Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Walt Disney World with Toddlers

I love Walt Disney World. With my family originally from Florida, we frequently visited in the 80s and 90s. My mom worked in Disneyland in the 70s as part of a program of students who would come back and help open Disney World. I dreamed of doing the Disney College Program but didn’t want to “give up” a semester so instead I spent one summer working in the parks (Animal Kingdom hostess for Dinosaur!). I’ve been lucky enough to have two Disney brands as PR clients. 

I don’t consider myself a “Disney adult” but I do love the magic of Disney vacations and I adore seeing the magic through my daughters’ eyes (ages 5 and 3). I don’t love the expense of Disney. I also prefer Disney in small doses. We are fortunate to live a 7-8 hour drive from Orlando, and when we visit the parks we prefer driving and doing more frequent, shorter visits rather than one longer visit. I recognize not everyone has that luxury. I also don’t love how Disney vacations now essentially require a masters degree in Disney obsession to properly navigate it. I miss the spontaneity of the Disney vacations growing up – when you didn’t make dining reservations 6 months before you arrived.

Also, let me just say, if you hate the idea of Disney World, don’t go. Yes, your kids might love Disney but it’s not for everyone and if you’re miserable and you’ve spent thousands on a vacation you didn’t even enjoy, you’ll hate it even more. Pick a spot the whole family can enjoy. 

That said, I really do love Disney and am always planning my next visit, especially while my children are in these ages of soaking up the magic. Here are my 10 do’s and don’ts for Walt Disney World vacations with toddlers:

1. Do take full advantage of your mornings. I am not a morning person, but at Disney I’m waking up at 5 am to get in the Parks early. It is absolutely the best time in the Parks for jumping on a bunch of attractions and enjoying smaller crowds. We have small kids who don’t like fireworks and while sometimes we end up in the Park until close, even if we leave early around 4 pm, we feel we’ve gotten a full day because of our early adventures. 
   
   
2. Don’t do dining reservations. While this may be a controversial opinion, and I admit I haven’t dined in a sit-down restaurant in many years, Disney dining is just not worth it to me. I love food and I love dining out. My husband and I have spent $$$ on phenomenal meals that I would absolutely repeat – the experience, the ambiance, the memory of a bite transporting you back to that lovely date etched in your brain forever. That’s not what you’re getting here. Disney dining prices are astronomical, and I’ve yet to find food or atmosphere that is worth it. I do agree it’s important to sit down for your meals to provide your kids a break, but you won’t find me shelling out $65 for my child to barely touch some chicken nuggets. Maybe one day we’ll do character dining, but we’d probably be  one and done. 
   
   
3. Do mobile ordering. Mobile ordering is probably my favorite technology update at Disney, and the only way to dine. Not all restaurants do it (it’s hardest to find at Epcot) but when it’s available it’s hugely helpful. I’ll realize it’s approaching lunch time but perhaps we’re in line for an attraction, so I pull up my phone, select the restaurant we wish to visit, select the estimated arrival window, choose our menu options and check out. Then when it’s our window, we visit the location, click “I’m here” and they prepare your food. Each location can vary slightly as to the rules, but cast members are available to direct you (some restaurants won’t even let you inside without a mobile order if it’s a peak time). Anything that cuts down on standing in line is awesome.
   
   
4. Do bring snacks. Since we drive, we bring snacks with us but I’ve also heard from others who fly and InstaCart snacks upon arrival. Most people don’t realize Disney allows you to bring in your snacks and water. This can save so much money, especially with children who always want a snack. We try to eat breakfast in our hotel room (granola bars, yogurt, fruit, etc.), bring snacks to the Parks (chips, goldfish, fruit snacks, etc.), bring refillable water bottles for everyone and sometimes even pack lunches for the girls. My husband and I will get a mobile order meal, and the girls eat their packed uncrustable way better than they would eat the fries/chicken nuggets and it leaves us more “fun money.” We also plan for them to have 1-2 “fun” snacks in the Parks that they can pick out (it’s usually a popsicle or Mickey ice cream bar!). 
   
   
5. Don’t forget Disney is in the details, and so much more than its attractions. With toddlers and young kids, their moods can be unpredictable. Before we visited with a 2 and 4 year old, my husband and I sat down and talked about getting our heads right for the trip. We had concerns about lines and crowds (at the time, pandemic was still a very real concern) and were weighing if we would consider the expense and time worth it if, say, we only did 2-3 rides one day. We agreed that it would be because while people can get caught up in the rides at theme parks, Disney is SO MUCH MORE. Disney is in the details. Yes, my kids love Dumbo and The Little Mermaid, but they also the play area in line for Dumbo and the blue crabs in line for The Little Mermaid, often just as much as the attraction itself. They love the parades and calvacades, the statues at every corner, the shows at the castle, the storybook windows on Main Street. It’s important to remind yourself it’s not possible to ride every attraction in a Park, nor would it be enjoyable. Pick your priorities and instead of just running from ride to ride, remember to look around and soak it all in. Dance in the bubbles. Sit on the curb with an ice cream. 
   
   
6. Do plan rest. All families are different in how they define rest. You may want to leave the Park after lunch for a swim and a nap, and return for dinner/fireworks. You may leave the Park around 4 pm and go to bed early. You may consider your dining reservation your rest. You may build in days in your vacation as non-Park days. All of these are great, and you know your family best. Any way you do it, just make sure you’re allowing your children (and yourselves) time to rest and recharge. We rarely leave the Parks once we are in for the day – I can’t imagine trying to get my kids back and forth – but we monitor their moods and recognize when it’s time to stop “going” and take a breather and sit, shop, eat, whatever.  
   
   
7. Don’t get swept up in buying every souvenir, but do plan for some memory purchases. I’ll give it to Disney, they are amazing marketers. And they’ve created crazes for items only available in the Parks. It can be hard not to get swept up and imagine yourself needing every Disney shirt/ears/whatever; it’s also hard for your child to pass through every attraction exit and not ask for whatever toy they just MUST HAVE at that moment. We plan for this by setting an expectation with our children, and it works especially well for our 5 year old. They are each given a budget (for us it was $25) and they can use that budget as they wish – all at one time, on a couple of small things, on the first day or waiting until the last day. My younger daughter really just goes with the flow, but my older daughter takes this seriously. We walk around the store and talk about prices and she knows to find something within her budget. We’ve implemented this on two trips now and for her first trip, she purchased a Disney princess wallet and on her second, she purchased an Elena of Avalor scepter that she was SO EXCITED to show Princess Elena when we met her. Both of these were purchased from Sir Mickey’s in Magic Kingdom, our kids’ favorite shop. I also brought a Mickey/Minnie stuffed animal with us for each of them and a surprise princess figurine purchased from Target. Having something new going into the trip also helps slow the requests for purchases. If you see something you love though, know that it may not be available outside the Park and you may want to purchase and save it for a future birthday or Christmas. 
   
   
8. Do get Disney Genie+. I get it, I miss (free) FastPasses. I miss paper FastPasses actually, when you had to be onsite to get them. I don’t love being on my phone all day when I’m on vacation, let alone when I’m setting an example for my children. I don’t love paying for a service that used to be free. I don’t love the stress of rushing to make a 7 am selection (and actually haven’t even been successful at it until I arrive onsite at the park). But Genie+ is worth it. Disney is expensive, and I’ll cut corners many ways, but I won’t skimp here. Even on days when I think we didn’t really need it, we ended up using it more than we thought and it created a more seamless day, which is important with kids. Let’s be frank – there are a lot of Disney adults/content creators going into the Parks weekly if not daily, and they don’t mind standing in long lines because they will just come back tomorrow and check the other items off their lists. That’s not us, and we can’t afford not to skip the line. 
   
   
9. Don’t get Disney photo pass. I love photos, I take a ton of photos. Disney Photo Pass is just not worth it to me, and I’d rather spend the money on food or Genie+. You can always find someone to ask to take a family photo. A couple notes if you don’t plan to purchase – Disney photographers aren’t supposed to take photos using your phone so it’s easier just not to ask them and instead asking offer to take another family’s photo and if they’d mind taking yours. If you’re waiting in line for characters, the character attendant will take a photo on your phone and the onsite photographer sometimes doesn’t understand NOT wanting them to take photos so I usually just let them even though I do not intend to purchase. 
   
   
10. Do stay at a Disney property, but don’t pay more than you can afford. We want to take advantage of on-property benefits like bus transportation and early theme park entry, but we don’t stay at official Disney properties. I grew up staying on-property and hope to do it again when my kids are a little older and we work in extra days to just enjoy, but with days beginning around 6 am and ending at 7 pm or later, we simply use the hotel to crash. It is a place to sleep, so we don’t need the extra frills. There are brand hotels, mostly near Disney Springs, that enjoy most of the on-property perks without the on-property price tags. We are loyal to Hiltons, so we almost exclusively stay at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista or sometimes the Buena Vista Palace, depending on which property is running better deals. Our nightly rate has always been under $200. Yes, we share one room and that can be challenging with kids, but we’ve found them to be so tired at the end of the day they will usually zonk right out.