Disney World Tips for Families with Young Kids
Planning for a future Disney World trip? This article will provide Disney World Tips for Families with Young Kids focusing on the planning phase as well as after you hit the ground in Orlando. Hopefully these tips will make your trip truly “magical”.
As a Dad, traveling with young kids is hard. It adds another dimension with careful thought around packing, planning and overall enjoyment of the trip. Fortunately, I’ve been able to visit Disney World twice in the last 4 years with kids in tow and picked up some tips that I would like to share.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
-Walt Disney
Planning Phase
Deciding when to visit
We choose Thanksgiving break both times to visit Disney World. This was purposeful to get away from the cold and save our work vacation days. One of our kids was age 2 at the time of each visit which meant the added bonus of saving on their park ticket fees (Age 2 and under are free).
The downside of choosing a holiday or summer time will be the long lines for the theme parks and even the airport. The most eye-popping wait time we saw was 180 minutes for the Avatar Flight of Passage ride.
Stay at a Disney Hotel or Resort
There are many benefits staying at a Disney Hotel such as complimentary airport transportation & luggage delivery, parking, extra magic hours, advance Fastpass+ scheduling and others. Please note not all Disney hotels have the full benefits so make sure to check. As you book your travel, look for hotel and airfare bundles. We were super happy guests at the Swan Hotel getting a good deal for about $100/night using Travelocity.
Start Using the Disney Mobile App
Create an account, purchase your Disney park tickets and link your hotel confirmation. Unless your family has superhero stamina power, buy the 1 park per day ticket (instead of hopper pass). Look for the extra magic hour info and create a desired attraction list (rides, shows, character visits) for each park. Get a feel for the most popular attractions by viewing the wait times and target those for FastPass+. Fastpass+ (free) allows you to schedule 3 attractions per day allowing you to bypass the normal lines and zip right through. Get your FastPass+ attractions locked in as early as possible (60 days in advance for those booked at the Disney hotels).
Our Favorite Rides and Shows
I strongly encourage you to research the best rides, shows and character visits beforehand. For those that may be interested, I’ve listed out our most favorite rides and some we plan to hit for next time. Epicot is not on the list since we did not visit this park.
Rider Switch Service
Since this is also your vacation and you are entitled for fun too, take advantage of the Rider Switch Service. This service allows one parent to watch the younger kids while the other one rides and then switch over.
You can take advantage of this service even on the best and newest rides such as Avatar Flight of Passage and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Research Restaurants at the Theme Parks & by your hotel
Similar to popular rides, some theme park restaurants require advance reservations. In addition to park restaurants, also explore dining options near your hotel.
Orlando has many excellent restaurants for those willing to venture out. About a 20-min drive from Disney, I had one of the best seafood bonanza of my life at the Big Fin Restaurant. I pigged out on Oysters, Stone Crab claws, and Swordfish Filet Mignon.
Plan ahead what you will bring
Traveling with young kids normally means hauling strollers, pack and play, and carseats. Check ahead if cribs are available to reserve at your hotel. If you don’t have shuttle service from the airport, consider using Uber. Uber in Orlando also offers a carseat option which allows you to leave 1 carseat at home.
Think about bringing a good stroller that can lay flat if you have kids that still nap. Don’t have one? You can rent a City Mini and have it delivered directly to your hotel. There may also be no need to pack tons of snacks and other non-essentials as your hotel may accept Amazon 2-hour deliveries.
You’ve made it to Orlando … now what?
Preparing for the first day
After checking into the hotel, validate the pickup location and time for your ferry, shuttle, gondola, or monorail to the park. There will likely be a visitor stand at your hotel solely for this purpose. Purchase the MagicBands (it may already be included as a benefit) at the visitor stand. In addition to being a fashion statement for the kids, the magic bands will allow you to easily check-in for the entrance at the theme park and for the Fast Pass+ attractions.
Start Early
Power up for breakfast at the hotel and then head out to the park early. One mistake we made was thinking that the park open time was the actual open time. Target getting to the park as much as 1 hour earlier than the open time. Disney allows certain areas to open early such as Main Street.
After the park officially opens, head straight to your most desired non-Fast Pass+ attraction. Be patient as there may still be a wait. However, this will likely be the shortest wait time for this attraction.
Your Disney Mobile App will be your best friend
We frequently used this as our digital map and to check on ride wait times. Use the mobile app to order lunch ahead of time. This was a great way to skip the lunch lines and not need to wander around searching for your meal with hungry kids. After your 3 Fast Pass+ attractions have concluded, you can schedule additional ones (1 at time) immediately using your app.
Nap Time
Unless you have an onsite hotel at the park, too much time will be wasted traveling to/from the park for nap time. For those that followed my recommendation about lay flat strollers, find a quiet place to kick up your feet and have the little one snooze. We found this was just enough time for the other parent and kid to watch a show or go on a ride.
Expect a good day to end early
The Disney magic started fading for us late afternoon as you and your kids will reach exhaustion and a possible breaking point. To set expectations, a good day will comprise hitting all your scheduled Fast Pass+, additional 3-4 attractions and visiting a good deal of the park. If you and your kids are too tired to go out for dinner, think about having UberEats deliver food to your hotel on your way back from the park.
Park Visit Approach
For those wanting to take the aggressive approach, we were able to hit 3 parks (Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios) on consecutive days using the early day start, early day end method. The sequence of the park visits were dictated by the FastPass+ activities and Extra Magic Hours.
If you have extra days to spend in Orlando, consider taking a rest day to enjoy the resort or hit other attractions like SeaWorld & Discovery Cove.
Verdict still out
We opted not to buy the Disney dining plan as we wanted restaurant flexibility. We also did not purchase the memory maker package. The nice thing about the memory maker is that your digital photos will pop up in your Disney Mobile app throughout the trip.
Capturing Memories with your favorite Disney Characters
For the character experiences, the staff was more than accommodating to take photos using our iPhones. We also found that the character experience wait times varied. As you would expect, Mickey & Minnie were most popular, so consider using one of your Fast Pass+ on this. Your kids will love looking back at those precious Disney moments in the future.
See you Mickey & Minnie again in 2020!
With new rides and attractions constantly being introduced, we plan to continue our every other year visit in 2020. As a huge Star Wars fan, I am personally most excited about touring Galaxy Edge Land for the first time. I wish you a very magical trip and May the Force be with you!
Summary
You have learned Disney World Tips for Families with Young Kids that will hopefully maximize your families enjoyment and make your trip truly “magical”. Here are the highlights for both the Planning Phase and Once you hit the ground running.
Planning Phase:
- Consider staying at a Disney Hotel or Resort for the benefits
- Research your desired rides, attractions, and restaurants ahead of time
- Start using the Disney Mobile App to schedule your FastPass+ rides (up to 60 days in advance)
- Plan what to pack ahead of time such as car seats, strollers and cribs
Once you Landed:
- Validate transportation to the Park and pick up your magic bands
- Head out early and be the first in line for your non-FastPass+ rides
- Utilize your Disney Mobile App for park map, ride wait times, ordering food in advance, and signing up for additional FastPass+ rides
- Consider Restaurant Delivery to enable the kids to sleep early for another day of fun
About DadMBA: Through his schooling (he does have a MBA) & more importantly being a Dad, he has provided practical advice to family & friends on finances & other life topics. He loves helping others thus the creation of DadMBA.
