I've heard many times people say to wait and take a trip to Disney when the kids are old enough to remember it. But I highly disagree. We took our 4 and 1 year old at the time and let me tell you- Everly was at the age where this stuff was MAGICAL. This stuff was REAL. These were the REAL princesses. That was the REAL castle of Cinderella. My momma heart was overflowing with joy watching her take it all in. Seeing all the characters come to life that she had only ever experienced on TV- I'll say it again, it was magic. The excitement she experienced during the parades, the awe in her eyes during the shows, the anticipation of waiting for the characters to come around to our dining table- worth it. every. single. penny. If you have toddlers and are debating on whether or not to go, GO.
I'll be real, planning the trip was overwhelming. But I'm a planner, and controlling. So I was up for the challenge. If you're the opposite, I would definitely recommend a Disney vacation planner. They are free to you. And they have all the knowledge. There are dining reservations to make, fast passes to book, character visits to plan. It's a lot. You have to practically plan out your entire day(s) months in advance. And knowing that babies don't always agree with "plans" was stressful. It's also easy to over plan. I didn't want to spend our entire vacation running from one appointment to the next. On the other hand I also knew the best rides and most popular restaurants are booked within seconds. And I wanted to experience as much as we could within those two days. (Because who knows when I'll talk my husband into this again). It's a fine line to walk and finding the middle ground was hard. But you have to embrace it. Let's be honest, the trip is for the kids, not the adults. You will be exhausted. They will be cranky. It's inevitable. Do yourself a favor and make the trip as convenient as possible.
First I will say never EVER go to Disney with toddlers/babies in the summer. We went in October and it was still SO hot. Having a baby who needs to be constantly holding a blanket in order to soothe herself was no fun. Having to hold said baby and blanket in line to ride rides was even less fun. When we go back, it will be smack dab in the middle of winter.
Speaking of Disney resorts, if you have toddlers/babies the resorts connected to the monorail are worth the premium. The pure convenience and quick transportation was a life saver. You just roll that double-wide stroller right on to that thing and you're at the park within a few minutes. No need to wait for the next bus that only runs every half hour, break down a stroller, or worry about finding a seat. Talk about convenience. (And speaking of double strollers, we have this one and LOVE it). The magic of the Disney atmosphere extends beyond the parks at these resorts as well. You can watch the fireworks and even hear the music from these resorts. We stayed at the Polynesian and loved it. I've also stayed at the Grand Floridian (without the kids) and was very impressed. The quality is top notch, the abundance of choices in restaurants is great, and the convenience to Magic Kingdom cannot be beat. We even happened to walk into the lobby at the right time on our last day and bumped into Pluto. We've accidentally bumped into Moana at the Polynesian before as well. No fast pass needed there!
Speaking of fast passes- inside the parks you won't survive without them. I used almost all of our fast passes on the characters. Which turned out to be a good decision for us. The real experience for toddlers is in the meet and greets, at least for Everly it was. We did wait in line for a couple of popular rides we didn't have fast passes for and it was AWFUL. Not only were the lines insane, Everly really didn't find much entertainment in them. The only rides worth a fast pass for us were Ariel's Under The Sea. Everly did love that one. And It's A Small World, because it's a classic. If you're planning a trip with toddlers, the top of your fast pass list should be Enchanted Tales with Belle, Ariel's Under The Sea, and character meet and greets. If you plan your dining right, you can knock out a lot of characters at mealtime. So do your research there before deciding how to spend your fast passes in the park. Which leads me to say- I highly recommend character dining. We did one every day and the girls loved it every time. Even baby Addison giggled to no end at all the characters who came to greet her.
We chose to spend two days at only one park - Magic Kingdom. If you have little girls, this is by far the best park to spend your time, in my opinion. The other parks are better for older kids/teens. My girls don't know the world of Avatar or Star Wars. We live the life of princesses at the Hart house. So Magic Kingdom was our top priority. And knowing we wouldn't be able to take advantage of all Magic Kingdom has to offer in one day, we split it up over two. It was nice to not be in such a rush to get everything checked off the bucket list in one day.
On that subject- plan at least one, if not two days in between all the parks to stay at the pool. It'll actually feel like you're on vacation for a minute. And also, margaritas. Just trust me on this.
My final and probably most important suggestion for Disney vacations with babies/toddlers- bring a grandparent! We enlisted the help of my mother and she was the MVP of the trip. Having the flexibility to have her entertain or hold a sleeping baby while Chad and I went on rides with Everly was so special. Otherwise we would have had to split up on rides Addison was too small for, which meant half the time one of us was missing out. Or the ability to ask Nana to stay in the room with a napping baby while we went to the pool. There was even one night Nana stayed in the room with the kids while Chad and I went walking around the resort. It was incredibly helpful having her there with us, not to mention special. I think she enjoyed getting to relive her days with us as kids at Disney World just as much as we did.
All in all, Disney is exhausting. A trip like this isn't for the adults, nor is it for the short tempered. So be mentally prepared. It's for the kids. Love it. Embrace it. Let this be a vacation for THEM. I promise you- watching your kids experience the very real magic that is Disney World, totally worth it.
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