2022 Prices and advice with a young child

[byeo]

Hi everyone.

To cut a long story short, In 2018 myself, my girlfriend and her son all planned to spend three weeks in a villa (Sept/Oct 2020) doing both Disney and Universal. They had never been to Florida before, I have been six times and planned a big trip for them. Unfortunately (or fortunately as it turned out) in early 2019 we found out we were expecting our first child together which then changed our priorities and we cancelled the holiday.

Our son was born in November 2019, a few months later COVID kicked in but now things seem to be slowly getting back to normality we're talking of Florida again in a few years time.

We're thinking of Sept/Oct 2022 so he'll be almost three years old, is that too young of an age to take him? I've never experienced Florida with a child, I understand they do child swap on rides etc... but I'd like to know how different it'll be.? Full day's in parks would be a push I'd imagine..

I've also been looking online for prices and nothing is coming up for 2022 yet, can anyone give me an idea of when we should start to see villa prices as well as packages by Virgin/Tui offering 2022?

Thanks in advance.

[Fimble]

Hey Buddy, I'll just drop by to contribute my view on this.

Taking an almost three year old will be fine, they're mobile, vocal and can get on a reasonable amount of rides at Disney and they also get free park admission.
I highly recommend looking at either renting a stroller or taking your own so that the little ones don't have to walk around in the heat all day. The double ones Disney rent out are perfect as they have a roof to keep the sun off the little ones.

I've never used child swap but while it sounds like a grand idea, I know for a fact my kids would get very upset at waiting in a queue forever (in kid years) and not getting on a ride.

Providing you make sure your kids are fed, watered and take some naps in a covered stroller to recover from the heat I can't see any problems with enjoying the park for the full day.

Looking at Virgin Holidays I can book holidays as far as next December, but not sure if this indicates a 17 month look ahead. Hopefully someone can chime in with this.

Three weeks sounds like a grand idea, although I'd double check the sort of rides your youngest will be able to go on at universal, as we decided to leave it off our plans next year as my then 3 year old will not be tall enough for a majority of attractions which would upset him.
He'd be stuck in Dr Seuss world!

[AliceCooper9]

We took a 2.5 year old for 14 days WDW and 2 days Universal and they had a great time.

If you go before 3 years old they do not need a ticket for WDW or Universal Studios.

Universal has a lot of things to do for young kids. Characters, playgrounds, some rides/shows. They will not get bored.

We did a lot of full days in parks but this will depend your child.

My tips would be stay onsite at WDW as getting around with a child will be a lot easier on Disney Transportation. No car seats required.

For Universal stay onsite for one night at the RPR and get the express passes.

Getting to Universal use Mears Taxis as you can request child car seats in advance. You pay a bit extra but they provide a good service.

Strollers bring your own as you will need it everyday.

[keely21]

My little girl will have just turned 3 when we go (touch wood) september 2021. I was very nervous about taking her as shes never been before and my other children were the youngest 6 when I took them previously but I've been reassured that it is manageable. Def have the stroller and lots of snacks on hand. I think scheduling in little stops to just relax and maybe look at things will be good as well and a break from ques. I will let you know how I get on when we go. Might do a trip report.

[Guest]

I’m planning on taking our baby when it’ll be around 16 months. We’re due in January and planning to go May 2022!

Might seem mad but after having our hol cancelled twice this year, then the surprise of my pregnancy I just feel I need to have something to aim for!

[shelle]

I’ve taken my kids(now 5 and 2) at various ages from 6 weeks to 4years.

Just under 3 is definitely a good age and you don’t need to pay for park tickets!

Take your own stroller. The Disney ones don’t recline and are expensive. You also have to leave them in the parks so not good for getting back to your car, etc. Alternatively you can rent one from someone like Kingdom Strollers.

Depending on height a nearly 3 year old can go on quite a lot. The vast amount of rides and attractions have no restriction at all.
Make use of rider swap. At Disney the child does not have to queue with you so they can be enjoying another attraction while you wait. The process is different at universal though. We have been to universal with young children and there are things for them do but not nearly as much as at Disney. We tended to have one parent stay in Suess Landings or The woody woodpecker area while the other went off to do the rest of the park with express passes. A night at a universal hotel with free express passes may be a good idea to get the parks done with out to much hanging around for the youngest.

With that in mind for Disney we tend to do half days and either hit rope drop or head in late afternoon. We toured like this even before kids and find first thing in the morning and last thing at night is when you get the minimal waits and can also stay out of the heat. If you are going for three weeks you’ll have plenty of time for parks and rest days just chilling by the pool at the villa.

Also don’t try and do too much and charge all over the park to get it done. Over tired kids are unhappy and some of the best memories we have are when we’ve just stopped to smell the roses.

Take swimwear or a change of clothes for the splash zones.

Take snacks and water(or get free water from the QS) - hungry kids are grumpy kids.

I could go on for ever but if you do a search on the forum you will find plenty of advice about taking kids. You’ll see a lot of it differs and it’s about finding what works for your family 👍