Planning Your Toddler’s First Walt Disney World Trip

We have 106 days until JP’s first trip to Walt Disney World! Squeal!!! Our family is going for a quick trip in September to wet JP’s feet in the Disney magic. We are planning to stay 3 days at Bay Lake Towers. JP will get his first haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop in the Magic Kingdom. We’ll only visit the Magic Kingdom park so it’s not overwhelming.  My husband and I are truly looking forward to the trip, but it will be our first time bringing a kid to the parks. I’ll admit — It’s a little terrifying. JP is nonstop, hard to keep near us and we will need to stay a step ahead of him.

Photo Credit: Disney.com

So this is how we are preparing for JP’s first trip to Walt Disney World. Check it out:

1. Have Home Comforts With You — JP goes through tons of milk, and it won’t be easy to transport gallons of milk in our car. To make sure we are fully prepared for sippy cups galore, I am having Garden Grocers (website link) deliver milk directly to our room. They are an Orlando grocery delivery service that will make our lives so much easier. They will deliver groceries right to our hotel room. They have an easy to use app too! Hopefully this will save my husband from running around the resort because of an milk emergency.
2. ID Tattoos — I found these awesome little temporary tattoos from Etsy shops (here and here) for your child. It can have their basic information, allergies and parent’s contact information. Kids under 3 years old do not receive their own magic bands. I want to make sure that JP will have a connection to our party in case he gets separated. With a toddler, you never know!
   

   Junk by Jenn & SmashTat Etsy Shops

3. Research Disney Dining Options –– Joe and I will using the deluxe meal plan for our trip and we’ll pay for JP out of pocket. Usually we are pretty selfish and only go to our favorite dining hotspots. For this trip though, I researched the more kid-friendly options. It’s safe to say that almost all restaurants at Disney allow kids, but some are more entertaining for them. We picked a character breakfast buffet, Chef Mickey’s before our park time. You can make advanced dining reservations 180 days before your trip. I highly recommend this for the popular kid spots.
   

   Photo Credit: Disney.com

4. Measure Your Kid –– 60 days before your trip begins, you can go online and make Fastpass+ reservations for rides. This lets you move a little more quickly through the line because you have a reservation for an allotted time. Before we make our Fastpass+ reservations, I will measure JP’s current height. Some rides have height requirements, which you can find out on Disney World’s website or My Disney Experience App. This will ensure we aren’t wasting a Fastpass+ reservation.

Other than that, we are planning the typical stuff like stroller and clothing options that we need to bring for him. I think the more planning we can do from home, the more we’ll be able to enjoy our first Disney World trip with JP. I can’t wait!

Do any of you veteran Disney Moms have tips for us? I’d love to hear them! Leave a comment and let me know your best tip for traveling to Disney World with a toddler.