9 Tips for Walt Disney World with Preschoolers

Here are my tips for taking a Disney Vacation with Preschoolers

Keep your expectations low. Yes, I know in the last paragraph I talked about how magical preschoolers are in Disney but they are still preschoolers. They are still the same people who cry when you tell them that you can’t cut their hot dog up because you don’t have a knife. They are still the same little people who at home simultaneously have you pulling your hair out one minute and wanting to hug them forever the next. Disney magic will not make your preschooler into a magically happier person, and sometimes all the fun and excitement of Disney can cause them to turn into a grouch. So keep the expectations low. On our first trip with my son at 2 I told myself if it’s awful we will just stay at the pool.

Make Time for Characters. I know for adults characters can be a waste of good time that could be spent on rides. But for preschoolers, the character meetings may be a better experience than the rides. There is such a small window of time for when kids believe that the characters are real. On our first trip while my son loved the rides, there was just something memorable and dare I again say magical about the character meetings. I will admit that I got teary eyed when he got to meet Mickey for the first time. We spent a lot of our first trip meeting characters and it really became fun and I didn’t feel like we were missing out by taking the time to do something that he really enjoyed. However if your kid is scared skip away.

Skip the Thrill Rides. I know what you’re thinking, No space mountain? She’s nuts. But hear me out on this one. If you’ve been to Disney before you’ve done it already. And did you really go all the way to Disney World so your kid can sit with your significant other or another adult while you go on a ride. If you did then well maybe we shouldn’t be friends but I’m thinking for most of you the answer is no. So get the idea of the roller coasters and Tower or Terror out of your head. This trip is not for you.

Make time to eat. There is so much to see and do at Disney and there is always the desire to pack it all in. And sometimes I would be pushing the stroller along, thinking about what we would do next and totally forget that it was time to eat until Jack was like, “I’m hungry”. On one trip John and I were walking through Epcot eating our way through food and wine when I remembered that Jack was probably hungry we had to race to America to get him some chicken and fries. So try to plan your meals. Also hungry kids are whiny kids.

Break for naps. I know many people push through the day and hope the kids nap in the stroller. And if your kid is a stroller napper, awesome. Mine is not. In fact there is way too much going on in the parks for him to even consider napping. So we head back to the room after lunch for a nap. We love this break. As a kid we never took a break. As an adult my husband and I love being able to go back to the room and sit on the deck and just relax. Breaks are essential to keep us all happy.

Prepare them for Disney. Before you go talk about the parks and the rides. You can order free vacation planning videos from Disney that show highlights of the park, watch them together. Watch Disney Jr, they constantly show clips of the park. Watch Disney movies, point out characters that you might meet. Make kids feel like they know what they are getting themselves into. Watch videos of the rides on YouTube.

Pack well. While you aren’t traveling with an infant or even a toddler traveling with a preschooler has some special needs. Make sure you bring snacks, a change of clothes and some entertainment when heading out into the park. Sure you may not need those things but get stuck in a long line and you will be glad you packed some snacks and toys. Also kids have accidents, they get messy, it’s best to have a back up set of clothes packed.

Don’t push them too much. I’m a big believer in pushing kids to try new experiences but I don’t think a vacation is a time to push them on everything. There may be rides that scare them or situations that make them uncomfortable or they might be too tired and not have another moment in them. Don’t push them. Don’t make the trip about getting them to do it all. Save the tears and the melt downs and the fights. You will miss nothing by skipping a ride that scares your child, except maybe some screaming. You will miss nothing by heading home early except maybe a meltdown and a long wait to get back to your room.

Capture the memories. Purchase memory maker. Yes, it’s $150. Yes, you need to purchase it in advance. Yes, that’s a lot of money for an already expensive trip. Yes, you can take your own pictures. Yes, you still should purchase it. Why because Disney takes better pictures than you do, and it will let you all be in the pictures. Also my only regret about Jack’s first Disney trip is that I cheeped out and didn’t purchase it. I will never get those photos back. So budget it in.

Taking a preschooler to Disney was and is one of the best vacations I have ever taken. Getting to see Disney World through the eyes of a kid who believes in all the magic, is magical in and of itself.