Experienced Disney Goer but 1st Time with Kids

[PTS05]

As the title states I am very familiar with Disneyworld, have gone probably 15-20 times and very familiar with Genie+. However, this will be my first trip as a family, Wife and I with 2 little boys (1 1/2 and 3 1/2). We are heading down next week for 4 days, yes I understand it will be crowded and am prepared for that. Just wanted any tips or tricks that helped/helps you?

We are staying at the VGF and plan to take a 2 hour nap break during the middle of the day. Everything I have read says to take the Monorail to MK and then boat back. We have a double stroller being delivered to the hotel and plan to get groceries delivered too. My goal when I do Disney is to do as many rides as possible, as efficient as possible. I am trying to temper my expectations and (fingers crossed) go at a slower pace to do what the littles want (even if that's to ride Dumbo 10 times ).

I am nervous about the rider swap option, potty breaks for the 3 1/2 year old, places to change diapers for the 1 year old, navigating Disney with a stroller, getting to different parks besides MK (not doing AK this trip).

Looking forward to the trip and just need some peace of mind!

TIA for the help!

 

[sponica]

I would experiment to see if they'll nap in the stroller. Mine were always stroller nappers. We stayed at the Poly the only trip where we had a double stroller, and we never took the boats, only the monorail as you can walk right on with the double.

For Epcot, take the resort monorail to the TTC and get on the Epcot line.

For DHS, the key to taking the bus is make sure you know how to fold the stroller quickly, so if you have anything in the basket make sure it's in a bag that you can easily remove.

There are literally bathrooms EVERY-where. You're never that far from a bathroom. So divide and conquer at the bathroom breaks, one of you takes the older to the restroom while the other one changes the diaper. I think I've only waited for the changing table a few times total over the 3 trips where we've had to change diapers. Whenever you have a meal, use the restroom.


I won't lie rider swap can eat up a lot of time, it's why we're not going back to the parks until our youngest is tall enough for everything.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

even if that's to ride Dumbo 10 times

How do you feel about sitting and watching children in the Dumbo play area without even riding? Just try to practice now channeling the feeling of watching kids play on a playground while you watch ride times go up and do some calming breaths.

I am nervous about the rider swap option

I would be thinking about which rides are important enough that it's worth the rider swap. Do both adults really want to ride Barnstormer or is the point to let 3.5 try it? How tall and thrill ride interested is 3.5?

If you've been a lot, maybe this is the trip to do more of the stuff that everyone can do together and pick only 1-2 rides per day that are important enough that you want to deal with swapping riders.

(Mission Space dump area is a great spot for the other parent to hang with the kids if Guardians is on your must-do list. Lightning McQueen show for RnR and ToT. Also, pin trading and/or pressed pennies are a great one and can fill as much or as little time as you need while other adult is off riding.

potty breaks for the 3 1/2 year old, places to change diapers for the 1 year old

Just go to the bathroom all the time. Before getting into any line and again when you get off of any ride. Truly, with 3.5, you just get a chance to tour every Disney bathroom.

plan to get groceries delivered

Make sure to think about which snacks can stay in a stroller and park bag without melting or becoming crumb dust. Lots of my kids' favorite snacks don't meet that criteria. As much fun as the Disney snacks are, you also want an arsenal of options that can be whipped out without waiting in a food line or placing a mobile order.

 

[sponica]

Truly, with 3.5, you just get a chance to tour every Disney bathroom.

This made me laugh so hard. I have some favorite bathrooms. The ones in Galaxy's Edge are bizarrely weird and I don't know what to think of them. I've yet to use the Tangled bathrooms. The ones I've used more often than not are the ones between Adventureland and Frontierland.

 

[PTS05]

I would experiment to see if they'll nap in the stroller. Mine were always stroller nappers. We stayed at the Poly the only trip where we had a double stroller, and we never took the boats, only the monorail as you can walk right on with the double.

For Epcot, take the resort monorail to the TTC and get on the Epcot line.

For DHS, the key to taking the bus is make sure you know how to fold the stroller quickly, so if you have anything in the basket make sure it's in a bag that you can easily remove.

There are literally bathrooms EVERY-where. You're never that far from a bathroom. So divide and conquer at the bathroom breaks, one of you takes the older to the restroom while the other one changes the diaper. I think I've only waited for the changing table a few times total over the 3 trips where we've had to change diapers. Whenever you have a meal, use the restroom.


I won't lie rider swap can eat up a lot of time, it's why we're not going back to the parks until our youngest is tall enough for everything.

Thanks for the info! I hate to hear that about rider swap ugh!

 

[PTS05]

How do you feel about sitting and watching children in the Dumbo play area without even riding? Just try to practice now channeling the feeling of watching kids play on a playground while you watch ride times go up and do some calming breaths.



I would be thinking about which rides are important enough that it's worth the rider swap. Do both adults really want to ride Barnstormer or is the point to let 3.5 try it? How tall and thrill ride interested is 3.5?

If you've been a lot, maybe this is the trip to do more of the stuff that everyone can do together and pick only 1-2 rides per day that are important enough that you want to deal with swapping riders.

(Mission Space dump area is a great spot for the other parent to hang with the kids if Guardians is on your must-do list. Lightning McQueen show for RnR and ToT. Also, pin trading and/or pressed pennies are a great one and can fill as much or as little time as you need while other adult is off riding.



Just go to the bathroom all the time. Before getting into any line and again when you get off of any ride. Truly, with 3.5, you just get a chance to tour every Disney bathroom.



Make sure to think about which snacks can stay in a stroller and park bag without melting or becoming crumb dust. Lots of my kids' favorite snacks don't meet that criteria. As much fun as the Disney snacks are, you also want an arsenal of options that can be whipped out without waiting in a food line or placing a mobile order.

3.5 is adventurous and says he wants to do all the big roller coasters, he's right at the 38inch mark so I have a list. These are great ideas and loled at my desk reading your bathroom comment.

I didn't even think about the melting snacks so we will pack appropriate snacks. Food is essential for my boys to be happy so we will be loaded with snacks and we have at least 1 dining reservation planned per day at each park.

 

[sponica]

Thanks for the info! I hate to hear that about rider swap ugh!

It really depends on the ride, the only real experience I have it with it this year is Guardians, Test Track and Soarin in Epcot. I think it took us a 90 minutes to nearly 2 hours to ride Test Track and Guardians using rider swap, and we used the ILL for Guardians.
It all depends on where the lightning lane merge point for the ride is.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

As the title states I am very familiar with Disneyworld, have gone probably 15-20 times and very familiar with Genie+. However, this will be my first trip as a family, Wife and I with 2 little boys (1 1/2 and 3 1/2). We are heading down next week for 4 days, yes I understand it will be crowded and am prepared for that. Just wanted any tips or tricks that helped/helps you?

We are staying at the VGF and plan to take a 2 hour nap break during the middle of the day. Everything I have read says to take the Monorail to MK and then boat back. We have a double stroller being delivered to the hotel and plan to get groceries delivered too. My goal when I do Disney is to do as many rides as possible, as efficient as possible. I am trying to temper my expectations and (fingers crossed) go at a slower pace to do what the littles want (even if that's to ride Dumbo 10 times ).

I am nervous about the rider swap option, potty breaks for the 3 1/2 year old, places to change diapers for the 1 year old, navigating Disney with a stroller, getting to different parks besides MK (not doing AK this trip).

Looking forward to the trip and just need some peace of mind!

TIA for the help!

With the age of younger one are you able to move when they fall asleep on way back to room? That didn't work with one grandson. Fell asleep on way back to room and screamed for the next 2 hours no one on the floor got any rest

 

[PTS05]

With the age of younger one are you able to move when they fall asleep on way back to room? That didn't work with one grandson. Fell asleep on way back to room and screamed for the next 2 hours no one on the floor got any rest

Move around, yes. Pick him up when we get to the hotel and transfer him to the crib, definitely not. He likes to sleep in the car so maybe trying a nap in the stroller won't be terrible.

 

[mjkacmom]

3.5 is adventurous and says he wants to do all the big roller coasters, he's right at the 38inch mark so I have a list. These are great ideas and loled at my desk reading your bathroom comment.

I didn't even think about the melting snacks so we will pack appropriate snacks. Food is essential for my boys to be happy so we will be loaded with snacks and we have at least 1 dining reservation planned per day at each park.

Squirrels also love snacks so lock them up!

 

[CarolynFH]

Squirrels also love snacks so lock them up!

Seriously - they know how to unwrap things, gnaw into bags, and can open all sorts of containers. Do a search here for squirrels and read the reports!

 

[TheDailyMoo]

The ones I've used more often than not are the ones between Adventureland and Frontierland.

Like a second home those bathrooms

 

[Rory607]

Lower your expectations…and then lower them some more, lol. But seriously, you will have a great time, especially seeing it through the eyes of the 3.5 year old. It truly is magical if you let yourself go with the flow.

My advice is to start small on the rides, even if he says he wants to do big rides. If he rides something that scares him too early, you might have trouble getting him on anything else. Stroller naps are amazing if your kids will fall asleep that way. I can’t imagine having to do a full-on nap at the hotel every day, personally.

Are you planning on doing fireworks? If so, take noise cancelling headphones for the kids. My son was absolutely terrified at age 3 and I had to hide with him in the MK bathroom by the fire station. They were so much louder than 4th of July fireworks, which I didn’t expect.

 

[umalum99]

We went to Disney world with our then 3-year-old last year. Bathrooms are really easy to find and that wasn't an issue and we were going a fair amount. It might be a little more challenging since you have a second little, and we had planned on going back to the hotel to nap but decided that was really my husband's and my time to enjoy a little of the park ourselves. Our kiddo slept in the stroller a solid 2 hours every single day because she was so exhausted and tired from being mentally stimulated. The first day I kind of watched her and we didn't have much planned that was just for my husband drive because that was magic Kingdom. But when I saw what time she was getting tired and the nap she wanted to take, I actually managed to schedule lightning lanes the next few days for the rides that my husband and I really wanted to do while she would be napping. We had it set up so that my husband would go and I would stay with the child and then swap. It's basically the right or swap but at a very specific time and without having to wait in line forever. A lot of the rides that we really wanted to do also had single Rider Lanes. All of that to say we decided not to go back and nap because it gave us time to have a little fun and enjoy some things while our child was out cold. You may have something similar if your kids nap in a stroller as another poster suggested. As for exploring the rides, our then three-year-old loved barnstormer. When we had one last possible ride to go on at the very end of our trip and it was between the Little mermaid and barnstormer, she chose barnstormer. It's a really great first little coaster to try out and if you're 3 and 1/2-year-old loves them then definitely follow through with that list you have. I'm not sure if they've changed Jeannie plus much since February of 2023 and if they haven't, that became our saving grace for booking lightning lanes. Managing to get through all of the lanes quickly and easily without needing to get out for potty breaks and generally getting to do a lot at the parks. Almost every section has one or two bathrooms available really close to popular rides so it's nice and easy to go before you get in line. The app became our best friend in terms of locating the nearest bathrooms and how we had to navigate to get to those and other rides quickly while the lines were short and are toddler could stand it. Practice navigating the app. Hopefully some of this helpful and not just rambling at this point.

 

[Micca]

Enjoy your trip, in my experience kids that age won't pick up the tab for anything!

 

[halfpintpeggy]

I guess the question is - is this trip for the kids or for you?

 

[beckyboo1986]

Loved reading these replies.

We're heading to Disney in three weeks time with my 3 year old. I have made a list of rides he's big enough to ride.

I also have a little portable urine bottle just in case we get stuck for a wee on the go.

I'm bringing my Tush baby hip carrier and I have a rule of joining no standby lines longer than 30 mins.

I also plan to download some shows to watch on my phone if he gets bored.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Loved reading these replies.

We're heading to Disney in three weeks time with my 3 year old. I have made a list of rides he's big enough to ride.

I also have a little portable urine bottle just in case we get stuck for a wee on the go.

I'm bringing my Tush baby hip carrier and I have a rule of joining no standby lines longer than 30 mins.

I also plan to download some shows to watch on my phone if he gets bored.

If you use the urine bottle where do you plan to empty if in a ride line. Dumping in the trash can will close line if seen by CM or security camera. Pee is a bodily fluid with special handling involved. Keep that in mind.

 

[GreatAuntie]

There are a lot of good tips here. When my kids were little we didn't do many of the adult rides and that was ok because it was so fun doing Disney through their eyes. They will likely be in awe of so many things and watching them will be a blast. My kids loved the shows and parades as well as the rides that were age and size appropriate. Don't start with something like Bug's Life that can be alarming for little ones. The large characters are scary for some children so keep that in mind. I also used to bring a change of clothes for each child in a large ziploc bag. That way you have someplace to put clothes if a potty accident or something else does happen. MK was great when they were little because there are so many options for young ones and AK was probably our second favorite because they enjoyed the animals and some less stimulating touring. They enjoyed the petting zoo at that age too over at Rafiki's. Have fun.

 

[beckyboo1986]

If you use the urine bottle where do you plan to empty if in a ride line. Dumping in the trash can will close line if seen by CM or security camera. Pee is a bodily fluid with special handling involved. Keep that in mind.

It's in a contained bottle. Why on earth would you assume I'd dump it in a trash can? It's like having a water bottle. It doesn't leak and it'll be emptied on the next bathroom visit.