Need Any and All Tips and Advice for Disney World with a Toddler!

We made sure we had a good stroller, plenty of sun screen, a diaper bag with plenty of diapers, drinks, and finger foods, and a harness. She isn't going to want to be in the stroller all of the time and will need to walk some. A harness is the best way, believe me!
She will be excited enough if she isn't shy in crowds or worried about large groups of people! All the sounds, colors, and activity will hold her interest.

We took our daughter to Disney when she was 14 months. I disagree with the other parents about bringing the small umbrealla stroller. If you have a big one she is used to then she will be more comfortable, you will have more room for drinks and bags, also if she can take a nap in the stroller the big ones recline, saving a trip back to the hotel for nap time. Also, have breakfast at MGM, they have a Playhouse Disney breakfast for toddler that is awesome. Also, MGM has a Playhouse Disney live on stage. Great Show for toddlers. Have fun, and take lots of pictures.

Hi, A.! How exciting... a trip to Disney! Your 18 month old daughter will love it! My girlfriend just got back from Disney with her family, which includes a 17 month old, and she had a blast! Although, she regrets not buying a princess dress here at home from the Disney store before they left, because when she got there, she said there were tons of little girls in their dresses! So they went to a gift shop and spent $60 on a dress!!! YIKES!! After they returned, she and I met at the mall and they had her daughter's exact same dress in the Disney store for $15!! So if you are going, get the tee-shirts and dresses from home ahead of time!! Have a great time and take lots of pictures!!

Hi A.. We took our twins to Disney when they were about that age. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I would recommend a stroller that the back will lay down flat so if you are a park and she falls asleep, you can just lay her back. Make sure you have sippy cups, and snacks. It can get expensive buying all that. She'll be able to ride most rides with you, so have a great time. We sure did!

We took our son when he was 18 months last May.....and it was a challenge. We had 10 adults and him. His favorite part of the trip was meeting the characters and swimming at the pool at our hotel (which was the Pop Century). It was pretty hot when we were there, so I think the weather had a lot to do with it. Bring lots of snacks! Hope this helps you. We are going back to Disney the 3rd week of February this year, with only 3 adults and him, but he remembers going and is excited to go back. Have a fun time!

We went when my son was 18 months. It was exhausting! Good thing you will have plenty of help with 6 adults. The bus rides from resort to park and park to park were kind of hard. Our son just wanted to be on the move and go go go, but you have to sit on the bus and wait until you get to the park/resort. As for napping, I don't know if your daughter still does or not, but our son REFUSED to nap there. We would go back to the resort to let him take a nap at his normal time, and he wouldn't do it. After a couple days of this, we decided to not even try napping anymore. He was tired by the end of the week. :)

As far as the characters go, my son didn't know them. He did enjoy going to see them though. He loved touching Goofy's teeth. The best place is "The Character Spot" in the Epcot park. It is an indoor place where there are several characters at once. You can get your picture with them and everything. Kind of a one stop shop. This way you don't have to try to find them here and there around the parks and wait in more than one line each time. This is one line (I think we waited 40 minutes), and you get to see serval characters.

As far as rides go, make sure you do baby swap so that the person who stays with the baby (for the ride she is too small to go on) can go in the fast pass line after the others get off. I am sure there is info on this on the website. Also, fast passes are GREAT!!! There should be info on those online too. If not, just ask when you get to your resort. The nice thing is, there are SEVERAL rides that she will be able to go on. I was pleasently surprised about that. The Nemo ride was a great ride!

Hope this helps!

We are planning our first trip to Disney the 2nd week of March this year!! A friend of mine recommended getting the book, The 2009 Unoffical Guide to Disney, and I am so Glad I did. It has so many ideas and it is written by people with no affliation with Disney at all so I felt like I was getting an accurate account of everything.It goes into detail about all the parks and places to eat. It helped us make reservations. Also check out disneys website, you can sign up to get a free planning dvd which I did also and it had a whole section about young children!!

Good Luck!!

Hi A. one thing you definatly want to take with you is a easy fold stroller not one of those big things but the small ones that just holds the child and maybe a couple of other things.That place is huge and you don't want to have to carry her all day.Be sure you have all the things you might need, tylenal, sunscreen, diaper rash stuff, bandages ect. They charge a arm and leg for these things around the resorts.Be sure she has plenty to drink when we took my ex's kids there all we seemed to find was cola's and such except in the bigger restraunts.
Be sure to take your camera and extra batteries too.Mines a digital and I even keep a extra memory card in my purse so I don't loose any shots I wanted to keep.Some motels have free internet access and you can download and send stuff to your email addy so they are safe when you get home.
I doubt your daughter will remember much of your trip she is very young so get lots of pictures and try to take her again when she is about 5 or 6 and able to really enjoy it.We spent a week there and still didn't get to see everything.At night before they close down they have fire works they are so cool and just beautiful.Enjoy your self but expect your child to get fussy those are going to be very long days for her.
Debbie

Thank goodness, someone who is not afraid to take a less than school-age kid to WDW!!! This will be the best time of your lives. Remember to pace, don't be afraid to leave and return to your room for a break and nap for your kiddo and you! Check out the early openings and late closings for resort guests-you are one due to staying at All-Star. Make use of these to go earlier or stay later as needed to have a good tour. Don't take your giant stroller from home, use the ones at the parks. You can rent one in one park, return that one, keep the receipt and pick up a "new" one at the next park you go to in the same day. Take your time, take oodles of pictures and line up for character greetings as much as you can-these are the pictures you will oh and ah over for years. Take your daughter to ToonTown Fair at Magic Kingdom-you will see Minnie and Mickey easiest there. Try to not eat at the usual meal times, get a snack and eat later-like after one or one-thirty for lunch. Crowds are less and lines shorter. Don't try to do too much every day, that's the problem with many families, the kids get too stimulated and too tired. Besides, if you don't see everything now, come back and pick up what you missed next trip!! My boys are 21 and 16, they have been there many times and both were there for the first time before they were 3 months old. We have lost count of how many trips we have made there in their lives. Go to a bookstore and pick up a guide for parents of small kids visiting WDW, it's worth it. Also, take her to Animal Kingdom on the Maharajah and Pangani trails, go slow and look around, it's worth it.

I agree a smaller (or umbrella) stroller is great, as opposed to the big hunky kind. We went when my youngest was 2 and oldest was 5... he was actually so small we had them BOTH in umbrella strollers and cruised them around all day without them getting tired. It was perfect. Don't feel bad taking a break in the middle of the day, to let her go take a 1-2 hour nap. It will make for a much more pleasant evening. Make good use of the 'FastPass' option, so you don't have to wait in long lines much where she can get impatient and cranky. Getting a Disney guide ahead of time is great.... and don't try to do everything... pick 4-5 things for the day and concentrate on those. Don't feel sad if she is afraid of the big characters. Our 5yo hated them! Most importantly, just HAVE FUN! :-)

My parents just returned from Disney World with my daughter two weeks ago. Advice is save the Magic Kingdom for last. That is where your daughter will have the most fun but if you go there first it will only disappoint her at the rest of the parks. The baby swamp thing is great. Ask guest services about it when you get there. They should be able to explain it. There are also great books at Borders and such places that talk about Disney trips with young kids. I think my parents use one called Passporter-Walt Disney World. They give great tips in those books! Either way just don't rush yourself through the parks. Check into which days your resort can get in early and stay later at certain parks and take advantage of that. The staff are all amazingly friendly and were amazing with my two year old. We dressed her up as Cinderella one day when she went to the Magic Kingdom and they staff were great with her. Um if you have any specific questions e-mail me at ____@____.com I'll be glad to give you all the answers I can. You all will just love it especially when you watch your daughter's face!

We just returned from Florida yesterday and went to Disney with our 3year old and 16mo old. My biggest tip is to go to meet the characters first thing with your little one. You have to wait in line now to meet the characters and the lines are long. I thnk that if you go early to meet the characters the lines won't be as long and your child won't be as exhausted and will stand in line a little better. It can get pretty miserable standing in line with a little one. We also ate at the Crystal Palace for lunch. The Pooh characters walk around the whole time and interact with the kids. My girls loved it. The food was great as well. Look into it because it is worth it. Good luck with your trip.

I highly reccomned the book Disney with Kids. Get it at your library or from a bookstore. It is an invaluable tool and makes your time in Disney much less stressful. Lots to see and do and lots of tricks...even cost saving tips.

Hi A.!

I agree with the other posters that having your "regular" stroller is the best. We went last January with our daughters. 18 months and 3 years old. We have a LARGE double, side by side jogging stroller. We took it with us. It was a little cumbersome to check at the gate and to ride on the buses around Disney. However, I would not go without it. Our oldest was in it more than my younger one. And our youngest could sleep in it whenever she wished.

We did go back to the hotel for naps. I did make sure that I had plenty of disposable sippy cups - you can get them at Target & Walmart. I also had a baggies of finger foods, diapers, extra wipes - not only for diaper changes but for clean up at meals. Our youngest was still taking a bottle, so for the afternoon time, I would pack a bottle in an insulated sleeve for later.

There is A LOT of good information on the following website. www.allearsnet.com There is a page specifically on traveling with toddlers. I found a lot of good information there. They also have a tips database that you can search as well.

Here are some of my tips.

At Magic Kingdom, if your child needs to "run" off some steam, there are a few places they can do this without a lot of trouble. As you are walking toward Cinderella's castle from Main Street, to the right, is a walk/path down to a covered area that used to be the start line for 20,000 leagues ride. It is a flat concrete area with an overhang. This is a perfect spot to let your little one roam on their own for a while.

Also, back in Fantasy Land, I believe, is Pooh's Corner. It is a playground area with a small cottage/house and pooh characters. There is a jungle gym like structure, but good, confined space for roaming and playing. Our girls did not want to leave. :)

If you haven't made your dinner reservations yet, do so now. You will want to make sure that you will be able to eat where and when you want without having to wait. Your toddler won't want to wait either. :) I highly recommend the Crystal Palace character meal at the Magic Kingdom (Pooh & Friends) or Playhouse Disney Character meal at Hollywood & Vine at MGM Studios.

There are baby care centers in all of the parks. From what I understand, they are AWESOME!! We didn't use them, but I have heard great things about them - especially if it is warm.

I have other tips as well, but do not want to manipulate your post. So, if you need any advice/tips with anything in particular, just let me know. I would be more than happy to help.

Have fun!!!
K. O