I just returned from five days in Walt Disney World with my 14-month old twin daughters. Everyone we spoke with before we left thought we were crazy. I thought we were crazy (the trip was my wife’s idea). But not only did we survive, we had a blast. Here are some lessons learned.
- Visit Orlando in the late September-October time frame. This is perhaps the only advantage of taking kids before they’re school age…so don’t even think about going when school is out! Our longest line was to see the Disney Princesses in Magic Kingdom…it was only 30 minutes.
- Pack only enough diapers for one day of travel (carry-on in diaper bag and buy at the Kissimmee Wal-Mart)
- Luggage scales are great for distributing clothes/souvenirs between suitcases
- Choose a hotel with laundry facility on-site to avoid packing your baby’s entire wardrobe
- If flying, have bottles ready to go before take-off – a bottle is a great way to prevent your baby’s ears from popping from the sudden cabin pressure change
- A rental car is definitely not needed if you’re staying on Disney property…there’s no reason to ever leave the property if your kids are young enough to eat for free or even for cheap at the Disney restaurants
- Mears Transportation offers comparatively low-cost shuttles from the airport to Disney-area hotels
- Many shuttle services will provide a grocery stop (see tip #2)
- In the Epcot resort area, I recommend pizza on the boardwalk…$20 meal that feeds 2-4.
- Buy breakfast items that don’t require refrigeration at walmart (donuts, breakfast bars, etc..)
- The Dolphin hotel’s Pantry Service is awesome! Prices were super reasonable and included free delivery of items like milk, juice, soda, water, etc..
- The food stands throughout Disney were less than great…but prices were quasi-reasonable and it’s very convenient
- Check out the Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom…you can easily split the huge entrees here between 2 adults (and probably up to 4 kids!)
- Dining off-property is too much of a hassle with infants
- The Disney Dining Plan is excellent if you’re staying at a Disney-owned hotel (the Dolphin and Swan are owned by Starwood; and therefore, are ineligible)
- Mom and dad can still enjoy the big kid rides. One parent watches the kiddos in the stroller, while the other hops in the single-rider line…then swap
- All Fast Pass lines were 10 minute max waits! (see tip #1)
- We never made it back to the parks past 6pm to take advantage of the Extra Magic hours (available to guests staying on property)…this is not easy to pull-off with hungry/tired babies!
- Disney provides shipping services at gift shop check-out counters…you can send either to your on-property hotel or directly home; pricing is dependent on the total dollar amount of your purchase
- We saved about $20 by stopping off at a UPS Store on the way to the airport (the one advantage to our having a rental car on this trip!)
- Get a stroller with a good recline – our girls napped in the stroller every day so we never had to return to the hotel room
- A bright colored stroller stands out among the herd (I can’t imagine what this looks like in the busy season)
- Rather than rent a stroller from Disney ($31 per day for a double stroller!), we bought one at a second-hand store for $100
- Bottle leashes are a must-have
