Walt Disney World with Small Kids

Walt Disney World with Small Kids

As Spring approaches, I can’t help but think about Summer and Summer Vacation! I started a mini series based on our Walt Disney World {WDW} experience last summer and never finished it! Since I know these tips can be super helpful for any family planning a magical trip to WDW, I wanted to make sure to get this posted!

So here’s my Do’s and Don’ts for vacationing at WDW for families with small kids!

1. Do stay in a Disney Resort – We stayed at Disney’s Art Animation Resort and had a blast.
2. Don’t wear expensive jewelry – I lost one of my Tiffany earrings at the park. I was super bummed and it was probably from taking my poncho on and off during one of the rainy day!
3. Make reservations early for FassPass + selections & character dining experiences – We booked about 2 months in advanced and the pickings were still slim. However, we were able to get what we wanted.
4. Have a tour/game plan – There’s no way to master a day at the park without a plan. My hubs and I had a plan for each day, where we’d start and where we’d end based on the characters the kids wanted to meet and the rides they wanted to explore.
5. Do ‘parent swap’ (if you have small kids) – A great idea offered by Disney, where one parent goes on a ride with the older kids while the other parent keeps the younger kids. Then the parents can swap without getting in the back of the line.
6. Know the ride height requirements in advanced – If your kids vary in age, you’ll want to know the height requirements such that you can plan which rides/activities to explore for each child versus getting there and being disappointed.
7. Get most popular rides and character meet/greets over early, early – As soon as the park opens. The wait for Ana & Elsa Frozen had wait times as high as 110 min which is crazy. We tackled this one first one morning, got in and out in 30 minutes or so!
8. Do have things to keep kids occupied while waiting in line – I saw this tip during some research, but didn’t adhere to it, so for some of the longer wait times we found the kids starting to act up…the hubs ended up pulling out the iPod and streaming Netflix (the parks have free Wi-Fi)!
9. Maximize on short wait times – If you see a ride available with a short wait time, go for it. I saw Space Mountain, a popular ride, go from 35 min to 55 min in a matter of minutes as I was waiting for the parent swap.
10. Do wear character clothes – My daughter wore an Ana & Elsa t-shirt to Hollywood Studios and when we walked through the gates, an attendant stopped and asked us if we wanted to be in the opening parade “The Royal Welcome” for Ana & Elsa! What an awesome experience!
11. Don’t expect the food to taste better just because it’s expensive – We did a Character dining with Disney Junior Characters and dined at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh characters. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, no complaints…just saying!
12. Do know that “technical difficulties” may occur and it is possible that your live show maybe canceled – This happened to us for the Disney Junior Live on Stage show. So if you see a long line at FassPass, ask what happened or if your wait time gets close to show time, ask and always have a plan B.
13. Do know some rides get temporarily shutdown – if there is bad rain showers, maintenance issues. This happened to Thunder Mountain. Again, always have a plan B.
14. Don’t spend all your doe in the park – Also known as impulse shopping. The hubs and I made it a point to not shop in the park…this does not include our character dining experiences. We assured the kids that we would grab t-shirts and such before leaving Orlando. We did purchase funnel cakes and Mickey Mouse ice cream!
15. Do buy  souvenirs – We bought souvenirs the last day from resort before heading out, but as an after thought, it would’ve been cool to have gotten the kids a t-shirt from their favorite ride – Space Mountain!

I had literally put this list together on our drive back home, so I do hope that it is helpful! Is anyone planning a WDW vacation this summer?