Top 11 Tips for Traveling to Disney with Toddlers

Going to Disney is a highly sought out adventure for families but if you’ve never been before, it can be very intimidating to try and figure out what to do, where to go, and how to prepare for such a big undertaking.

If you do your research, plan ahead, and remain flexible - you can have an amazing experience!

Here are my eleven tips if you plan on tackling any of the Disney parks in America with toddlers:

Choose your parks wisely

It’s crucial to understand the differences between each of the Disney parks. If you plan on going to Disney Land in California, this is a simple task - as it only contains one park. But if you choose to go to Disney World in Florida, this can get a little more complicated as it is made up of four parks and two water parks. 

• The four main parks of Disney World are:

  • EPCOT - This one is truly my personal favorite but unfortunately, not the best one to take toddlers to. This one is a massive loop that has country booths around the entire park. Here, you’ll have gift shops, restaurants, architecture, and drinks represented from all over the world. If you have babies who don’t really care what’s going on around them yet, it’s a great destination. But if you have toddlers who are eager to ride rides, meet characters, and play on playgrounds, they might get a little bored at this park after a while. 

  • Hollywood Studios - This park is home to Toy Story Land - one of my favorite Disney movies! There are many rides here that are suitable for kids of all ages and heights. This is also a great park for people who love Star Wars or those who are looking to ride the famous Tower of Terror.

  • Animal Kingdom - This park is wonderful for toddlers, as there are many opportunities to see and even pet real animals. This is the largest of the four Disney parks - so be prepared to walk! Part of Animal Kingdom feels like a zoo, part of it feels like a safari, and the rest of it feels like an amusement park. It truly has a little bit of everything! My favorite part of our day here was meeting Dug and Russell from Up!

  • Magic Kingdom - When you think of Disney, you probably think of Magic Kingdom because this is home to Cinderella’s Castle and a lot of Disney’s other classic attractions like the Dumbo Ride, It’s a Small World, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. I’ve seen several parades and firework shows throughout Disney’s parks and Magic Kingdom typically has the best ones. This is a must for toddlers!

    
    

Research the schedule for the day in your specific park

Now that you’ve selected your parks, it’s important to research the schedule of that park on the specific day you’re going.

Parades, shows, character sightings, and firework displays are only some of the things that are scheduled throughout the day at the Disney parks, and especially if you’re trying to meet a specific character or see a certain show, it’s crucial to check this schedule and check it often as things can change even last minute. 

As a mom traveling with a toddler, visiting the characters were some of the purest moments we had as a family and I'm glad we were looking at our options throughout the day instead of waiting to see who we crossed paths with!

Space out your trip

If you are going by yourself or even with another adult, you can get away with purchasing a Park Hopper pass and trying to see more than one of these parks on the same day. However, if you’re traveling with a toddler, I’d highly recommend not doing this. It takes time to get from one park to another and after you factor in wait times for rides, lines to meet characters, nap time, lunchtime, and travel time, it’s already a full day only visiting one park and trying to visit two could set you up for failure. 

Bring your own food

I was impressed with the food at Universal Studios - but not so much at Disney. It’s typically overpriced and while there are some exciting options for food in Disney, most of it is just typical finger foods that weren’t worth spending the money for in my opinion. Disney allows you to bring in your own food and if you’re looking for ways to make this trip more cost-effective, consider packing your own meals. 

Avoid renting a stroller from Disney

Another simple way to save money is to either bring your own stroller or rent one from a company off-site. This is easy to do whether you’re driving or flying as gate-checking a stroller is typically free on most airlines. It’s also the stroller that your toddler is most comfortable in which may come in handy for nap time. In the Disney World Parks in Florida, it costs $15 per day for a single stroller rental or $31 per day for a double stroller. If you only need a single stroller, this price will be roughly the same with off-site companies but if you need a double stroller, you can save $20-$40. 

Have a plan for nap time 

Speaking of nap time… Toddlers will still need this, despite all the commotion going on around them.

This is something you have to prepare for. If your toddler is anything like mine, he has a major “fear-of-missing-out” if you know what I mean.

He’ll be clearly and painfully tired but he just chooses not to sleep because he wants to see everything around him.

For us, the TushBaby saved us for this! I took our son out of the stroller, placed him on my hip with the TushBaby supporting his weight, and I’d find the darkest and coolest corner and pat his butt until he fell asleep on me.

Without this, I’m not sure how we would have gotten him to sleep. 

Buy most of your souvenirs off-site

Another way to save money on your Disney adventure is to purchase the majority of your souvenirs off-site. We traveled with 12 adults and 16 children and all of the younger kids wanted a Disney-themed bubble blower. At Walmart, these were $15 and in the Disney parks, the same exact ones cost more than $30. You won’t be able to find all souvenirs off-site but trying to be smart about your souvenir decisions can save you money in the long-run. 

Purchase the Memory Maker

If you’re going to spend money on anything in Disney, buying the Memory Maker photo pass is a great decision! There are staff members at character sightings and look-out points, and there are even some cameras installed on certain rides that’ll take your photo when you least expect it. With the character sightings, I really wanted to experience my son meeting them instead of having a phone in my hand the entire time, and purchasing this Memory Maker allowed me to do so. The photographers were great at snapping photos before, during, and after the character sightings and the photos on the rides were pretty hilarious to look back on. We took a huge group picture near the entrance of each park with all 28 of us and the photographers who took those did a great job at placing us properly so the photo looked good. It was really easy to retrieve our photos also. The Memory Maker provides a QR code and you simply take your photos, show the photographer your QR code for them to scan, and then they pop up on your phone almost instantly. If you end up missing photos, you simply go to Guest Services and they’ll add anything that was missed. 

Allow for some flexibility 

Things will go wrong (whether your trip has to do with Disney or not) and you have to be prepared to roll with the punches. For example, we noticed that some character lines closed within a minute or two of them arriving and if our toddler was a little bit older, he may have been really upset about that. This is why research is crucial to your planning process! We also got stuck on the top of a roller coaster and ended up having to walk down more than 12 flights of stairs to get back on the ground. Thankfully, we didn’t have anywhere to be right afterwards so the time delay wasn’t too bad. But the point is - things will happen and you can either let it ruin your day or remember that everything happens for a reason and try to enjoy the rest of your experience. 

Protect yourself from the sun

If you are visiting Orlando from anywhere else in the United States, you are very likely closer to the equator than you are in your day-to-day lives. Therefore, the temperature is probably warmer than at home, and don’t even get me started on the humidity. Dehydration, sunburn, or heat exhaustion can ruin a trip fast so be sure to drink water, use sunscreen, and wear a hat and/or sunglasses. This hydration backpack has storage for 2.5 liters of water in it and is a perfect way to drink water while keeping your hands free to tussle with any toddlers if you need to. I just replaced this backpack for the first time and my last one lasted more than four years.

Log where you parked

We were guilty of not logging where we parked and it led to us pushing around a tired, crying, grouchy toddler in circles until we were able to find our car. Thankfully since we traveled in a huge group, someone remembered where we parked. But that someone was not us… But it will be next time! 

Conclusion

If going to Disney with your toddler is something you want to do, you should do it.

I have an entire article about traveling with your kids before they’re old enough to remember it and I can personally attest to the fact that two-year-olds are so much fun to explore Disney with.

Go release your inner child with your child - it’s an experience like no other!