Disney World/magic Kingdom Trip with 20 Months Old

Personally, I think 20 months is too young. He won't remember, its super expensive and you will have to split the family up anyway.

I would take the older brother and leave little brother at home. That could be his very special vacation with Mom and Dad. Focus on him for a couple of days.

I wouldn't do it for the following reasons:
1. The kid won't remember it.
2. It's an expensive trip for someone who won't remember.
3. There is a ton of walking involved or pushing the stroller.
4. The sensory overload for my little one may be too much.

With that said, the youngest age I would take to Disney is 6 years old. They can ride the rides, have fun, the walking may not be too much for them. No diapers or naps to consider and the kid will remember this trip. Everyone can have a enjoyable trip at 20 months still too many factors that can go wrong because the toddler is a toddler.

Take him even if he doesn't remember you will. Plus at that age they get in free so there is no extra cost.

I will strongly suggest you bring or rent a stroller. The parks are big and little kids get tired quick in the Florida sun/heat (so do grown ups).

Most of the rides at WDW are family friendly so he can ride with you, the ones he cant get on you and your husband will have to take turns with your older child.

WDW is a "family" amusement park and is set up for all ages to enjoy, not like Universal. We took our daughter at 13 months old (her first time) and although she doesn't remember it we all had a great time and have lots of pictures to share. Now we live minutes from there are visit often.

I would have a plan before you go of things you really want to see and do, it is very overwhelming.

We took our son when he was 9 months old, so he got even less out of it than yours will! He does like looking at the photos, though!

Planning is key. You absolutely need a stroller and you should tie a big gaudy ribbon, some fluorescent duct tape, or some other identifier on it because they all look the same when you come out of the rides, and someone will surely walk off with yours instead of their own by mistake. (We took ours with us rather than rent one there, because we wanted it in the airport, and we just gate-checked it.) You should take a small cooler that fits in the stroller or hangs from the handles so you have food with you all the time. We took yogurt and an ice pack, fruit cubes, other snacks, water, etc. We had a small fridge in the hotel, and I bought a paring knife and some dish soap when I got there, and asked the hotel for extra towels to use as a 'dish drainer'. The cooler saves a lot on food costs as well as wait times at the Disney restaurants too. With waiting in lines and waiting for food, even older kids (and adults) get cranky.

Take some new, never-seen-before SMALL toys with you than you can clip to the stroller and use on the plane or in the car - and don't get them all out at once.

Most of the people with little kids go early in the day and are there when the parks open. Then they head back to the hotel after an early lunch, take a nap, etc. while one parent takes the older child to the pool (or stays in the park for the older rides). Everyone needs to get off their feet for a while at Disney - there's an unspeakable amount of walking, standing and waiting!

We had 2 older children with us, and we knew they wanted to go on the bigger rides that not only would be scary for the little one, they had height requirements. We were staying in a Disney hotel, so we hired a sitter through Disney itself - they are bonded, insured, have criminal background checks, and so on. (I'm not sure if Disney provides that service if you are staying elsewhere, but you could ask.) She was absolutely fabulous, and when we went back a few years later, we hired the same woman again. She took our little guy on walks and stroller rides around the grounds or to the kiddie pool, she knew all the hidden gems that were free, she played with him and brought him some toys from her stash, and then we could go out with the older kids and have a real meal and do fun things so it was a little bit of a vacation for us too. I can't say enough about it.

Otherwise, be aware that little kids are often afraid of the big characters! I would skip the character breakfasts, but I would include the Epcot pavilion that deals with the sea because little kids love the aquarium fish. Just choose the exhibits carefully, watch the ones that are noisy with gunfire & explosions, and stick to the classic ones with animals your little one will recognize and not be afraid of. Take the 9 year old on the other rides during the baby's naps.

Waits are less if you enter the park and go straight to the back, then work your way forward. Everyone entering goes to the first few, so the lines start immediately. If you work your way from back to front, when you're exhausted and ready to crash, you'll already be at the exit.

Why not. Don't know what your little one is like, but mine was a barrel of energy and a bolter. A kiddie leash/ harness was important for his safety, and mine in crowded places.

FWIW, we took our kid at 22 months to Australia, which included a 26 and 22 hour flight, and 2 weeks worth of whistle stop road trip in the middle of their winter.

If you want to, you can do it. You will just have to do it differently than you might otherwise.

Best,
F. B.

My parents took me to Disney when I was 2. I have no recollection of being there of course, but they enjoyed it. Apparently my favorite thing was the Haunted Mansion. If your older child wants to do things that are not toddler-appropriate you'll have to split duties with one person taking the big and the other taking the little.

Sure take him. He won't remember but you will have photos. At this age they are free so only extra cost is airfare and food and a 20 month old is not going to sit down to a full course meal. He will be excited seeing everything. Part of the fun is seeing their little faces with excitement. Yes even at this age. We just went with my son and his family. Girls were 1 and 2 1/2. Even the little one had fun. Her little face just lit up. The older one was in awe and still talks about it. Go pack up your WHOLE family n have fun. We had a ball. You just need to have realistic expectations. I could never leave a child behind.

There are lots if kids there that age and younger having fun. We took my son for the first time when he was a little older and he loved it. Parades, some characters, a few of the rides and just seeing all the sights . The nice thing is he is free and if you do any character meals he eats free too. I think that is true for most sit down places. You may have to split up for some things and look into rider swap. I'm not sure how exactly rider swap works but may let your older one ride more with both of you while one holds the little one on rides they to can't go on. Have a great trip.

Too young I think. That is something that would be good when he is around 5 but 20 months is too young and you won't enjoy the trip

we took our boys when one was around this age, the other 5 or so. they both had a lot of fun, but the younger remembers nothing about it (the older doesn't remember that much either.)
if you don't want to leave him, take him! just don't have any lofty expectations of creating memories. is there someone to ride the big kid rides with your older son, or to take the little one somewhere appropriate while you do? that would be the main thing.
your little guy will get tired and overwhelmed, so have the usual coping mechanisms in place.
khairete
S.

20 months is too young IMO. It won't be an enjoyable trip for anyone.

I wouldn't but people do it.
Generally you're should divvy up time between the kids and one person will take the baby for nap/rest while the other takes the 9 yr old around, and parents switch out on baby duty or hire an on site baby sitter.
Last time I was there (it's been a few years) people were dragging an infant around, the kid was stinking filthy with a diaper and crying, and the parents were ignoring him for their good time - poor kid.

That's pretty young but it's doable.

We started going to Disney when our daughter was a little over 2 and we went every 2-3 years until she was 16.

We always stayed at the Polynesian on the monorail line. It was super easy to get to/from MK by boat taxi to catch a nap, rest, etc

It worked out for us, but we were dealing with 1 child. I can see how a 9 year old would see things differently because there's so much for the 9 yr old to enjoy. If you go, prepare to split up so the 9 year old does not get trapped in the 20 month old schedule.

Before I actually did it, I would have said no way. But we took our boys to Disneyland when the youngest was 25 months, and we had a blast!! One big benefit, they are free under 3, for entry and for a lot of food places if you get the meal plan. We went with another couple and their 2 boys and we found it easiest to keep breaking into various small groups. He will be too small for a lot of the bigger rides, but there will be a ton he can do. One of my very favorite memories was watching my little one during the big fireworks show and the snow afterwards. The magic was definitely real for him!!
I would suggest staying on the property if you can, and going back to the hotel for a nap mid day, or at least plan to stop somewhere and let him get a nap in the stroller if he can. Mine hung in there until midnight on the late nights with a mid day nap and a cat nap for the little one as needed in the rental stroller. We were there five days, and we only had one meltdown, which is pretty much the average at home :)
If you only had the little one, I would say wait, but if you are going anyway, take him!

We took our kids when they were 2, 4, and 6. They all have iPads with the Shutterfly app on it and they look at pictures from all of our trips often. Even my now 8 year old talks about that trip - he was 2 when we went.

My sisters just went a year ago when my one niece was 4 and the other was 3 months - they all had a great time!

I personally can't imagine leaving a child home from a family vacation, but maybe that's just me.

I'd limit his time to mornings and later afternoons. You need to take an additional person that will babysit him at lunch and nap time then when he gets up and has his afternoon snack he could do some more time. You could probably get away with doing dinner then another hour but I think I might let him go back to the room with the additional person to have down time and rest.

The time he's with everyone the babysitter could be on their own and meet back in the room at maybe noon. Then they could have free time from 3:30/4pm until 7.

If you and the older boy want to plan his big kids activities during nap time and evening hours you don't have to worry about a tired over stimulated toddler that really can't process all they're seeing and hearing and feeling.

I understand your older child is about too old and it's now or never for them as far as it being a magical place. So you do need to do this now.

Other wise I'd leave toddler with a friend or family member the whole trip. It's a lot of money to spend on someone who won't remember much of it in a year.

We took our now 12yr old when she was around that age, I think it may have been closer to 18months. Anyway, she was great on the trip and that part was no problem. She doesn't remember any of it, though. Her brother was 6 and her sister was 3...they have memories of it. But my youngest considers herself to have never been to Disneyworld because she has absolutely no memory of it and so it doesn't count.

Lucky we have pictures to prove she was there!