Everyone told us when we got pregnant that our traveling days were over. Since G was born, she’s gone on over a dozen trips. While it’s different and not as relaxing as travel without kids – it’s even more fun. One of the easiest trips for a toddler – is going to a Disney theme park. Today, we’re sharing our best tips for taking your toddler to Walt Disney World.
Know height requirements
We were amazed at how many things that a toddler or even a baby can ride at Walt Disney World. Especially in the Magic Kingdom, there are enough rides that your little one could spend days doing everything. For things that have a height requirement, we made sure to know her height, and the requirements before we went on our trip, to avoid anything that she wasn’t able to do (this helped us avoid tantrums!) You can read more about height requirements here.
Keep to a similar schedule as you do at home.
We’ve made sure that our park days keep to her schedule at home as much as possible. For example – she currently takes one long nap in the afternoon, so we make sure we’re planning to be back in our hotel room for the same nap time she has at home. We also keep bedtime, wake time, and meal times as close to the same as possible. While this means we aren’t always seeing fireworks, or rope dropping the park, it does make for a non-cranky toddler, which makes everyone happy.
Stay on property.
Staying on property, especially at a resort that has easy transportation to the Magic Kingdom, is a game changer for nap times and bed times. You can utilize more park time, if your cut down on your transportation time to and from your resort!
Have realistic expectations.
One of the biggest reasons people end up disappointed on a trip, is because of unrealistic expectations. If you think you’re going to accomplish every ride at the park, and stay from sun-up to sundown, you’re setting you’re up for failure. Something we like to do before a trip is pick several things we want to accomplish each day, that will make that day a win!
Pack your park bag well.
Don’t worry about feeling like a packhorse when you go to the park. Take plenty of diapers, extra clothes, snacks, and toys with you. Being prepared is better than having to stop what you’re doing and go back to the room.
Embrace the ‘free’.
Not only do toddlers get into the parks for free until their third birthday, they also eat for free at buffets and family style meals – which means you can go to a ton of character meals for free!