We were all set to be in California for spring break, but plans changed when my grandma passed away, unfortunately, so we ended up spending some time at Disney World. We didn’t do any planning – we just figured it out along the way. This is by no means an exhaustive list of tips, just what we gleaned after a day or so of no plans and near disasters.
1. Meet Mickey Mouse at the theater by the Magic Kingdom entrance. Disneyland has the designated “meet Mickey” spot at his house in Toon Town, and Disney World’s is at the theater when you enter the park on the right. It was a five minute wait when we went, but we saw it as high as 20 minutes, which still isn’t bad.
Mickey spent a lot of time with them – the boys were playing a game of stand up and sit down before the photos started. And then the boys wanted a Mickey stuffed animal, of course.
On our way out, we took a pic with Goofey on the bench outside Tony’s restaurant.
2. Get the “My Disney Experience” app. We used this quite a bit to check ride wait times, make reservations, and for general info. You can also see when characters will be out (and their location), parade and show times, nearest restrooms, etc.
3. Research when characters will be out. We didn’t do this, but we happened to see Buzz after going on the Buzz Lightyear ride and we checked that off the list. The Disney app shows a breakdown of all the characters so you can plan to stalk the favorites.
4. Allow for extra time if you’re using the hotel bus system. Depending on where you stay, it could take a half hour to an hour to get to a park. It’s probably good to think about which park you’d like to visit most, and then book your hotel. If you want closest access to Magic Kingdom, you can stay at the Contemporary Resort so you can walk or take the monorail. Either way, you may be waiting at the bus stop, but at least they have decent seating.
5. Bring or rent a stroller. We had a stroller for our two year old, but didn’t anticipate needing one for our big kid. It’s so much walking…they tend to walk too slow (and whine), and it’s easier to keep track of them in the crowds with the stroller. This is what our four year old looked like just after walking down Main Street.
We ended up renting a stroller, but it would have been cheaper to buy an umbrella stroller. It gets pretty pricey…
However, the Disney strollers are a little easier to stroll because of the height of the handle and you don’t have to lug them around on the bus. Overall, we thought it was money well spent to keep him contained and happy.
6. Make reservations. We learned the hard way when we tried to eat the first day and the sit-down places were an hour wait and the other places were packed. It made for a pleasant meal when we finally found a place (you know what I’m about talking about). Hubby was smart and made reservations after that using the Disney app.
7. Get fast passes. It’s well worth the planning. Get a fast past to return in a couple hours (or whenever they tell you) with little or no wait. The only catch is that you can’t have multiple passes at once, so you generally have to wait about an hour to get another one. You just have to keep track of the time and hit other shorter line rides in the interim, like People Mover, carousal, tea cups, It’s a Small World, Aladdin, etc. We got fast passes for The Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear, Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, and Dumbo, and we often walked right on.
8. Go to the Boardwalk Resort and let the kids run wild on the grassy area. This hidden gem is just a short bus ride away. We went there to check it out and have dinner for something different, and this is what we found…just what we needed.
We got a pizza and then the boys ran and tackled each other for about 45 minutes while hubby and I ate funnel cake in between telling the boys “come back, you’ve gone too far!” but it was a good way for them to burn off some energy. Our phones died so we couldn’t get any action shots, but you can see a few people starting to let their kids run wild here…
They liked the water, too.
It’s a cute little boardwalk, and you can even rent some surrey bikes!
9. Have your souvenirs delivered to your hotel or held until you leave the park. I wanted to buy some Christmas ornaments, but who wants to carry fragile items all day? They will package and deliver anything you’ve purchased to your hotel, provided that you aren’t checking out the next day and you’re staying at a Disney resort. Otherwise they will package it and leave it for you to pick up until 1 a.m. at the City of Commerce building right before you exit the park.
10. Go to Character Dining at the Crystal Palace. This was the highlight of our trip. It’s a little pricey, but it was good food (for Disney) and the boys loved hanging out with the characters.
The kid’s buffet was too cute.
The boys liked their Mickey waffles.
Ethan was a little shy. JJ went nuts when Piglet started playing with his car. The characters spend quite a bit of time at each table and then they also have the kids join them in a parade. I’m not sure if Winnie the Pooh and crew are there every day, but we went on “friendship day” and they were the stars.
11. Consider Downtown Disney as a dinner option. Much like every Disneyland/Disney World comparison, Downtown Disney in Florida is much bigger and better for kids. There were some grassy areas for them to run around, and a nice water view. The boys liked the big balloon, but we didn’t go on it. My brother joined us that night, just in case you thought we were taking pics with a random guy.
We rolled up to Bongos at 6:30 p.m. without a reservation and got in within 10 minutes. It’s pretty loud and kid-friendly. It’s not Miami, but it’s good Cuban food.
12. Pack your own snacks. If your kids are like mine, they ask for a snack (or three) about every hour. There aren’t enough options and it’s just too expensive at Disney to feed their snacking habit so we packed a bag that we hooked on the stroller. I love these fruit strips because you can pack about 50 of them (not kidding) without taking up much room.
Gobbling up that snack…
13. Take a pineapple (or vanilla or orange) Dole Whip break. We make it a tradition to get a Dole Whip at Disney. They are pretty heavenly as an afternoon adult snack. Time it during stroller nap time and you won’t even have to share. Just kidding, sort of. The Dole booth is located in Aloha Aisle and, unfortunately, right near the smoking section, but we found seating around it. Be prepared for a long line. No fast pass option, sorry, but it’s worth the wait.
14. Find a secluded spot to watch shows. Who wants to stand around a bunch of sweaty people to watch a show with kids? This mama won’t do it. We found a nice spot with a bench on the walkway to the left of the castle, and camped out there on two different days. A little rest time while watching the show…
15. Take advantage of the Baby Center services. Take a left from Main Street, and the Baby Center is right next to Crystal Palace. I thought this was fabulous and I don’t even have a baby, but I do have a toddler in diapers so it came in handy when I forgot to stock diapers one day (crazy, right?). You can buy a bag or kits with wipes, ointment, disposable bags and a couple diapers for $3.99. There is also a big changing room with plush changing tables and disposable covers (best changing area I’ve ever seen–and yes, I got excited about it). There are a couple rocking chairs and a room with TVs and a small play area, too.
Not only that, there is a room where you can buy basically anything you’d need, and a fairy godmother (literally) who helps you purchase. Pretty darn cool.
16. Be flexible with naps. On our first full day, we decided to go back to the hotel for nap time. Makes sense, right? Not if your two year old decides he doesn’t want to nap and screams for an hour and half. Crazy-making for everyone. No nap happened then, but it did happen in the car later. After that we decided that they would nap in their stroller (hopefully while we were eating Dole Whips) and if they didn’t nap, we’d just try to get them in bed a little earlier. It’s just a couple days, right?
17. Go on the African Safari ride at Animal Kingdom. I wasn’t crazy about going to Animal Kingdom because I thought it was just going to be like a zoo, but I was pleasantly surprised. The Safari ride was fantastic. We rode in a big Jeep and saw elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, lions, antelope and much more in the open Savannah-like setting.
And if your kids really like animals, consider getting a Savannah view room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We just happened to get an upgrade because the room we reserved was booked, and the boys loved it. This was our view and the boys kept asking to “go back to the hotel and see the animals.”
18. Do a parade drive by. I’m not a parade person (with or without kids), but we happened to be walking by so we stopped for a few minutes to see some characters. Once we saw their favorites, we continued on.
19. Cool down at the Big Top water play area. We didn’t do this because it wasn’t that hot, but I thought it would be a good way for the kids to cool down during the crazy humid summer months. If you’re crazy enough to go to Disney in July or August, which is what my family did when I was a kid.
20. Take a poolside dinner break. When we had burned out on park crowds, we headed over to our hotel pool for some splash time. We ordered dinner and ate in the lounge chairs – It was a nice change of pace to get away from the crowds for a bit.
I have fond memories of going to Disney World with my grandparents and it was a special treat to see their brick this trip.
No matter how old you are, there is just something magical about Disney…
Please feel free to share some of your own going-to-Disney-with-kids tips!
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What a fun, magical trip!!! So happy you could have a nice time and celebrate the memory of your grandma. How neat they have a brick there!!!! So fun catching up today:)