In April of this year we decided to brave Disney World for our daughters fifth birthday! I honestly thought it would be the craziest and most chaotic experience of our lives but it actually was SO fun! My husband and I went on our own with our two kiddos (ages 5 and 1). We only had two days to spend at the park but that was honestly just enough time!
1.We Stayed At A Disney Resort
Okay so I have never been the type to stay at a Disney resort because I always felt like they were too pricey. Why not just save our money and stay at a basic hotel…right? WRONG! Once you do a Disney resort with kids, you’ll never want to do a basic hotel again! Not only do they conveniently have transportation to and from the park, they also have some fun perks for families! We stayed at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort. They had a beautiful pool and an awesome splash pad for kids! They also offer “character breakfasts” where you can pay a little extra to have a Disney themed breakfast and your babes can meet some of their favorite Disney characters while they eat! The hotel room itself was so comfortable and clean. I was pleasantly surprised with our experience here! I think the next time we go I want to try one of their bigger, more popular Disney World resorts just to see what other fun things they have out there!
The other great thing about staying at a Disney resort is that you get to take advantage of the “Extra Magic Hours” for free! On certain days the park either opens a few hours earlier or stays open a few hours later and you get to go during that time! Check the park website calendar to see if you’ll be going on a day that has that extra benefit!
2. We Didn’t Rent A Car
We decided not to rent a car since our stay was so short. It worked out well for us! I could’t find any Disney hotels that had shuttles from the airport so we caught an Uber to get between the hotel and airport. All Disney resorts have shuttles that get you to all of the Disney parks so that’s easy and convenient! We also got lucky with our resort because it was walking distance to Disney Springs. Disney Springs has so many fun restaurants, shops, and events happening all the time! The kids had a blast there!
3. We Chose Magic Kingdom
I had previously read reviews from other parents who said that Magic Kingdom was the best park for young kids so that’s where we went! It was magical!! They had so many rides that they could both get on! I also felt like there were so many families with young children there so we didn’t feel bad about the fact that the kids were running and screaming everywhere, haha! Another park that I have heard is fun for little ones is Animal Kingdom. We will go there next time!
4. We Bought Our Disney Gear Ahead Of Time
To make things easier, I ordered all of our Disney outfits before we left for our trip! We didn’t want to have to spend time shopping while we were there so I got our ears and shirts from stores outside of the park. Plus, it was way less expensive!! Stores like H&M, Target, Old Navy, and Zara have cute Disney gear for the whole fam!
5. We Didn’t Have High Expectations
Taking trips with little kids is always an adventure! So Seth and I tried to go into our Disney trip with low expectations. We went in there with the mindset that we just wanted the kids to have fun, see as much as they could, and ride rides. We assumed we’d probably have to leave the park early. We knew that it was going to be really busy and we expected the occasional meltdown or tantrum. So we were pleasantly surprised when both kids did amazing and lasted until MIDNIGHT! They were too mesmerized by everything to complain about anything. It helped too that we made sure they both got a really good nights rest the day before we went. We also made sure they ate a good breakfast that day…nobody is in a good mood when they’re hungry!
6. We Used Allll The Resources
USE THE FASTPASSES! Okay so a huge thing that made our day go much smoother were the FastPasses. We would stop at a FastPass kiosk and reserve a time to get on a ride and then while we were waiting for that ride we would take the kids to go see a character they wanted to see. That way, we were hardly ever waiting in line.
Another thing I took full advantage of was the Baby Care Center. I made sure to find that as soon as we entered the park so I knew where it was at all times! The baby center is a small building where you can take your kiddos for diaper changes, feedings, etc. They even have a quiet nursing room equipped with rocking chairs, dim lighting, and even outlets to charge your phone while you nurse! I rocked Luke to sleep and he was able to nap for a few hours! It’s a great place to stop even if your baby needs a minute away from all the busyness of the park. We also brought a good stroller so Luke could nap and Lily could jump on the skateboard when her legs were tired! The stroller also held our bags on the bottom!
All in all we had such a good time taking the kids! I can’t wait to go back! A lot of people would say that they are too young to even remember that they went to the park but that’s okay! My husband and I have those amazing memories that we can share with them later through all the pictures and videos we took! I also love trips like this because I feel like it teaches them about patience and helps them to adapt to different situations. Don’t be scared to take your kids on a Disney adventure! You’ll survive and have the best stories to tell after!