Walt Disney World with Toddlers- Part 1

If you are visiting Walt Disney World with your toddler, my number one piece of advice would to pack your patience! A trip to the World with your child/ children is so much fun, but it’s important to be prepared! Please let me help you make your trip to Walt Disney World as fun and special as possible with some tips and must-do’s regarding your vacation. Let’s go!

(Sitting at Outer Rim Lounge at the Contemporary Resort)

(At Be Our Guest restaurant)

Resort

If your budget allows, I would recommend choosing a monorail resort when traveling with toddlers. The three Magic Kingdom resorts on the monorail line are Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Being on the monorail is a big advantage because you do not have to fold up your stroller to get on the monorail, as you do on the buses (and bonus- kids LOVE the monorail!). This means that if your child is asleep in her stroller, you do not ever have to wake sleeping beauty to fold up the stroller, but instead, you get to enjoy a quiet monorail ride home! You can even walk to and from the Contemporary Resort on a designated path, it is that close!

(It's about a 10-minute walk over the The Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower Resorts)

(The entrance to Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort- we had a beautiful view overlooking the Magic Kingdom when we stayed here)

(Camden LOVES riding the monorail!)

If a deluxe resort on the monorail line is not quite within your budget (these are Walt Disney World’s three most expensive resorts, due to their amenities and popularity with guests, as well as their proximity to the most popular theme park, the Magic Kingdom), then have no fear- there is something that appeals to children at EVERY Walt Disney World resort! The value resorts, Disney’s least expensive resorts, feature large, colorful icons which children LOVE. Every WDW resort features fun pools, movies under the stars, and lots of tasty food options for kids! Please click on the links below to read my three previous resort posts and to see some photos of these resorts.

Value Resort Post

Moderate Resort/ Campground Post

Deluxe/ Deluxe Villas Post

(Visiting the Cars section at Art of Animation Resort- Cars is my son's favorite movie, and he was in heaven here!)

(All Disney resorts have fun activities for kids- here is my son having fun on the playground at Caribbean Beach Resort)

Food

Once you have secured your resort, it’s time to start thinking about where to eat! My toddler does not love the characters (he likes looking at them from afar, but he doesn’t want them getting close like they do at character meals), and so we have been skipping character meals, but if your toddler enjoys the characters, then there are a few places I would recommend over the others. Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary Resort is one of my favorites. I love the fun atmosphere, and the fact that the main mouse himself comes to your table to personally greet you (along with the other Fab 5 characters- Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy). If you have a Princess-lover, then Cinderella’s Royal Table, which is actually located inside of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom is a favorite, as multiple princesses come to your table to say hello and take photos- but please be aware, this restaurant is extremely difficult to get reservations for! An alternative (which honestly, I hear mixed reviews about food-wise) is Akershus in the Norway Pavilion at Epcot. If you are interested in this Princess meal, please be sure to check out the menu before making reservations to make sure that the food is appealing to your family. A few other restaurants which are a lot of fun for toddlers are Biergarten in Germany at Epcot, in which an oom-pah band plays a show hourly, and children are invited up on stage to dance; ‘Ohana at the Polynesian Village Resort which features a character breakfast with Lilo & Stitch in the morning, and a family-style dinner offering coconut races and hula lessons for the children in the evening (no characters at dinner); Whispering Canyon Café at Wilderness Lodge Resort which offers lots of ‘hoopla’ and fun (watch what happens when you ask for ketchup!); and Beaches & Cream at the Beach Club Resort, which serves up some of the best ice cream sundaes in all of Walt Disney World!

Remember- if you are traveling with a toddler UNDER the age of 3, they eat for FREE at the buffets!

(After breakfast at Be Our Guest restaurant)

(My nephew loving his experience at Chef Mickey's character breakfast)

When I asked my husband what tips he had for those traveling with toddlers, he mentioned bringing lots of snacks! Our son is ALWAYS asking for snacks, and so we try to always have some grapes, breakfast bars/ kids protein bars, and cookies (Teddy Grahams work well!) on hand. Of course, there are kid-friendly snacks around every corner at Walt Disney World- and while we do treat Camden to some, it’s nice to also have a stash on-hand. My three-year old Camden’s favorite WDW snacks include the Dole Whip Float (pineapple ice cream and pineapple juice) at Aloha Isle in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom; the large donuts served at the various Joffrey’s Coffee carts in the theme parks; the chocolate croissant at the Patisserie in France at Epcot; the caramel treats at Karamel Kuche in Germany at Epcot; and the giant cupcakes located at every resort, and at multiple places in the theme parks. 

(Enjoying some snacks at Animal Kingdom park)

(Snacking at breakfast when he was 1)

Breaks

I think it’s important to mention that breaks are VERY necessary when traveling with toddlers at Disney. My family typically does several park days, and while we do these park days from open to close, we spend the rest of our vacation days swimming, checking out our resort, visiting Disney Springs, and relaxing at the water parks- we get plenty of breaks on these days. I think, however, the majority of people spend most or all of their days at the parks, but come back to the resort for lunch, a nap, and/ or a quiet swim at their resort pool. This gives everyone a chance to take a break from the heat, and then return in the late afternoon or early evening when it’s cooler.

Relaxing in the room at Bay Lake Tower

(Enjoying a cookie and a pool break at Caribbean Beach Resort on a hot September day!)

Baby Care Centers

I also want to mention the Baby Care Centers, which are located in each of the four theme parks. We have always utilized these centers- my husband enjoys sitting in the air conditioning, while I have utilized the changing tables, bottle warming stations, and nursing rooms. High chairs for feeding are also available, and a small store sells sunscreen, over-the-counter medications, formula and baby food, diapers, wipes, and a few other essentials that you may need. The cast members in these centers have always been very friendly, making this a nice, quiet place to come with your child.

Stroller

My next tip is to bring or rent a decent stroller- I recommend a jogging stroller (don’t use the Disney rentals- they are hard, molded plastic). My 3-year old is a hearty kid, and I’ll be honest- for the past two trips, I debated not getting a stroller to save some money, only to end up ordering one at the last minute. We were only at the parks one day on our February trip before our 7-day Disney Cruise, and so I figured that we did not need to bother with a stroller. However, as I thought about it more and more, I realized that we’d be at the parks from 9am until after 1am, and there was no way that Camden would not want a break during that time. We rent our stroller from Kingdom Stroller Rental (www.kingdomstrollers.com), and I would highly recommend going this route. They deliver the stroller right to Bell Services at your resort, and so as soon as you arrive, it’s ready for pick-up. Then you simply deliver the stroller back to Bell Services before you board the Magical Express to the airport for your flight home. I have always gotten the City Mini stroller, which reclines back when Camden wants to nap, and folds up quickly and easily. I recommend getting the insurance, just in case- once in a while, strollers have gone missing at WDW (not common, but it can happen)- if this were to happen to you, you simply contact Kingdom Strollers, and they will bring you a new stroller, no matter where you are in Walt Disney World.

(Comfy in his City Mini stroller at the Magic Kingdom)

(Headed over to the Polynesian Village for lunch during an afternoon rainstorm- letting the kids stay in their strollers to nap while using the monorail is PRICELESS!)

(Enjoying a quiet lunch at the Patisserie in France at Epcot with friends while our children slept- as you can see, the canopy on the City Mini stroller extends very far down, creating some darkness for napping children)

When To Go

I want to suggest, when traveling with toddlers, that you travel during off-season if possible. I would avoid summer at all costs. If you must travel during the summer, I HIGHLY suggest leaving the theme parks in the afternoon and escaping back to your resort to cool off. It gets RIDICULOUSLY hot in the summer- I love the heat, but the one year we went to Disney in August, we were miserable. I would not count on my toddler to be in a good mood when it was this hot unless we were in the pool or the air conditioning. Also keep in mind that the week of Christmas and the following week, Easter week, and 4^th of July week often hit capacity in the parks- this means wall-to-wall people waiting in line with you for the Jungle Cruise (which, like many other Disney attractions, has an outdoor queue). We have found that October and February are among our favorite times to travel- the weather is typically perfect for little ones, and in October, you get to see the fall decorations at the parks!

(This was an October trip- the Magic Kingdom is lit up in Halloween colors for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party)

Flying

One final tip I have is one that I SWEAR on. I wear my kid out before we get on the plane, and I swear it works, because he has (knock on wood!) slept on every single flight since I started doing this. We are lucky, and Indianapolis International Airport where we fly out of has a small play area in the Southwest Terminal for children. Once we set our luggage down with my husband at the gate, I run (yes, physically run) over to the play area with Camden, and tell him to climb and run around this area. When it gets close to our flight time, we run again to the bathroom, then back to our gate. Going home, at Orlando International Airport, I simply have him run up and down the Southwest terminal multiple times until I feel that he is sufficiently worn out. If we are traveling at night, which we often do on our way home, I change him into his pajamas before we get on the plane so he is more comfortable, and I can just put him in bed when we arrive home without waking him.

(Enjoying an adult beverage on our way to WDW while my son slept)

(The play area in the Southwest terminal at Indy International)

One more thing that I want to mention- while this post talks about traveling to Walt Disney World with toddlers, I HIGHLY recommend taking your children earlier in their lives. My husband and I got a LOT of flack on one trip from the man sitting in front of us on the plane, and he continually asked us why we would 'waste' our money taking our baby to Walt Disney World. Camden's first trip was at 8 months, and to this day, I continue to look back on that trip with fond memories. It's A Small World and the fireworks MESMERIZED him. The character interactions we had were priceless. He LOVED splashing around the pools at the resort. My husband and I work very hard at our jobs, and Walt Disney World is our absolute favorite vacation spot in the world- why would we stop taking vacations just because we had a baby? Sure, he won't remember it. That's no reason to leave a baby back home on vacation or not go. Take your baby- you will not regret it!

(8-month-old Camden loving his vacation- all Disney resorts provide free life jackets in a variety of sizes)

(8 months old at Disney Springs)

Please stay tuned for next month’s blog post, where I review my toddler’s favorite rides and attractions at all of the parks. Thank you for reading, and Happy Travels!