Disney World Recap & Tips for Doing Disney with a Toddler

Over Spring break, we took a Villarreal family vacation to Disney World! Our little fam went with Mason’s parents, his brother’s family and his sister’s family. So there were 5 little ones, which was an adventure! I absolutely love Disney World so I was beyond excited to take Hunter for the first time!! I was a little worried how Disney would be with a toddler but it was truly amazing. Hunter has the best time and was such a trooper the entire week. I know she won’t remember her first Disney trip but Mason and I have the best memories with her!!

We did all 4 Disney parks but some definitely had a lot more to offer little ones. We spent an entire day at Magic Kingdom and honestly you could spend way more time than that with a toddler there! They can ride so many rides at Magic Kingdom. Hunter still stuck to her napping schedule so she would just pass out in her stroller and it was so nice because she wasn’t a huge grump! However, she did miss a couple rides because she slept through them. But I would rather have a sleeping baby than a screaming baby lol! If she was sleeping, when we had a fast pass, we either just held her on the ride or someone from the family would watch her and we would take turns riding. We did a character lunch the first day at Chef Mickey’s and y’all…. Hunter was not a fan 😂She loved meeting the princesses because Duh!!! Really, I think she liked them because they still looked like people. The costume characters though, she would cry and scream “NO” when they came near our table. She eventually warmed up a little to them, but still not her favorite. Her favorite ride at Magic Kingdom was It’s a Small World which makes my mom proud because that’s her fave! We had the cutest matching shirts from Harper + Co Apparel and we got so many compliments!! They have tons of Disney themed shirts and they’re all so cute!

Day two we did two parks, Hollywood Studios and Epcot! There wasn’t a ton that Hunter could do at Hollywood studios but they do have a Frozen Singalong so obviously we had to take her to that! She loved jamming to all her favorite songs. There was a few more things Hunter could have done at Hollywood Studios but she was getting tired so we opted to go ahead and head over to Epcot. We (MASON) thought it would be great to walk over to Epcot because there was a sign that said walkway to Epcot and Hunter was sleeping in her stroller. I will admit that Hunter got a great nap in that she really needed but I DO NOT recommend walking to Epcot. It was so far and my legs were in pain!! At one point we thought we were walking the wrong way because it was so far away, never again! Once we finally made it to Epcot, we had a blast! We did the Frozen ride which Hunter LOVED and she got to meet Anna and Elsa! She even held Elsa’s hand and it was so dang cute. Epcot is one of my favorite parks because of all the amazing food. We ate in Italy at Tutto Italia Ristorante and it was soo good! Hunter tore up some spaghetti and was in heaven. It’s a sit down restaurant which was a nice change of pace for the day. We ate so much at Epcot but that was perfect for me!!

On Wednesday, we took a day to relax and slept in! It was very much needed and we just all hung out by the pool. Hunter is a water baby and loved it. She also took an almost three hour nap, so I think a day to just hang out was necessary. I think taking a break between park days at Disney with a toddler is so great if you can do it! All week, Hunter had obviously been off schedule but would pretty much stick to her usual morning / afternoon nap schedule. However, she was going to bed super late so she was just tired! On our rest day, we made such to get her to bed closer to her actual bedtime and she slept like a rock.

Our last day at the parks, we went to Animal Kingdom. Hunter enjoyed seeing all the animals and we found her favorite show, the Festival of the Lion King!!! Girlfriend was jamming!! There is also just so much music at Animal Kingdom and Hunter was in her element. She loves to sing and dance, we stopped at one of the little performances and she was dancing her booty off! At the end of the day, Hunter was wiped and ready for bed. We had so much fun at all the parks and had the best time with our family. I’m so thankful for the time we all got to spend together with our babies!! I do have a few tips that make going to Disney just a little easier with a toddler.

1. Take a stroller that is compact and can lay back. This was so important because Hunter would just take naps when she tired. We would recline her stroller seat and just walk around so she would pass out. After she was asleep, we would either sit in some shade or walk to our next ride so she could get in a good nap! We brought our smaller stroller and it was so easy at the parks!! I cannot recommend it enough!

2. Bring a waterproof backpack that you can use as a diaper bag. We picked up one from Academy that was on clearance! This was so nice to have a backpack that we could use instead of our diaper bag which is a little bulky. It was essential to have a waterproof bag in case it rained or we went on any water rides!

3. Bring snacks, lots of snacks!!! We brought fruit snacks, peanut butter crackers, Hunter’s favorite teethers, and apple sauce packets.. we might have brought more but I can’t remember! These snacks were so important for Hunter, they kept her occupied while we waited in lines and held her over until we were eating.

4. Pack extra clothes for your little ones! I did not do this but should have! Hunter would get so messy eating all the yummy Disney food and was a complete mess every day. So of course, we are suckers and bought her new outfits at the stores, they’re super cute but that adds up!

5. Be flexible!! I love making a plan and sticking to it but that’s pretty hard at Disney with a toddler. We would plan out the rides we wanted to do but other than that, you have to just go with the flow. Hunter would nap when she wanted and that’s okay. We got to rest when she was napping which was much needed.

We had the most amazing Disney trip and I already can’t wait until we can go back!! I loved bringing Hunter even though she couldn’t ride everything and she had the absolute best time. Thanks so much for reading!