5 Tips For Taking Your Toddler to Disney World
5 Tips for Taking Your Toddler to Disney World | Going to Disney World with a Toddler
For those of you who don't know, I did the Disney College Program back in 2010. I worked at The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida from May 2010 to December 2010. That was an interesting experience which is a story for another day. But one of the things I took away from my time at Disney was that I WOULD NOT take a child under the age of 4 to Disney. I saw too many parents with giant strollers, kids having melt downs because they were exhausted and families just not having a good time. I didn't want that for my own family so I planned on waiting a few years to take Jackie to Disney World for the first time.
Then a business trip to Orlando came up and do to scheduling and availability, it just made more sense to bring Jackie with us. Being that close to Disney, I wasn't going to pass up taking Jackie. I knew she wouldn't be able to handle an entire day at the parks so I strategized to make it a fun experience for everyone. So if you plan on taking a toddler to Disney World, here are 5 tips to make your life a little easier.
5 Tips for Taking Your Toddler to Disney World | Don't Do It Alone!
If you only take one thing from this post, let it be this. If you have never taken your toddler to Disney World, don't do it alone! You will be so overwhelmed and everyone will be miserable. Since I was in Orlando for a business trip, I didn't actually take Jackie to the parks most days. A very good friend came with us on the trip and helped take care of Jackie when I was working. I went with them to Magic Kingdom on the first day and then met them at Hollywood Studios at the end of the second day.
Even if you are in the parks by yourself, having someone pick you up or meet you to help ease the stress of being alone with a toddler all day is a huge help. On the days I couldn't be at the parks, I made sure I was there to pick the girls up so they didn't have to worry about getting home.
5 Tips for Taking Your Toddler to Disney World | Research Ticket Options
If you are going to spend the money on taking your toddler to Disney World, make sure you know what your ticket options are. There are actually a lot more options than just buying daily passes to the parks. You will want something that works best for your family and your budget. I was able to get special 4 day tickets that allowed for one entry to each park in those 4 days. So you couldn't go to another park during the same day and you couldn't repeat parks using the tickets. This actually worked out really well for us and let Jackie and Emma experience all of the parks.
I would strongly suggest using a Disney Travel Agent if you are looking for a deal on tickets and you have never gone before. My cousin is one and she is amazing!
5 Tips for Taking Your Toddler to Disney World | Take Lots of Breaks
This should be a no brainer but honestly it needs to be addressed. You are going to be going hard at the parks. There is so much to do, lots of lines and so little time. So take advantage of the Fast Pass system and slow down. Don't wait in every single line. Find the rides you HAVE to go on and do those. Sit down at one of the cafes and get a drink. Let your kids run around a store and see all the fun stuff. Just stop and enjoy what you are doing so your toddler can too!
5 Tips for Taking Your Toddler to Disney World | Listen To Your Child
Your child is going to tell you when they are done or when they want to keep going. They are going to be frustrated waiting in lines and incredibly excited to see their favorite characters. The best thing you can do while at Disney World with you toddler is listen to them. We learned pretty quickly that if there was a long line for something, Jackie did much better if she had her bottle or the iPad. Emma was able to wait an hour for the Frozen ride because she turned Frozen on the iPad and Jackie just hung out. Other parents thought it was brilliant!
Jackie also made sure we knew if she wasn't having fun or when she was having a blast. We have so many videos of her really excited about a ride, singing along to a show or dancing at the dance parties. I will be posting some videos of Jackie at the parks on my Facebook Page so you can see how much fun she had!
5 Tips for Taking Your Toddler to Disney World | Be Prepared for Rain
I cannot stress this one enough. You are going to Florida, it is going to rain at least once during your trip. It doesn't matter what time of year it is. I can't tell you how many people would get upset with Cast Members when it was raining, like they had a way of making it stop. As a Cast Member, we know you spent a lot of money to be at Disney World. But you are in Florida. It rains, a lot. If you are not prepared for the rain, that's on you.
We brought rain boots, rain jackets and bought some extra ponchos. It poured on our day at Magic Kingdom, for the entire day. But we still had a ton of fun. We run from ride to ride and hardly waited in a single line. It did make going home a little complicated but my parents met us at one of the hotels and we were able to change Jackie and get her into warmer clothes.
5 Tips for Taking Your Toddler to Disney World | Shop
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