The reaction you get when you tell someone you’re bringing your three small children to Disney World is comical.
What they say: “Ooh! You’re going to have so much fun!”
What their facial expression says they’re thinking: “Uhh, yeah, you’re just crazy.”
And I confess I thought that might be true when, on January 16th, my husband and I faced heading to O’Hare airport for a 6 a.m. flight, with two suitcases, two strollers, three car seats and our three kids (age 5, 3 and 20 months) in tow.
I have no advice for how to survive airports and plane rides with small kids, except this: tablets for the older ones, plenty of snacks and a motto of, “Whatever the little one wants, she gets.”
But, over seven days at Disney World, we did learn a lot about how to make the most of the parks with small kids.
Among the challenges: Long lines aren’t an option unless you want to spend your vacation calming crying children. Also, our 5-year-old was the only child tall enough to go on the rides with a 44“ height requirement, to the complete dismay of our 3-year-old. He was, however, tall enough for the 40“ rides, but our toddler wasn’t. Ultimately, we didn’t just survive Disney World. We conquered it.
Here’s what we learned, so that you can, too!
Go in January. Some Disney fans say January is the worst time to visit. You’re as likely to want jeans and a light jacket as you are to don shorts and a tank top. But flights are cheaper, the lines are shorter, and my kids handle a pleasant 72 degrees far better than a sultry 98 any day. The one caveat to a January vacation: If you have any school-age kids, as we do, they’ll probably miss a few days. We chose a week when a Monday holiday and early-release Friday already made it a short school week. We also required her to write and draw in a daily journal — which was educational and makes a fabulous souvenir.
Split up the family. Lots of Disney rides have height requirements. For rides too big for the littles, ask to ride share. That allows one adult to stay outside the ride with the little one, while the other adult goes on the ride with the older kids. Then, the adults switch and — bonus! — the kids get to go on the ride again, this time with the other adult. Combine with a Fast Pass to minimize wait times.
Little things = big difference. 1. We swear by umbrella strollers. If you’re flying, they can be gate-checked at no cost. And they’re easier than larger strollers to get in and out of cars, trams, etc. 2. Picking up a park map for each of your children (including one for any babies old enough to want to play with it), avoids a lot of the, “I want to hold it! It’s my turn to look at it!” battles. 3. If you don’t like Orlando’s water (my daughter and I didn’t), for $2.49 at Publix you can buy a gallon of drinking water, fill up water bottles and stay hydrated all day.
Fantasyland is your friend. My kids could ride the Dumbos, tea cups and carousel the entire day. But there are appropriately aged thrill rides here, too. Using Fast Pass judiciously, we waited no more than 15 minutes for most attractions. And that gave us the time and patience we needed for the two Fantasyland attractions we thought were worth the wait: meeting Elsa and Anna from “Frozen” and taking the Seven Dwarfs mine ride.
Shop for souvenirs at Disney’s Character Warehouse. The beauty of having small kids who want everything is that they’re happy if they get to pick anything. The Warehouse outlet shop near Downtown Disney sells discontinued Disney items. My kids were thrilled to walk out with gigantic Mickey Mouse gloves, a Disney pillow pet and a Duffy bear, and I was thrilled to get it all for $30. That’s how much you’ll pay for a kid’s “Frozen” T-shirt at Disney.
Take a break — every day. We tried one day without naps and paid for it dearly with squirrelly, cranky kids by 4 p.m. So we planned long breaks in our days. We tried starting late and leaving early, but it worked best to just split the days, leaving after lunch and returning for evening activities. You won’t get to everything. There are awesome things you’ll completely miss. It’s OK. Just relax and enjoy the magic.
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Kirsten is a former journalist, a stay-at-home mom to three and a budding entrepreneur of two businesses. She grew up in northeast Wisconsin and is an avid Packers fan, even when they’re breaking her heart. She and her husband, Adrian, loved to travel and lived for two years in his native England, and she now loves all things British. Except Marmite. Never, ever Marmite.
