Trip with Toddlers & Grandparents

CouponGirl

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 21, 2017
Since my first was born, I've been very excited with the idea of taking him to Disney! I had the chance to go when my nephew was 3 1/2 and the look on his face when he first saw the castle was magical! I'd really like to make a trip during Nov 2018 with my husband, kids (will then be one & almost three) and parents. I realize a lot of factors go into planning a trip with kids - as far as their schedules, temperaments, etc. - but I would love some input from those have who have "been there, done that."

I've never stayed on property, but thought that - or staying at a Disney Springs resort - would be easiest with the little ones (I'm thinking we will plan to go back to the room for afternoon naps unless they happen to fall asleep in the stroller). Thoughts about where to stay and why you thought it was a good with toddlers?

How many park days would you recommend? I know MK is a must, but is there any other park you would go to or just spend all your time there?

Has anyone been to Disney Springs during their holiday events? There isn't much info about it on their website and I'm just wondering if it would be worthwhile to spend a low key day or evening there.

I'm sure I'll come up with a lot more questions as time goes by, but right now it seems where to stay & for how long is really mind boggling! I keep going back and forth on what appears to be best! Thanks, thanks, thanks for your opinions!!
 
Been taking my DGD yearly since she was 6 months and now her two younger brothers (13, 8 & 5). All resorts on-property are good but I would rank them by convenience. In your case you'll spend most your time in MK but you'll also find some pretty cool attractions for little ones in HS & AK. That said, Monorail resorts will be easiest. Then the Epcot resorts followed by Disney Springs resorts and finally the Value Resorts.

I like to do things in half day bytes - Early park, Resort for naps or pool then evening park again.

Relax, have fun and see the holiday items!
 
We have gone with my in-laws and a separate trip with my father. My father-in-law has mobility issues while my father is 10 years younger than him and very active; we did things very differently those 2 trips. So basically, know your group's abilities. For the in-laws we did things more slowly, hit the low key rides, did my father-in-law's favorite (country bear jamboree), lots of rest time, etc. With my dad it was rope-drop every day, stay late for fireworks etc.

For the toddlers you'll need to play it a bit by ear. The heat isn't so bad in November, but don't push them too far. Let them nap, take them to shows (my toddler loves Disney Jr live on stage) and be ready to skip a lot of things because they are tired or cranky or whatever. Make plans but be flexible when things don't work out.

We did 7 days in the parks, 3 at MK, 2 at AK, 1 at DHS and 1 at EPCOT. 2nd trip we dropped a MK day and added another EPCOT. There are never enough park days! We also planned a rest day both times and hit up Disney Springs and went to the pool.

Definitely check out staying on-site and consider proximity to where you will be spending the most time.
 
Last month, we took our son on his first trip. He was 18 months. We stayed at WL and really liked it. He loved the boat ride to MK.

We came back to the room one day for a midday break and he refused to nap. The rest of the days, he did stroller naps, and that worked out much better. YMMV, but that's what worked for us!
 
With two little ones, MK will most likely be your focus, so I would definitely look at the monorail resorts for the most convenience. If it's in the budget, you might also want to consider a villa (you could do a 1-bedroom plus a studio for the grandparents or a 2-bedrooms for everyone). The 1 and 2-bedroom villas come with a full kitchen and a washer/dryer which I found to be priceless when traveling with a young child. It will also give you an extra room where the kids can sleep. If you want to investigate this option, I would recommend looking at the villas at BLT (part of the CR) and at Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek at WL (WL is not on the monorail, but it gives you boat access to MK).

In terms of other parks, my DS has always loved AK. The safari and the animal trails are wonderful and the shows are amazing. He also enjoyed EP (and we enjoyed strolling him around and eating our way around WS). I'm not a huge DHS fan, but if your kids like Disney Jr., it's the only place to see anything related to these shows.

Unless the drone show is going on, I found the holiday happenings at DS to be quite lackluster. The holiday decorations at some of the resorts though, particularly GF, are spectacular.
 
Been taking my DGD yearly since she was 6 months and now her two younger brothers (13, 8 & 5). All resorts on-property are good but I would rank them by convenience. In your case you'll spend most your time in MK but you'll also find some pretty cool attractions for little ones in HS & AK. That said, Monorail resorts will be easiest. Then the Epcot resorts followed by Disney Springs resorts and finally the Value Resorts.

I like to do things in half day bytes - Early park, Resort for naps or pool then evening park again.

Relax, have fun and see the holiday items!

Thanks for the feedback! That sounds like a good plan to do things in half day bytes!
 
Since my first was born, I've been very excited with the idea of taking him to Disney! I had the chance to go when my nephew was 3 1/2 and the look on his face when he first saw the castle was magical! I'd really like to make a trip during Nov 2018 with my husband, kids (will then be one & almost three) and parents. I realize a lot of factors go into planning a trip with kids - as far as their schedules, temperaments, etc. - but I would love some input from those have who have "been there, done that."

I've never stayed on property, but thought that - or staying at a Disney Springs resort - would be easiest with the little ones (I'm thinking we will plan to go back to the room for afternoon naps unless they happen to fall asleep in the stroller). Thoughts about where to stay and why you thought it was a good with toddlers?

How many park days would you recommend? I know MK is a must, but is there any other park you would go to or just spend all your time there?

Has anyone been to Disney Springs during their holiday events? There isn't much info about it on their website and I'm just wondering if it would be worthwhile to spend a low key day or evening there.

I'm sure I'll come up with a lot more questions as time goes by, but right now it seems where to stay & for how long is really mind boggling! I keep going back and forth on what appears to be best! Thanks, thanks, thanks for your opinions!!
I would recommend visiting Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. Epcot and Hollywood Studios don't have much that is of interest to toddlers. I'd do at least one day at Animal Kingdom, and two days at Magic Kingdom. I wouldn't park hop, but instead just let your children spend the day absorbing the experience of one park. Animal Kingdom Lodge could be a good resort to stay at. The kids will like the animals, and its standard rooms are priced at the lower end of the deluxe resorts. Or Comtemporary garden wing would be good, as it's relatively low price for a monorail resort, and is in walking distance to MK, which is ideal for strollers.
 


We have gone with my in-laws and a separate trip with my father. My father-in-law has mobility issues while my father is 10 years younger than him and very active; we did things very differently those 2 trips. So basically, know your group's abilities. For the in-laws we did things more slowly, hit the low key rides, did my father-in-law's favorite (country bear jamboree), lots of rest time, etc. With my dad it was rope-drop every day, stay late for fireworks etc.

For the toddlers you'll need to play it a bit by ear. The heat isn't so bad in November, but don't push them too far. Let them nap, take them to shows (my toddler loves Disney Jr live on stage) and be ready to skip a lot of things because they are tired or cranky or whatever. Make plans but be flexible when things don't work out.

We did 7 days in the parks, 3 at MK, 2 at AK, 1 at DHS and 1 at EPCOT. 2nd trip we dropped a MK day and added another EPCOT. There are never enough park days! We also planned a rest day both times and hit up Disney Springs and went to the pool.

Definitely check out staying on-site and consider proximity to where you will be spending the most time.
Thank you! That's a great point to make sure I know the group's abilities. It sounds like a big part of it really will be just being flexible and realize upfront not everything is going to go as planned!
 
Last month, we took our son on his first trip. He was 18 months. We stayed at WL and really liked it. He loved the boat ride to MK.

We came back to the room one day for a midday break and he refused to nap. The rest of the days, he did stroller naps, and that worked out much better. YMMV, but that's what worked for us!

For the boat rides, do you have to fold your stroller? How long is the ride to MK?
 
With two little ones, MK will most likely be your focus, so I would definitely look at the monorail resorts for the most convenience. If it's in the budget, you might also want to consider a villa (you could do a 1-bedroom plus a studio for the grandparents or a 2-bedrooms for everyone). The 1 and 2-bedroom villas come with a full kitchen and a washer/dryer which I found to be priceless when traveling with a young child. It will also give you an extra room where the kids can sleep. If you want to investigate this option, I would recommend looking at the villas at BLT (part of the CR) and at Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek at WL (WL is not on the monorail, but it gives you boat access to MK).

In terms of other parks, my DS has always loved AK. The safari and the animal trails are wonderful and the shows are amazing. He also enjoyed EP (and we enjoyed strolling him around and eating our way around WS). I'm not a huge DHS fan, but if your kids like Disney Jr., it's the only place to see anything related to these shows.

Unless the drone show is going on, I found the holiday happenings at DS to be quite lackluster. The holiday decorations at some of the resorts though, particularly GF, are spectacular.

That's great to know about the full kitchen and washer/dryer! That would be a great benefit.

Thanks for the feedback on holiday happenings at DS. I've had a hard time finding any information on them.
 
I would recommend visiting Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. Epcot and Hollywood Studios don't have much that is of interest to toddlers. I'd do at least one day at Animal Kingdom, and two days at Magic Kingdom. I wouldn't park hop, but instead just let your children spend the day absorbing the experience of one park. Animal Kingdom Lodge could be a good resort to stay at. The kids will like the animals, and its standard rooms are priced at the lower end of the deluxe resorts. Or Comtemporary garden wing would be good, as it's relatively low price for a monorail resort, and is in walking distance to MK, which is ideal for strollers.
Thank you!
 
For the boat rides, do you have to fold your stroller? How long is the ride to MK?

It depends. There are 2 types of boats. You have to fold the stroller on the smaller boats, but they can be rolled onto the larger boats.
 
With little ones focused on MK, I'd stay at the Contemporary (either the regular hotel or maybe rent points to stay at BLT). Nothing beats being able to walk to and from MK!
 
My wife and I took our then 4.5 and 1.5 year old DD's in Oct. '15. We spent most of our time in MK with a fair amount of time in HS. It will all depend on what your kids like. Our 4 year old was heavily into the Disney Jr. characters, hence our time in HS.
 

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