6 Helpful Tips for Enjoying Disney with a Toddler

When we visited Disney for the first time with little Rylee, she was only two years old. I was so nervous about how it would go, being that it was the first time ever we were going on a venture to such a big park. My biggest concern was making sure everyone had fun, without any stress. Since then, we’ve been a few times with the kids and have learned a lot about being prepared for a day at the parks. I’ll start with 6 helpful tips for enjoying Disney with a toddler.

1) Schedule Fast Passes before you get to the park.

Did you know that you can schedule up to 3 fast passes online before you even get to the park? And it’s an absolute must to take advantage of. When you schedule them, try to choose attractions and times that are in the order you plan to navigate the park. This will make your park experience with a little one so much more enjoyable. There’s no way you want to be running from one side of the park to the other, weaving through park pedestrians with a toddler in tow to make your fast pass time.

The fast passes are registered on your park ticket or wrist band and you use that to get onto the rides.

Bonus tip: You can sign up for Fast Passes to meet Disney characters!

It’s one of the most exciting things for the littles to see, and not having to wait in a line to do so, makes it so much more enjoyable for the parents.

Extra bonus tip: If you are at Epcot, The Character Spot features the famous Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Minnie Mouse. So if your kid is as obsessed with these guys as ours, then definitely look into this because the location is kind of hidden and we almost missed it.

2) Don’t Over Plan.

Planning your Fast Passes is a must, but over planning can lead to disappointment. Prepare yourself ahead of time to be ok with not doing everything that your adult self wants to do. It’s a good opportunity to channel your inner child and be completely amused by the little things.

There is so much to explore at the parks and for a little one, finding something they’ve never seen before will happen and it can be enchanting for curious minds. So let them explore and experience something new and exciting, without worrying about what you’re missing or where you planned on being next.

For example, when we went to Epcot, we only got to a quarter of the park because she spent at least an hour alone at the aquarium in the Living Seas. Rylee stopped at every single window taking it all in and we took our time experiencing everything she wanted to without rushing through to the next. Even if it meant missing out on my favorite Avocado Margarita from Mexico!

But we were completely fine with it! Plus, going into the day with this attitude from the start, helped us to set our expectations and just enjoy the experiences that we could.

3) Do not forget your stroller. I repeat…. do NOT forget your stroller!

And not the flimsy, umbrella stroller. I am talking extra storage space, cup holding, seat adjusting stroller. This is a must. It is not a burden to bring this at all. In fact, we never had to collapse it once, not even to get on the Monorail. We just rolled right on!

Yes, your toddler will want to walk at times. But you can be sure that at some point, he or she is going to get tired and I know you don’t want to be carrying your little one around the entire park.

Although you can’t bring the stroller with you on any lines, stroller parking is literally everywhere in the parks so you really don’t have to go far out of your way to get there before getting on any ride. And it makes such a difference to have a space for your little one to be comfortable, especially at nap time. A napping baby in a stroller means a happy mommy and daddy.

Plus, you can pack all kinds of stuff in the storage space of the stroller, and that leads me to my next tip.

4) Bring food and water. For you and for your little one.

You’re allowed to bring small coolers into the park, so don’t let that stop you. At our first visit, we did not plan this ahead of time and when lunch time came and everyone was starving, we rushed through the crowds to the first restaurant we could find, fighting for a table that would fit everyone comfortably enough to eat.

And after half the group went up to order food, winding their way through the waiting lines of the cafeteria, we realized there was such a limited menu with items we didn’t even want. But by the time we found a spot and parked the stroller comfortably in the shade, we couldn’t think about going anywhere else.

So packing a cooler with sandwiches, chips, apples, pouches and soft drinks, and plopping down on a quiet bench in the shade makes for a much nicer break from the crowds.

Plus, you never know when an abrupt burst of hunger is going to kick in for the little one AND for you after walking all day in the parks and you definitely don’t want to stop what you are doing to find a vendor selling overpriced ice cream and popcorn every time. Try bringing pretzels, fruit and veggie pouches, apples, bananas, wheat thins and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. All are perfect healthy park snacks that will stay good during the day. And don’t forget water!

5) Choose your arrival day and time wisely to build your day for success.

Summer equals hot. Summer equals crowded. Do not be like Olaf. Avoid summer.

If you can, choose an off-season or week day to plan your tip to the parks to get the most out of your day and avoid terribly long wait times and crowds of sweaty tourists.

Also, get to the parks early. The earlier the better and yet another way to avoid a crowded park. That also means better parking and lesser wait times for rides.

If you are staying on property, leave for nap time and come back to avoid the busy middle of the day park crowds. You can use the provided transportation and take advantage of their great amenities or restaurants to get out of the heat for a little while.

6) Download the Disney Experience App.

Do you always get excited to grab one of those paper park maps on your way into the park? I used to, too. But with a baby and a family on a schedule, I completely forgot to muscle my way through the crowd and grab one for us to follow along. Instead, I used my Disney Experience App. It’s pretty sweet. Your personal schedule and fast pass selections, wait times, dining and virtual maps all at your finger tips!

I used that thing at every one of our trips to the parks and it was awesome! At one point, we weren’t going to make it to one of our fast passes in time, due to a nap by Rylee, so I made an impromptu change to our selections so we could go back at a later time, all from the app.

And I found plenty of meet and greets with characters in some hard to find places, like the Clubhouse gang in crazy costumes at the carnival in Pete’s Sideshow tent in Magic Kingdom. All I had to do was go to the characters tab and choose the ones we wanted to see, which I most likely would have missed on one of those printed map thingies.