Disney with boysx2
The first week of April (Spring Break week for the entire world), me, my husband, our (newly) 2 year old and our 3.5 year old made the 12 hour drive from Baton Rouge to Disney World. Even though this trip was only booked three months out on a whim, I did a good bit of research in the weeks leading up to the trip on the best rides for toddlers, places to eat, things to do, etc. Mom Blogs were CRUCIAL to my research and the success of the trip, and I’ve had so many moms of young boys reach out to me for advice on ‘what to do’ and ‘what not to do’, so I want to share our experience!
First of all, driving there…not the absolute worst, but definitely not fun, and I’m trying to keep our kids as screen free as possible for as long as possible, so that means no iPads/shows in the car. It definitely makes your life harder as a parent, but it IS possible…just stay loaded up on a zillion snacks!
Tips & Tricks
Book your character dining ASAP! I think you can book 2 months out.
Snacks, Snacks, and more Snacks
Bring Towel & Change of clothes if you’re planning on a water ride.
Bring or Rent a Stroller! We bought a second-hand double stroller for the trip, because I read that the rental lines can get long at times. I found out a little too late about the stroller rental service, Scooterbug, that Disney also works with and would definitely recommend doing that next time, especially if you’re flying!
All the typical sun/heat protection; hats, sunscreen, portable fans, etc.
Tracking device - This may sound like overkill, but our 2 year old took off in full toddling sprint every chance he got. We managed to attach an AirTag to him at all times for my peace of mind. This wasn't an issue with our 3 year old who doesn’t like to be out of sight, thankfully.
The Dining Plan - I did the math at the end of the trip, and it was slightly less expensive to do the dining plan based on all of the places that we ate. HOWEVER, we probably wouldn’t have booked so many character dining experiences if we were paying out of pocket, because the dining plan is only worth it if you book the character dining (imo). It was a frenzy the last day trying to make sure that we used up all of our meals and got our moneys worth.
Where to Stay
I spent a longggg time deciding which hotel to book and landed on a ‘Cars’ themed room at Art of Animation. This is 100% your most affordable option within the park with a bonus of it being a suite.
Art of Animation Perks:
-The cutest kid-friendly pools, esp. the Finding Nemo splash pad and pool.
-The kids LOVED the room decor.
-You get two rooms for the price of one compared to most of the park hotels.
-The ‘Skyliner’ transportation is such a fun way to start the day and may have been the boys favorite ride of the trip.
Art of Animation Negatives:
-It’s a little further from the parks (took anywhere from 10-20 minutes), so once we left the park for nap or due to sheer exhaustion, we were less inclined to return later in the day.
-The ‘Landscape of Flavors’ cafeteria was really ‘meh’. The food was fine, but the service there was the worst we experienced at Disney, and it was packed.
The Parks
Now for the Parks! We did all 4 parks in 4 days without a park hopper pass and opted for the dining plan.
Day 1: Epcot
*We didn’t do Genie+ for this day, because the rides for toddlers all looked to have short lines.
Rides:
Journey of Water: If your little ones love the water, this is basically the best splash pad ever! My two were completely soaked after 30 minutes of jumping in and out of the water. Luckily, I heeded the advice of other moms and packed a change of clothes and lightweight towel (I love the Dock & Bay towels, because they fold up so small).
Turtle Talk with Crush: SO cute! It’s a short indoor interactive experience that I was surprised that my boys loved so much.
The Seas with Nemo & Friends: I would call this a ‘time killer’ ride. It’s cute, easy for all ages, but nothing that they particularly remembered.
The building with the Nemo ride also offers several aquariums that we walked through, and the boys enjoyed, but eventually grew tired of. It would be a good way to spend the heat of the day indoors!
Dining:
Lunch at Garden Grill: Since this was our first Disney dining experience, the boys were so excited to see the characters! The food was good, and it was kind of cool that the restaurant was revolving.
Dinner at Regal Eagle: Great AC, great food, lots of space to sit, plus room for our stroller.
Day 2: Magic Kingdom
*If/When we go back, I would probably do 2 days at Magic Kingdom, and not do Epcot, since there is less there for the toddler age group. Highly recommend Genie+ for Magic Kingdom or doing 2 days!
Rides:
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: 2 months later, and this is still the ride that my 3 year old is talking about…he LOVED it! We ran to this ride right when it opened and only had a short line.
Mad Tea Party: Everyone enjoyed this ride, but it made me mildly nauseous at 4 months pregnant (:
Dumbo the Flying Elephant: This is a classic must do ride, and it has a BONUS playground inside the tent that I didn’t know about. You can step out of line to let the kids play (pro tip: do this when it’s hot midday for a reprieve) and jump back in line when they are done.
Swiss Family Treehouse: We had some time to kill before our lunch reservation, and this was close by. I do NOT recommend with small children. It is just a bunch of stairs, seriously.
Peter Pan’s Flight: Use Genie Pass! The kids were a tiny bit scared, but ended up loving it!
Haunted Mansion: Ok, hear me out. My 2 year old isn’t yet scared of things, and my 3 year old loves Halloween and all things spooky, plus my husband was amped to do Haunted Mansion. We weren’t able to get a Genie+ time for this one, so we waited a little over an hour on a very hot day (not ideal). Wrangling the 2 year old while waiting in lines was probably the most difficult part of the entire trip. As soon as we got inside, our 3 year old started panicking. He was scared throughout much of the ride, while our 2 year old was unphased. If I could do it over, I would say DON’T do this ride with little ones, especially if there’s a long wait.
Pirates of the Caribbean: My husband took just our 3 year old on this ride, and he was initially tentative, but ended up loving it! There is a big splash at the end, but they didn’t get too wet.
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin: Fun, easy ride!
Sadly, we never made it to my personal favorite ride, Jungle Cruise, because the wait was continuously long, and we couldn’t get a good time on Genie+.
Dining:
Lunch at The Crystal Palace: So, this place came highly recommended, but we didn’t have a great experience. They were behind schedule, so waiting outside in the heat wrangling 2 hungry children for 20 minutes waiting for our name to be called wasn’t so fun. It was packed inside, and after we finished our food, none of the characters had made their way to us yet. The kids were cranky and devastated that Pooh never made an appearance on our side of the restaurant while we were there. Basically, I wouldn’t recommend eating here, but maybe it was an off day.
Dinner at Columbia House: Great AC, Good Food, and plenty of space for our children to wild out without bothering anyone. A win all around.
Day 3: Animal Kingdom
*This was our third day, and we were exhausted, and my pregnant body felt a little broken, so I don’t feel like we fully experienced everything we wanted to at Animal Kingdom. If I had a do-over, I would heed others’ advice and build in a ‘break’ day between parks.
Rides:
Navi River Journey: Rather than pay for Genie+ on this day, we made our way to this ride as the first one of the day. There was a wait, but it’s all shaded, so not so bad. This is a great ride for the whole family and especially cool if you’re into Avatar!
Kilimanjaro Safaris: Also great for the whole family, and the wait was pretty short.
DINOSAUR: So, this was an epic mom fail. My 3 year old loves dinosaurs, and he was just tall enough for the ride, and we were in what appeared to be a very ‘kid-centric’ part of the park. I did zero research on this ride and waited in the long line (45 min, I think) with my son. When we got to the front of the line, and there were bright flashing lights and loud roaring sounds. We made it onto the ride, because we had waited so long, but definitely do NOT recommend to children under the age of 5 or to pregnant women (oops!).
The Boneyard: While I was in the Dinosaur line, my husband had our 2 year old in this playground / dinosaur dig area. He absolutely loved it, but fair warning, there’s not much shade.
It’s Tough to Be A Bug!: I may have loved this 3D show more than the kids. As previously mentioned, they are super tripped out by 3D interactions, but I would still recommend!
Triceratops Spin: An easy, fun ride for the kids with a short line!
Dining:
Lunch at Tusker House: Our favorite dining experience of the entire trip! Such a fun atmosphere, and the food was different from everything else, but equally delicious! This is a must do restaurant!
Day 4: Hollywood Studios
*We didn’t do a Genie+ for this day, but I wish we had…here’s why. The Hollywood Studios rides have frequent technical issues, so the wait can get even longer while you’re already in line.
Rides:
Toy Story Mania: OMG, the cutest ride with interactive things to look out indoors while you are waiting. We ran to this ride first, but in retrospect, since the wait is indoors, I would have done this later in the day.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: Use Genie+! We waited in a 1.5 hour line, which my pregnant bladder almost couldn’t make! The line didn’t start out that long, but they kept having technical issues. BUT, well worth the wait! This was easily mine and my husband’s favorite ride of the entire trip, and the kids really enjoyed it too.
Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy: I thought the boys would love this, but they were over it after just a few minutes. It may have been the time of day (nap time), but it’s a cute experience worth checking out.
Alien Swirling Saucers: Wow, I had no idea a classic ride like this would generate such a long line. The 1 hour wait was outdoors, and our 2 year old escaped the line about a dozen times. I would have given up, but our 3 year old desperately wanted to do this ride. We all loved it and had a great time, but I regretted not having a Genie+ or doing this ride first thing in the morning.
Muppet Vision 3D: Our kids were really tripped out by the 3D shows, but my husband and I loved them! If you have the time and energy, definitely check it out!
Dining:
Lunch at Hollywood & Vine: Cute spot with good food. At this point in the trip, we had already had several character encounters, so the excitement had worn off some, but overall a good spot.
The Last Day
Before the epically long drive home, we ate breakfast at Ohana and then took the boys to a playground at Art of Animation so they could wear themselves out.
