Curator’s statement
I live in Tampa, 90 minutes from Magic Kingdom, so I do not go to Walt Disney World once a year the way most people do. I go constantly—these days with my 4- and 2-year-old nieces in a double stroller. That taught me more in a handful of trips than 20 years of going as an adult ever did—mostly that Disney with small children is not a checklist, it is a pace. The families who enjoy it most are the ones who decided in advance what they were happy to skip.
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Things to do at Walt Disney World
Three generations meeting Olaf at Hollywood Studios. Memory Maker paid for itself on this one photo.
Ride the Skyliner even if you do not need to go anywhere.
The gondolas running between EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and the resorts on that line are a genuine attraction that costs nothing and rarely has a queue worth mentioning. My nieces ask for it by name.
Use Early Theme Park Entry every single morning.
Staying at a Disney resort hotel gets you into a park 30 minutes before everyone else, every day of your stay, at no extra cost. An hour of touring before the crowds build is worth more than most of what you can buy.
Take the monorail around the Magic Kingdom resorts for no reason at all.
It feels a little dated, and that is exactly the point. Loop the Contemporary, the Polynesian, and the Grand Floridian, and you have seen three of the best lobbies on property without spending a dollar or standing in a single line.
Go see the animals at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
The savanna viewing areas are open to anyone who walks in, not just guests, and a giraffe 40 feet from a toddler beats most rides that toddler is too small for anyway. Go late in the afternoon when the animals are moving.
Book Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for the middle of your trip, not day one.
The princess makeover sells out, and the booking window opens 60 days before your check-in date for your entire stay. Push the appointment later in the week and you are booking it days before the families arriving that day even can.
Spend an afternoon at a water park.
Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are the most skipped things on property, and I have never understood why. Check which one is open for your dates, because one usually closes for refurbishment over the winter.
Have a pool day no matter the time of year.
Every resort pool is heated year-round. Building a real rest day into a Disney trip is the single easiest thing you can do to make the other days better, and with small kids it is not optional.
Buy Memory Maker and get in the photos.
It covers every Disney photographer on property, including ride shots and character meetings. It is the add-on people most regret skipping, mostly because it is how parents end up in the pictures instead of behind the camera.
Let a toddler watch a parade all the way through.
The best hour of my last trip was my 4-year-old niece standing completely still on Main Street. Nobody plans for that, and nobody remembers the ride they skipped to do it.
Places to eat & drink at Walt Disney World
Mickey cake pops in a bakery case. With small kids, half the food you remember is the food you ate standing up.
Topolino’s Terrace, Riviera Resort
In my opinion, this is the best character breakfast at Walt Disney World, and it is not close. Rooftop, genuinely good food, and calm in a way character meals almost never are.
Via Napoli, EPCOT
Wood-fired Neapolitan pizza in the Italy pavilion, and the table-service meal I recommend most often. It lands in exactly the right place for a park day: a real step up from counter service without being a production, which matters when you have been walking around EPCOT since morning and nobody has the patience left for a long dinner.
Cinderella’s Royal Table, Magic Kingdom
Inside the castle, and the single hardest reservation on property. If it matters to you, go straight for it the moment your window opens and pick up the easier meals afterward.
Chef Mickey’s, Contemporary Resort
Chaotic, loud, and a genuine classic. Do not walk in expecting a relaxing breakfast and you will have a great time.
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, EPCOT
A strong princess option and usually easier to get than the castle, which makes it the smart fallback rather than the consolation prize.
Need to know
Where you stay changes when you can book. Lightning Lane goes on sale seven days before check-in if you are staying at a Disney resort hotel, and it covers your whole stay in one purchase. Off-property, you wait until three days out. The Swan, the Dolphin, the Swan Reserve, and Shades of Green are the exception worth knowing: They sit on Disney property and get the seven-day window, which is a real advantage most people booking them have no idea they are getting.
Every booking window counts back from your check-in date, not from the day you want. Dining opens 60 days before you arrive, at six in the morning Eastern, and it opens your entire stay at once. The last day of your trip becomes bookable at the same moment as the first, so anything hard to get is easier to land later in the week than on arrival day.
Allergies are handled genuinely well. Flag them on every dining reservation and a chef will come to your table at every table-service restaurant. It is one of the things Disney does better than almost anyone.
The buses are better than their reputation. On a normal day, you get a seat and it works fine. The bad version is 10 at night with destroyed feet and a crowd, so leave a little before or after everyone else and you will mostly miss it.
Standby lines still exist and are still free. Lightning Lane is optional. Plenty of families have a wonderful trip without buying a single one, and with kids under five, you will spend more time at character meets than at the rides those passes are built for.
Travel Advisor
Triple Sun Travel
Robert Cole
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