Those who know me really well know that I’m kind of a freak when it comes to Disney. If I could choose between a trip to a Disney park and just about any other vacation, 99.9% of the time I would choose a Disney vacation.
This post might seem out of the blue since we are currently living in South Korea and there is no Disney park in South Korea. BUT because Japan is FINALLY opening for tourism this month and they DO have a Disney park, it’s been on my mind. And this means that Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea have officially been added to our bucket list of things to do while living in South Korea.
Over the years, we’ve planned multiple Disney trips with our children – and there is nothing I enjoy more than seeing my kids get so excited about the same things I got excited about as a kid. Riding Peter Pan for the first time with your kids? Forget about it! Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with your bigger kids? Nothing can top that! (Except maybe Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom at Disney World with your bigger kids – because, let’s be honest, that’s just an insanely good ride.)
Over the last few years, I’ve had a lot of friends ask me HOW we did Disneyland (and Disney World) with young kids. Is it worth it? How old should our kids be for us to take them? How do you handle naps and bedtimes and X, Y, Z? So even though we are on to very different adventures these days, I thought I’d take a second to share some of my best tips for how to do a Disney trip with kids.
*Disclaimer: This is not a “one stop shop” for all the information you need to plan a trip to Disney. Park rules and COVID restrictions change regularly, so visit the Disneyland Park site and Disney World Park site for all of that important information.
Tips and Tricks for a Disney Vacation with Kids
1. Bring the strollers – this is probably hands-down the best tip I can give you. I don’t care what kind of stroller you bring – a fancy Bob or a cheap umbrella stroller. But what I do know is that if you have kids age 5 and younger, you’re going to want a stroller for each of them. This probably goes without saying, but there is a LOT of walking involved in a Disney vacation. When we were at Disney World last November, we were walking 12-13 miles PER DAY – which is a lot even for an adult. Of course lugging the strollers around the park can be a BIT inconvenient. But there is stroller parking all throughout the parks which makes it less inconvenient. And just trust me: when the time comes to exit the park at closing, you’re going to be glad you have a place to plop your exhausted children down while you walk back to the car/hotel/bus. *One note: the size requirements for strollers has changed – be sure to check the footprint size of your stroller and compare it to the new requirements found on the Disney Parks websites.
2. Bedtimes don’t exist at Disney – now I know I might get some crap for this one, but when we are at Disney, we don’t worry about bedtimes. Our older kids always did really well – they were fine going to bed late and waking up early because, ya know, vacation. But if you’re going to follow this tip (and you should because it’s the best way to do Disney), please also follow tip #1 – because your kids WILL be tired and WILL NOT want to walk, so the strollers will really come in handy. When the Whittens do Disney, we don’t go back to the hotel for naptime. If our little ones want a nap, they sleep in the stroller. Or they sleep in the baby carrier. Or they just skip a nap and there is so much to do and see that they don’t usually care. And we most DEFINITELY are not calling it quits two hours before the parks close because it’s “bedtime.” We’re at Disney and, let’s be honest, we paid a pretty penny to be there. So you can bet your booty that we are getting our money’s worth! The kids can sleep for a week straight when you get home. Trust me, they’ll be fine.
3. Bring the snacks – one of the wonderful things about Disney is that they allow outside food and drinks. They DO NOT allow you to bring entire coolers worth of food into the parks (nor would you want to – the parks are far too big to have a “home base” if you know what I mean). But you can bring an entire backpack full of snacks and goodies with no issue. And I recommend doing just that – especially if you’re traveling on a budget. We always eat breakfast at the hotel (whether breakfast is included at the hotel or we make our own) and then pack sandwiches for lunch in the park. We also pack a variety of other snacks in our bag for when our children inevitably decide that they don’t want sandwiches for lunch. AND we usually crack and buy one snack per day IN the park because… well, experience. And memories. And yum. Then we do our big splurge and purchase dinner in the park because their food isn’t half-bad and it’s just easier that way. *Personal recommendations: 50’s Prime Time Cafe in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Disney World (make reservations ahead of time to ensure there is a place for you); Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria in Epcot at Disney World (located in the World Showcase in Italy).
4. Take breaks – when the kids start losing their crap (crying about not getting the toy they want, saying they are hungry every five seconds, complaining about the long lines), maybe it’s time to step away and take a break. Find a drinking fountain and a bathroom – fill up the water bottles and take a potty break. Sit down and have a snack and look at the park map and plan out the next move. Let the kids each choose something they’d like to do next and make a plan. You’d be surprised at how much just stepping away and drinking some water will help.
5. Expect the lines – and more importantly: JUST WAIT IN THE DANG LINES! I’ve talked to people who went to Disney and walked around, saw that all the lines were over a 30-minute-wait, decided that it wasn’t worth it, and proceeded to do NOTHING the entire time they were there. And then they claim that it was a waste of time and money. Yeah, no duh. Firstly, a 30-minute wait is actually pretty darn short for a Disney park. Growing up it was a little different, but now a 45-50 minute wait for rides (especially some of the bigger rides) is not at all uncommon. Heck, even an 80 minute wait isn’t unheard of. And a 2-3 hour line for the NEW rides (I’m looking at you, Rise of the Resistance) is absolutely normal. And WORTH IT. And honestly, nobody does lines like Disney. Many of their lines feel more like you’re walking through a museum than waiting in line. The point is: you’re going to encounter some lines – and some REALLY LONG lines. But 2 hours is going to pass whether you’re waiting in lines or not. So just download Heads Up on your phone, make sure you use the bathroom, and get in the line!
6. Let your kids be kids – I think as parents sometimes we think that when we are doing something really fun (like Disney), our kids should just magically be chipper little rays of sunshine every single second we are there. But the truth is: they are human. And humans get cranky when they are tired or hot or sweaty or hungry or when they want to ride Dumbo, but their brother wants to ride the Carousel. So let the tiny humans be humans. They’re allowed to have tantrums and they deserve to be validated.
7. Rider swap is your best friend – rider swap was invented by a mother of three or more young kids, I swear. And honestly, the only way to do a Disney trip with kids (especially young kids who aren’t all tall enough for every ride) is to utilize rider swap. Basically your whole party goes up to the ride attendant and you let them know that you need to do rider swap. They’ll ask you who will be riding the first time and who will be staying back. Then, they’ll scan the ticket of the person staying behind with the younger kids AND the ticket of one other person who is going to ride with the one who stayed behind. Then everybody who is riding the first time gets in line and those staying behind go do whatever they want. Once the first riders finish, the person who stayed back takes the other person who is going to ride with them and they hop in the Lightning Lane so they don’t wait for nearly as long. This all sounds very confusing, but I promise it’s not. And I promise that even when it might get a little confusing, it is 100% worth it to use this tool! There is no way Brandon and I would have both been able to ride Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Disney World if it hadn’t been for rider swap. Sure, entertaining a two-year-old and four-month-old on my own for two and a half hours while Brandon waited in line with the other kids isn’t the perfect way to spend an afternoon, but thankfully there are enough attractions for all ages that we found some fun things to do (I highly recommend Toy Story Mania for the little ones – just take some Dramamine right before if you get motion sick).
8. Bring extra adults if you can – I know this isn’t always possible. But whenever it is: bring extra adults! Brandon and I spent a day at Disneyworld with just our little family and it was wonderful and totally doable. But when my dad and sister got to Orlando the next day and joined us for the next few days of Disney parks, we were grateful for the reinforcements. We’ve been really lucky to almost always have extra adults with us when we’ve gone to the Disney parks and that is honestly such a game changer when you have really young kids. Again, it isn’t 100% necessary: you can totally have an amazing vacation without an extra adult – no matter your kids’ ages. But it definitely helps! Fortunately for us, my parents are about as big of Disney nuts as I am, so it hasn’t usually taken much convincing to get them to join. And, if you’re absolutely DESPERATE for an extra adult to come, you can always ask your ol’ pal Ashley Whitten – I’ve got connections with her and I’m sure she’d be willing to join you on your Disney adventures. Ha!
9. Do not try to do EVERYTHING in one day – or even two days. Or even three days. When we go to Disneyland Resort in California, we plan a solid two days PER park. If we’d had the time (and had wanted to spend double on our hotel), we would have done the same for our Disney World trip. The next time we go, we’ll give Disney World a solid two weeks of our time and make sure to hit up the water parks too.
So here we are: my 9 best tips for tackling Disney parks with kids. Disney parks are really one of my favorite vacations to take as a family. The joy on my kids’ faces when they see a Disney character is only matched by my own joy at seeing these kids enjoy the shows and attractions that I remember riding and experiencing when I was their age!
What tips would you add to the list?
’til next time…
Ash
