all three days because she napped in the stroller after lunch. The strollers you can rent there were hard plastic and looked uncomfortable.

Most of all, just have fun and plan to be on toddler-time.

Get the book from the library "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World". LOTS OF TIPS!

We brought our own stroller and packed lunches to save money. We've been there in December and Jan. BOTH are great times as long as you stay away from the Holiday weeks! Didn't have to stand in line for more than 20 minutes on almost ALL the rides! A couple hits did have a bit longer though (Toy Story...) We would get up and have a BIG breakfast. Then bring along our lunches and snacks in a backpack. We left our backpack on the stroller when we went on rides. Nobody bothered it.

If you plan on doing a character meal, BOOK IT as soon as possible. They fill up fast.

Our kids LOVED it! We took them twice. Once as baby and 2 1/2 year old. Then again two years later!