Disney World Tips

I've had a few people ask for tips when traveling with little ones and my thoughts on taking a baby to Disney World, so here they are!

Tips:

- Do NOT bring a stroller. Rent one like we did from Kingdom Strollers! They have it delivered to your hotel and pick it up at the end of your trip, you'll have less to travel in the airports with and they have much nicer options than the hard strollers the parks have to rent. Also rent a double Bob for multiple children.... they are the best and it will be a fun break from your normal stroller!

- Bring bribing tools! Even if you don't give your kids much sugar like we do, Disney World is the place to let go a bit. When there's a meltdown coming after a day at the park, buy or get out a treat and sit back to enjoy the 10 minutes of silence while resting your feet. Also, suckers take a long time to eat and were great to get Drew into the stroller so we could quickly get to the next ride.

- Get your fast passes early for the big rides. Derek and I didn't get to do Space Mountain as they were out of passes around midday when we checked, but we knew with kids we couldn't wait in line for 60 minutes. {insert sad face}

- To cut down on the time spent in food lines, eat at different times. Maybe have a small breakfast at 7 when you wake the kids up, but then eat lunch at 10:30 or 11 and dinner more around 4. You'll be getting your meals before most people at the park and your wait time should be less!

- Go with extended family!!! Without having family to give Derek and I breaks, it wouldn't have been quite as enjoyable. We are so thankful to have had a few trips to the hot tub or pool sans the kiddos, a night out and general help at the parks. 

- Take snacks/bottled water into the park! Did you know they allow small, soft coolers? We each had a bottled water that we filled up constantly at drinking fountains and some snacks for throughout the day. This saved money on expensive in-park waters and we all nibbled on the snacks from time to time. 

- Watch Disney movies the weeks leading up to the trip. We still limit TV and electronics and I wish I would have watched a few more Disney movies before the trip so Drew knew more of the characters.

- If you're on a 'rest' day, try to wear your baby around! The stroller is nice, but folding that thing to get on buses and monorails takes time and if you have a comfy carrier like our Beco Gemini, it makes life easier for all!

- Prioritize! Discuss a plan of attack the night before a park, but still allow for flexibility! Also, I was once told that most people go to the right when entering parks, so try and go to the left to cut back on the amount of people in lines!

- BRING PONCHO'S! It's Florida people. It often sprinkles for a bit and the poncho's in the parks are around $10 each. We got ours at a drug store and spent $3 on 4 of them. You can also wear them on water rides to try and stay dry and they fold up tiny.

- Wear running shoes. I saw so many people limping by the end of the day because they wore sandals that rubbed wrong or shoes that weren't comfortable. Sure we all look more cute in Sperry's over running shoes but you'll thank me after 8-10 hours of walking!

- Lastly, get to the parks early. Everyone 'tries' to be there right at the opening, but even we didn't make it a couple of parks. A TON of people start rolling in around 10a-11a so if you are there at 8 you've beat them all by a couple of hours. 

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And now for my thoughts on bringing a baby! I really didn't mind having a baby, but if it was just Derek and I it wouldn't have been as easy. Remember, Derek's parents took the entire family so this trip wasn't something we planned on our own. We do try to get back every couple of years, but this trip would have been hard if it was just the 4 of us. Between nursing every couple of hours and bathroom breaks for Drew and us, we probably would have done a lot less. That being said, Ady was the easy part! We just stuck her in the stroller for the day and she enjoyed Disney World from there. Children under 3 are free in the parks so although she got 'nothing out of the trip', it's not like anyone had to pay for her. I wouldn't stress over having a baby in the parks, especially if they are easy babies like Ady is. We didn't have to use the baby swap lines because of having family, but I've heard those are easy to manage too. Lastly, you'd be surprised at how many rides/shows that babies are allowed on! She loved the safari, It's a Small World, Monster's Inc show, Bugs Life show, river cruise and more. As far as the 'perfect' age, I would think when Drew is 7/8 and Ady is 4ish it will be awesome. We went a couple years ago when Drew was 2.5 and although we did a ton, I know he got much more out of it being almost 4.

Lastly, TAKE PICTURES! If your kids are too young to remember much, make sure you're snapping their reactions to rides, shows, characters, etc. And don't just use your phone... bring your best camera. It's such a magical place and you'll want something to look back on in 10 years! Oh, and there are tons of lockers to rent if you need to store it while on a water ride. But in all honesty, if it's in a ziploc bag inside another bag inside your backpack, it probably won't get wet anyway. :)